LINKS - July 19th, 2023
Welcome to LINKS — my attempt to provide Rhapsody readers with five interesting stories that tell us something about what it means to be human. LINKS is published every Wednesday. Have a link you want to share? Drop it in the comments.
Culture and Geography Significantly Influence Sleep Patterns
“A new study reveals that culture and geography significantly influence sleep patterns. Using data from Nokia smartwatches, the researchers analyzed 52 million logs over four years from 30,082 individuals in 11 countries.
“The study highlighted that sleep-time varied per country, with high-GDP countries recording delayed bedtimes. Individual efforts like daily exercise can counterbalance cultural influences, with effects varying by country.”
Zapotec 'entrance to underworld' discovered under Catholic church in Mexico
By Kristina Killgrove, Live Science
“The complex system of underground chambers and tunnels was built more than a millennium ago by the Zapotec, whose state arose near modern-day Oaxaca in the late sixth century B.C. and grew in grandeur as people created monumental buildings and erected massive tombs filled with lavish grave goods.”
Home Is Where the Horses Are for a Threatened Culture
Photographs by Mary Turner, Written by Eric Nagourney, The New York Times
“Appleby as in the annual Appleby Horse Fair, where thousands of Irish Travellers and Gypsies gather in northwest England for the rare pleasure of being not shunned by communities, but embraced.
“‘When we come to a place like Appleby Fair and sit around the campfires, it gives a sense of place, a sense of belonging, a sense of ancestry,’ said Billy Welch, an organizer. ‘We feel for that week that we are actually home.’”
The strange “baby shows” of 19th-century America
By Betsy Golden Kellem, Big Think
“The ingredients in a baby show were simple. With the aid of local publicity, a sponsor recruited dozens of mothers to bring their children to compete in superlative categories such as ‘finest triplet’ or ‘fattest baby.’ (While typically called a ‘baby show,’ contestants’ ages ranged from newborn into the elementary-school years, and categories were often divided by age range and sex.) Contests might be judged by local dignitaries, a committee of mothers, physicians, or even the audience itself by crowdsourced voting. The promise of adulation, approval, and a prize of cash or high-end housewares drew eager participation since, as writer and former pageant judge and competitor Elisabeth Blumer Hardy notes in ‘Pageant Culture, Media, Social Class and Power,’ a win could be seen as a path to fame, opportunity, wealth, or social bragging rights.”
Two-Million-Year-Old Tooth Widens the Ancient Human Family Tree
By Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine
“Scientists aiming to organize a family tree for early humans have their work cut out for them. Ancient DNA (aDNA) is notoriously fragile and easily destroyed by groundwater and high temperatures. The oldest ever aDNA recovered from Africa was only about 18,000 years old. Which isn't that ancient considering more sophisticated technologies and cultures began to develop about 100,000 years ago.”