I thought the rat traps had something to do with cooking! Like a tiny oven or kiln haha. A reusable rat trap makes more sense and would probably be more useful. I don't know how I got the baby bottles right but was convinced I was looking at one of the first easy bake ovens haha.
What an interesting video! I loved the format and all the examples you showed, especially the effort you make to represent different peoples, eras and social groups. The fact that they are interactive adds another layer of entertainment.
Yeah, it was so fun to try and guess, though I got none of them right! It's such an interesting look into the everyday lives of past cultures, like how they would of course want to recycle pottery several times if possible, and how it ranges from the really practical (like mouse traps) to elaborate ornamental objects like the whistle container.
i liked the format a lot! it felt like how some of my archaeology professors would present artifacts to us to get us thinking critically about them. but i mean that in a good way, i get all the interesting knowledge and the little game aspect, without having to take notes in a frenzy, stressed out knowing i’ll be tested on it lol. im so excited experts like you are making knowledge like this accessible and free so everyone can learn about history!!
That was fun! I didn’t get an of them. Well I sorta got the honey/storage pots. As I guessed food storage with a beeswax seal. Or using the beeswax as a binder but then you probably would have found other remnants. I had thought that the water containers would have added thicker sides for temperature control or some such things but making them whistle is way more exciting!
This is like the German TV show "Dings vom Dach" ("Thingy from the attic") where you are to guess the function of some funny object your grandma might have used - but for much, much older things. :D
My interpretation is the beeswax could have been used to seal the vessels to make them less porous and thus could hold liquids in them. Beeswax cloths have become popular again as an eco friendly way to seal food storage containers and may have a similar function?
Thank you so much for creating these videos Dr. Nathan, they are often my only escape from doomscrolling/ misinformation slop and help me feel so grounded in the day-to-day of being a human person. You are a beacon of hope for the future of history and knowledge in these hard times
Thank you so much for your kind note! It means so much that our little space on the internet can be a source of solace for you. We're going to do our best to keep on creating for this community.
Oh those whistling bottles are so cool! I know we all like to think we are the peak of human evolution and smarter than ancient humans, but I could never come up with something like that!!
This was a very fun video to watch :) I liked the wide range of places and object. The interactive part was very enjoyable - especially when I was right with my idea! 😂
I have a History-Museum Studies degree and one of my favorite classes in college was Art History. I really enjoyed learning about Ding pottery vessels.
One, such cool information! I love historical pottery! Two, the “do you know what this could have been used for?” And pause is activating my Dora the explorer (and other kids shows) sleeper agent training lol
Amazing video! Glad I found this channel since the archeology field has been historically made up by white men. Unique perspectives that come from different lives are so important in the archeology and historical fields. I actually learned a lot and i am really looking forward to whatever you do next!
I feel like this is a basic question, but one I'm genuinely curious about: Did pottery wheel-type items coincidentally develop independently around the world so that the symmetrical / round-based objects could be made? Or were they all done by skilled hands with tools and not by spinning "machines"? I'd love to learn more about how these items were made!
Hi there! Sneh Patel, our co-producer and co-scriptwriter for this video has an answer to your question. Here it is: Re: the if pottery wheel-types developed independently "Oh yea definitely. Oldest known examples are from the Old World - four to five millennia ago. We don't have clear evidence of its age and antecedents - we just know they were in common use (and multiple forms) by the Middle Bronze Age Some pottery wheels - like the stick wheel used in India have a mythical origin [story]." And some more info from Sneh: "So hand forming can create round bodied vessels. The coil method is one way to construct these and then a potter could use other tools like bat or a scraper to fine tune the vessel shape. That potter might put the vessel on a turntable to make it easier to see all sides of the vessel but it is not the same as a wheel to throw pottery on. Moulds are also another option - classic example are the Roman Arretine or Samian pottery industries. There are also lots of different types of wheels - (ex slow vs fast wheel). Certain vessel types are more suites for one production type over another. For instance square vessels would be hard to make on a wheel. According to Rice (1987) vessels with a round base just need to be made formed on something with supports. There are devices that are not wheels that allowed potters to turn a vessel without having to get up and move to the other side of it."
It's interesting ancient people freely wrote about dedication as if everyone knew everyone did it. Today's writing and video almost never mentions toilet adventures. We are oddly prudish today.
Really fantastic & interesting video! I have a bachelors in art history and loved getting to study pottery & other containers across historical or even prehistoric communities & cultures while getting my degree :] Just to let you know though, the subtitles start to desynchronize by a sentence or so around the reveal of what the first pottery piece was, which makes the video a little difficult to follow. I'm unsure how you go about changing the timing of them, though
I'm curious about the honey containers: my first thought was that they might be candles with beeswax. Do you know by chance why that hypothesis was discarded? Are the pots not the right size/shape, or would they not have used beeswax for lighting?
That's a good question. The basis of their hypothesis draws from historical and ethnographic examples of similar vessels. It's an open-acess article and an interesting read: www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22425-4
Thanks so much for letting us know. We upload our own subtitles, but something must have happened. We're working on rectifying this. Thank you again for the note!
Wiping your butt with a shard of pottery, even if rounded, sounds not ideal. It does fit with what I've read about using a scraper and oil for cleaning your skin instead of soap in roman culture. Perhaps their skin was just used to that kind of treatment :D
You're right! So one of the studies we link to in the blog post and feature in the video details the medical issues that might have arisen from this practice. "The abrasive characteristics of ceramic suggest that long term use of pessoi could have resulted in local irritation, skin or mucosal damage, or complications of external haemorrhoids." www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8287
How did you do with the clues? Guess any right or did something really surprise you? Let us know in this thread or as a separate comment :)
I thought the rat traps had something to do with cooking! Like a tiny oven or kiln haha. A reusable rat trap makes more sense and would probably be more useful. I don't know how I got the baby bottles right but was convinced I was looking at one of the first easy bake ovens haha.
I didn't really guess anything, but I had fun with the clues! It is an explanation in reversal!
Thanks for sharing! I loved reading your guesses @brooklyn6064
Thanks for sharing!!
What an interesting video! I loved the format and all the examples you showed, especially the effort you make to represent different peoples, eras and social groups. The fact that they are interactive adds another layer of entertainment.
Thanks so much for the kind note! We really appreciate it :)
Yeah, it was so fun to try and guess, though I got none of them right! It's such an interesting look into the everyday lives of past cultures, like how they would of course want to recycle pottery several times if possible, and how it ranges from the really practical (like mouse traps) to elaborate ornamental objects like the whistle container.
i liked the format a lot! it felt like how some of my archaeology professors would present artifacts to us to get us thinking critically about them. but i mean that in a good way, i get all the interesting knowledge and the little game aspect, without having to take notes in a frenzy, stressed out knowing i’ll be tested on it lol. im so excited experts like you are making knowledge like this accessible and free so everyone can learn about history!!
Thanks so much for your kind note and feedback. We really appreciate it!
Thanks so much for speaking so clearly! This is one of those videos I can play for the kids and have them engaged and curious.
Thanks for that kind piece of feedback. I appreciate it.
That was fun! I didn’t get an of them. Well I sorta got the honey/storage pots. As I guessed food storage with a beeswax seal. Or using the beeswax as a binder but then you probably would have found other remnants. I had thought that the water containers would have added thicker sides for temperature control or some such things but making them whistle is way more exciting!
Thanks so much for sharing your thought process. It was fun to read!
The last one really surprised me
☺️☺️☺️
This is like the German TV show "Dings vom Dach" ("Thingy from the attic") where you are to guess the function of some funny object your grandma might have used - but for much, much older things. :D
That’s too funny! I will definitely ask around about that show the next time I am in Germany ☺️
How have I never heard of that? That sounds like a cool concept!
My interpretation is the beeswax could have been used to seal the vessels to make them less porous and thus could hold liquids in them.
Beeswax cloths have become popular again as an eco friendly way to seal food storage containers and may have a similar function?
That is an interesting thought and connection! As I was reading your comment, modern beeswax cloths came to mind too. Thanks for sharing!
Re:weaning onto animal milk, this practice also explains why people of European decent can tolerate lactose into adulthood.
Thanks for your thoughts on that. That would certainly be something to look into :)
Thank you so much for creating these videos Dr. Nathan, they are often my only escape from doomscrolling/ misinformation slop and help me feel so grounded in the day-to-day of being a human person. You are a beacon of hope for the future of history and knowledge in these hard times
Thank you so much for your kind note! It means so much that our little space on the internet can be a source of solace for you. We're going to do our best to keep on creating for this community.
Oh those whistling bottles are so cool! I know we all like to think we are the peak of human evolution and smarter than ancient humans, but I could never come up with something like that!!
Thanks for your kind note! We loved the whistling bottles too!
This was a very fun video to watch :) I liked the wide range of places and object. The interactive part was very enjoyable - especially when I was right with my idea! 😂
Thanks so much for your feedback! We really appreciate it :)
Extremely interesting video! Thank you! ❤
Thanks for your kind note!
This was fun! didn't do well but it was fun to learn. :)
Thank you for sharing and writing this kind note!
Great work, clues were impossible but very enjoyable!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you. Interesting and inspirational.
Thanks for your kind note!
I have a History-Museum Studies degree and one of my favorite classes in college was Art History. I really enjoyed learning about Ding pottery vessels.
Thanks for your note! I just looked up Ding vessels and they are fascinating :)
The whistling bottle demo cleared out every pet in the room! Please consider giving a warning for future loud noises. 🐈🐈⬛🙀
Really cool premise!
Thanks so much Ryan!!
One, such cool information! I love historical pottery! Two, the “do you know what this could have been used for?” And pause is activating my Dora the explorer (and other kids shows) sleeper agent training lol
LOL! I love reading that. We will make sure to do no swiping ;)
Amazing video! Glad I found this channel since the archeology field has been historically made up by white men. Unique perspectives that come from different lives are so important in the archeology and historical fields. I actually learned a lot and i am really looking forward to whatever you do next!
Thanks so much for your kind note and feedback! We appreciate it :)
I feel like this is a basic question, but one I'm genuinely curious about: Did pottery wheel-type items coincidentally develop independently around the world so that the symmetrical / round-based objects could be made? Or were they all done by skilled hands with tools and not by spinning "machines"? I'd love to learn more about how these items were made!
Hi there! Sneh Patel, our co-producer and co-scriptwriter for this video has an answer to your question. Here it is:
Re: the if pottery wheel-types developed independently
"Oh yea definitely. Oldest known examples are from the Old World - four to five millennia ago. We don't have clear evidence of its age and antecedents - we just know they were in common use (and multiple forms) by the Middle Bronze Age
Some pottery wheels - like the stick wheel used in India have a mythical origin [story]."
And some more info from Sneh:
"So hand forming can create round bodied vessels. The coil method is one way to construct these and then a potter could use other tools like bat or a scraper to fine tune the vessel shape. That potter might put the vessel on a turntable to make it easier to see all sides of the vessel but it is not the same as a wheel to throw pottery on. Moulds are also another option - classic example are the Roman Arretine or Samian pottery industries. There are also lots of different types of wheels - (ex slow vs fast wheel). Certain vessel types are more suites for one production type over another. For instance square vessels would be hard to make on a wheel. According to Rice (1987) vessels with a round base just need to be made formed on something with supports. There are devices that are not wheels that allowed potters to turn a vessel without having to get up and move to the other side of it."
@@smitinathan Thank you so much for your answer! It's great to learn about how different places developed similar arts or technologies.
It's interesting ancient people freely wrote about dedication as if everyone knew everyone did it. Today's writing and video almost never mentions toilet adventures. We are oddly prudish today.
😅 *defication
I hear you. My kiddo is into Dogman and Captain Underpants comic books so we get our fair share of toilet adventures ;)
Really fantastic & interesting video! I have a bachelors in art history and loved getting to study pottery & other containers across historical or even prehistoric communities & cultures while getting my degree :]
Just to let you know though, the subtitles start to desynchronize by a sentence or so around the reveal of what the first pottery piece was, which makes the video a little difficult to follow. I'm unsure how you go about changing the timing of them, though
Thanks so much for alerting us to that. Another community member mentioned the issue with subtitles too. It's fixed now!
I'm curious about the honey containers: my first thought was that they might be candles with beeswax. Do you know by chance why that hypothesis was discarded? Are the pots not the right size/shape, or would they not have used beeswax for lighting?
That's a good question. The basis of their hypothesis draws from historical and ethnographic examples of similar vessels. It's an open-acess article and an interesting read: www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22425-4
A nice video: the only criticism I have is that the captions are way out of sync with the video; but that may be YT's fault...
Thanks so much for letting us know. We upload our own subtitles, but something must have happened. We're working on rectifying this. Thank you again for the note!
Wiping your butt with a shard of pottery, even if rounded, sounds not ideal. It does fit with what I've read about using a scraper and oil for cleaning your skin instead of soap in roman culture. Perhaps their skin was just used to that kind of treatment :D
You're right! So one of the studies we link to in the blog post and feature in the video details the medical issues that might have arisen from this practice.
"The abrasive characteristics of ceramic suggest that long term use of pessoi could have resulted in local irritation, skin or mucosal damage, or complications of external haemorrhoids."
www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8287
Fladdend.