I’ve become so disgusted with news of bombings, wars, murders, genocide, famine, and everything else that’s wrong with the world, that I no longer read newspapers and I spend much less time browsing online news sites than I did even two months ago. When I do hit the news sites, I tend to avoid most of the tragic stuff and look for nuggets of good, or at least non-violent, news. Today, I found this little gem.
Being an avid history buff, I really enjoy hearing about new archaeological discoveries. Colonial America is one of my favorite periods of history, so news of Jamestown discoveries is something that definitely grabs my interest. There weren’t many items discovered, and none were particularly interesting, but after reading the article I could imagine myself there. What if I were the guy who lost a shoe down the well? Would I tell other people?
By today’s standards of hygiene and with the problem of enviromental polution, a lot of people wouldn’t drink out of a well anyway. For those that would, I’m sure it wouldn’t take very little to frighten most of them out of it. I can just imagine a city person pulling a shoe out of a well after several gulps. But what about those people in Jamestown 400 years ago? Would they have gone squeamish knowing a shoe was at the bottom of the well from which they drank? There was also a pistol discovered at the bottom. What would they have thought of that? Would the idea of gunpowder, or gunpowder residue, in the water have turned a few away? Of course, I also can’t help but wonder at the poor soul to whom the pistol belonged. Was it dropped by accident, as the article suggests?
There are many other questions that come to mind after having read that article. If I only had the time, I’d find a big research archive or two and see if I couldn’t answer them.
Technorati Tags: Jamestown, arachaeology, history, Colonial America
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