Our Descent Into Madness

As pun-tastic as the title of this is, it’s subject to change. But I’m thinking that The Dead Tree (Book) Log, or whatever, may become a regular, monthly feature on this blog in which Daisy and/or I summarize/review/chat a little about what we’ve been reading. Because really, books are basically my favorite things to discuss. So here’s the first of a possible series, on Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity.

Conflict between native peoples in North America and non-native scientists were centuries old before the skeleton called Kennewick Man was found near Kennewick, Washington, in 1996. By starting from “the beginning” and rehashing the history of relations between native peoples and archaeologists, David Hurst Thomas helps to explain the controversy surrounding the discovery that the Kennewick Man was much older than any known natives’ remains and looked like the actor Patrick Stewart. Which is to say he had “caucasoid” European features, and therefore challenged all previous theories about the first inhabitants of the northern part of the continent, who they were, and how they came to be there.

The book begins with a discussion about the power to name; in this case the power of post-Columbus European anthropologists and archaeologists to name the things they “discovered” in the “new world” while ignoring the fact that everything had already been named by others, and to therefore dictate the way history is recorded and passed on. Then we see how the public image of The Indian was manufactured to revolve around dichotomous categories that were used to strengthen the institute of white supremacy- like the Noble or Savage, spiritually superior or heathen. We come to learn, or re-learn, that science/scientists are by no means inherently objective or removed from a broader cultural context in which racism plays a huge role in the establishment of “facts.” Scientists went about studying natives by disregarding their input, robbing their graves, and decimating their cultures and living systems.

The Kennewick skeleton came to represent this struggle as salt on an open wound. The case raises questions about property, about claim to culture, and about the role scientists, particularly non-native scientists, have an obligation to play in gathering information about a people whose identity they don’t share. The conclusion is obvious, simple, and satisfying. Scientists must respect the people they study so that people may respect science.

Also worth noting:

Another Turn of the Crank, by Wendell Berry- I almost didn’t want to mention this one because of how annoying the last two essays were in their strong implications that a belief in God or religion, as well as anti-choice leanings, are somehow necessary for envisioning a sustainable, community-centered economy and future. All the prior essays are very compelling and eloquent, though, so if you pick it up, just skip the last two essays and spare yourself some serious eye-rolling.

Fun Home, by Allison Bechdel.

Read anything interesting lately? Let us know in comments.

[Image removed at the request of the copyright holders. You can see it here. We apologize for using it without permission.]

Photo credit: David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton

This is what Cynthia Vanderlip, the manager of the State of Hawaii’s Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary, found after cutting open the body of a dead albatross.

Relatedly.

Via Treehugger.

A gigantic spiderweb has overtaken much of a trail and surrounding trees in a Texas park.

‘At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland,” said Donna Garde, superintendent of the park about 45 miles east of Dallas. ”Now it’s filled with so many mosquitoes that it’s turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs.”

Spider experts say the web may have been constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or could be the result of a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.

Whoa.

Lake Tawokoni State Park rangers Mike McCord, left, and Freddie Gowin monitor a giant communal spider web at the park Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007, near Willis Point, Texas.

Whoa.

That would make a great name for an 80 Proof art project, wouldn’t it? We’ll get on that.

In the mean time, I encourage you to take a look at this amazing National Geographic photo gallery about the current (worsening) opium production situation in Afghanistan. The images are truly striking, the accompanying text informative as ever.

Despite the fact that my friends have only ever met African pigmy hedgehogs (the small, domesticated kind my mom keeps), I have a feeling Brenden, Ari, and Emily are going to be as upset about this news as I was about the Aldabra banded snail — the wild European variety of this spiny creature is now endangered, thanks to habitat destruction. At the current rate, the hedgehog will be extinct in less than 20 years. Other beloved British natives like the house sparrow, harvest mouse, cuckoo and water vole are also seriously threatened.

Announcing the list was Joan Ruddock, the minister with special responsibility for biodiversity, who remains optimistic that species and habitat loss would be curtailed within three years, adding that the increase in the list was partly due to more-rigorous scientific analysis.

“Through the Biodiversity Action Plan, we have shown that we can be very successful when we target our resources at conserving particular species and habitats,” she said. “We have increased the population of the rare cirl bunting and also areas of lowland heathland.”

Let’s hope so.

From Boing Boing, take a look at this amazing spherical treehouse. It has five windows, a kitchen (microwave, fridge, sink), and room to sleep three (one on the first level and two in the loft, I think). This short video will you give a sense of the inner dimensions.

Awesome.

Via Zuky.

I just received my first college class schedule! Yay. Here’s what I’m taking.

Writing the Essay: The American President: At least, I think “The American President” is the theme. It’s still sort of unclear, at this point. But it is an essay writing class first and foremost anyway.

NYC: Garbage: Political Economy and Ecology: This course examines the economic, political, and environmental dimensions of waste management in NY. It covers the history of waste disposal in NYC from progressive era municipal reforms to the present; controversies over the spatial dimension of waste management; efforts to manage waste at the individual, institutional, municipal, and regional levels; and debates about how to reduce waste. Students meets with environmental activists, city officials, and private entrepreneurs. Trips may include visits to recycling and composting facilities, the Fresh Kills landfill, a sewage treatment plant, and an electronics reuse center.

Piracy: A Brief History: Everything from swashbucklers to media thieves, I hear.

Theories: Practice of Resistance: Can’t actually find any online descriptions. But the name is pretty awesome.

I don’t actually start taking any of these for another week or so. If they’re as great as they seem, then blogging, on my part, might take on a more personal tone as I relay stuff I’ve learned from them. Stick around.

This article in The Onion — Woman Overjoyed By Giant Uterine Parasite — is just about as close and you’re likely to get to Emily’s feelings about pregnancy without talking to Emily herself. (Right, Emily?)

Supposedly a new trend, punk rope involves jump roping to punk music for 50 minutes at a time. “Classes” are offered just a few blocks from my dorm. I’m seriously considering taking some.

Fitness and punk first came together in 2001, when two Bostonians, Hilken Mancini and Maura Jasper, founded a fitness business, Punk Rock Aerobics. They were looking to blend their passions for punk music, pogoing and fitness and later published a book, “Punk Rock Aerobics: 75 Killer Moves, 50 Punk Classics, and 25 Reasons to Get Off Your Ass and Exercise.”

Haft, the punk rope master, began listening to punk in 1977 and hasn’t stopped since. The fast pace of the music, he says, is ideal for high-impact workouts because “people are so distracted that they don’t realize they’re working so hard.” He also wanted to appeal to people who enjoyed punk, an audience that had traditionally been left out of the gym mix.

Rock on.