Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio.

Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio.

Hello and welcome to the podcast.

Hello and welcome to the podcast.

I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.

I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.

It is part two of our Unearthed episode for this spring. As usual, we're starting off with some things that did not really fit into a category, which I always call potpourri because I have watched Jeopardy.

It is part two of our Unearthed episode for this spring. As usual, we're starting off with some things that did not really fit into a category, which I always call potpourri because I have watched Jeopardy.

Ever, so jumping into potpourri, we only have one historically relevant exhumation to talk about this time. In January, a body believed to belong to Marenus Vanderliba was exhumed from an unmarked grave in Leipzig's South Cemetery. Marenus Vanderliba is the person who has tried and executed for starting the Reichstag fire in nineteen thirty three. That fire became a pretext for Adolf Hitler to call for a decree suspending civil liberties, which was then issued by German President Paul von Hindenberg.

Ever, so jumping into potpourri, we only have one historically relevant exhumation to talk about this time. In January, a body believed to belong to Marenus Vanderliba was exhumed from an unmarked grave in Leipzig's South Cemetery. Marenus Vanderliba is the person who has tried and executed for starting the Reichstag fire in nineteen thirty three. That fire became a pretext for Adolf Hitler to call for a decree suspending civil liberties, which was then issued by German President Paul von Hindenberg.

So there are two main reasons for the sexhimation. One is to confirm that these remains really do belong to vander Luba. The other is to run taxicology tests to try to determine whether he had been drugged. Although there are people who believe he really was the sole perpetrator of the Reichstag fire, there are others who believed that he was drugged in order to secure a false confession from him for starting that fire.

So there are two main reasons for the sexhimation. One is to confirm that these remains really do belong to vander Luba. The other is to run taxicology tests to try to determine whether he had been drugged. Although there are people who believe he really was the sole perpetrator of the Reichstag fire, there are others who believed that he was drugged in order to secure a false confession from him for starting that fire.

And there are.

And there are.

Still others who agree that he started the fire, but think that he was drugged so that he would not be able to name any of his co conspirators.

Still others who agree that he started the fire, but think that he was drugged so that he would not be able to name any of his co conspirators.

This was reported in late February, and at that time articles about it described the pathology report as do next month, which would have been less last month as were recording this. But as of this moment that report does not appear to have come out. Yeah, if it has, I sure cannot find it next and are kind of random assortment. Archaeologists working ahead of some upcoming construction have found at least seventy wells near Gammering, west of Munich. These date back to a span of time stretching from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages, and.

This was reported in late February, and at that time articles about it described the pathology report as do next month, which would have been less last month as were recording this. But as of this moment that report does not appear to have come out. Yeah, if it has, I sure cannot find it next and are kind of random assortment. Archaeologists working ahead of some upcoming construction have found at least seventy wells near Gammering, west of Munich. These date back to a span of time stretching from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages, and.

One of them is unique. It's being described in reports as a wishing well because it contains a lot of objects. There are more than seventy pieces of ceramics twenty bronze clothing, pins, and a lot of other assorted items. This well was dug to a depth of sixteen feet about three thousand years ago. That's much deeper than many of the other wells, suggesting that groundwater levels had dropped and the area may have been experiencing a severe or prolonged drought, and that may also have contributed to people placing ritual offerings in the well. People might have been wishing or praying for rain, or may have been making an offering with.

One of them is unique. It's being described in reports as a wishing well because it contains a lot of objects. There are more than seventy pieces of ceramics twenty bronze clothing, pins, and a lot of other assorted items. This well was dug to a depth of sixteen feet about three thousand years ago. That's much deeper than many of the other wells, suggesting that groundwater levels had dropped and the area may have been experiencing a severe or prolonged drought, and that may also have contributed to people placing ritual offerings in the well. People might have been wishing or praying for rain, or may have been making an offering with.

The hope that rain would return. The walls of the well are also still in very good conditions, so these objects have been preserved fairly well considering their age.

The hope that rain would return. The walls of the well are also still in very good conditions, so these objects have been preserved fairly well considering their age.

Next, a lake in the crater of the Rano Iraku volcano on Rapanui, also called Easter Island, started drying up in twenty eighteen, and as water levels have dropped, a moi has become visible. Those are the statues that the island is known for. Volunteers from three Chilean universities were working on a wetland restoration project in the volcano when they found it.

Next, a lake in the crater of the Rano Iraku volcano on Rapanui, also called Easter Island, started drying up in twenty eighteen, and as water levels have dropped, a moi has become visible. Those are the statues that the island is known for. Volunteers from three Chilean universities were working on a wetland restoration project in the volcano when they found it.

This is somewhat smaller than many of the other statues on the island, and according to a spokesperson from the indigenous organization that oversees the site. It's one that they had not previously known about, and since the lake was at least three meters deep before it started drying up, previous generations of the island's indigenous residents may not have known about it either. Currently, the plan is to just leave the statue where it.

This is somewhat smaller than many of the other statues on the island, and according to a spokesperson from the indigenous organization that oversees the site. It's one that they had not previously known about, and since the lake was at least three meters deep before it started drying up, previous generations of the island's indigenous residents may not have known about it either. Currently, the plan is to just leave the statue where it.

Is moving on. There was a lot of news coverage in March about DNA research using Ludwig von Beethoven's hair, but the results of that research might seem a little bit underwhelming. This research examined eight locks of hair purported to have belonged to Beethoven, and it concluded that five of them were likely authentic. All five of them had conclusively come from the same person, so if all five of them were not Beethoven, someone was like passing off a lot of false hair from the same person. Two of the locks of hair had come from someone else, and tests on the third were inconclusive.

Is moving on. There was a lot of news coverage in March about DNA research using Ludwig von Beethoven's hair, but the results of that research might seem a little bit underwhelming. This research examined eight locks of hair purported to have belonged to Beethoven, and it concluded that five of them were likely authentic. All five of them had conclusively come from the same person, so if all five of them were not Beethoven, someone was like passing off a lot of false hair from the same person. Two of the locks of hair had come from someone else, and tests on the third were inconclusive.

The team looked for genetic factors that may have explained some of Beethoven's most widely known physical traits, roughness and his stomach problems, and they didn't find genetic markers to explain either of those, but they did find that Beethoven had a genetic risk for liver disease, as well as evidence that he had contracted hepatitis B. Liver disease. Hepatitis B and chronic alcohol consumption were probably enough to cause his liver to fail, and liver failure has been believed to have been the cause of Beethoven's death. This research also raised some questions about the Beethoven family tree. Basically, Beethoven may not be related to three living descendants of his nephew Karl. That suggests that Beethoven and Karl's father, which was Beethoven's brother Caspar Anton Carlvon Beethoven, might really have been half siblings rather than full siblings. Other DNA research has confirmed the oral history of the Swahili people who live along the eastern coast of Africa. This research involved a team of forty four scholars, seventeen of whom are African, who worked with local people to secure their permission to gather DNA from burial sites along the Swahili coast. These people's remains were returned to the cemetery plots afterward. Through this process, the team collected DNA from eighty people who lived between the years twelve fifty and eighteen hundred. Then they compared that DNA to modern Swahili speaking people and to people living in the Middle East, Africa and other parts of the world.

The team looked for genetic factors that may have explained some of Beethoven's most widely known physical traits, roughness and his stomach problems, and they didn't find genetic markers to explain either of those, but they did find that Beethoven had a genetic risk for liver disease, as well as evidence that he had contracted hepatitis B. Liver disease. Hepatitis B and chronic alcohol consumption were probably enough to cause his liver to fail, and liver failure has been believed to have been the cause of Beethoven's death. This research also raised some questions about the Beethoven family tree. Basically, Beethoven may not be related to three living descendants of his nephew Karl. That suggests that Beethoven and Karl's father, which was Beethoven's brother Caspar Anton Carlvon Beethoven, might really have been half siblings rather than full siblings. Other DNA research has confirmed the oral history of the Swahili people who live along the eastern coast of Africa. This research involved a team of forty four scholars, seventeen of whom are African, who worked with local people to secure their permission to gather DNA from burial sites along the Swahili coast. These people's remains were returned to the cemetery plots afterward. Through this process, the team collected DNA from eighty people who lived between the years twelve fifty and eighteen hundred. Then they compared that DNA to modern Swahili speaking people and to people living in the Middle East, Africa and other parts of the world.

So they found that about half of the DNA they analyzed came mainly from African women and the other half mainly came from Asian men, particularly Persian men, and this aligns with what's recorded in a Swahili oral history known as the Kilwa Chronicle, that reported that the Swahili civilization grew from marriages between African and Asian ancestors, leading to a society that was multi racial, especially among its more elite class. But until now, this oral history had largely been dismissed by mainstream archaeologists and historians, who instead favored the idea that ports along the Swahili coast had been built by colonists without the contributions or involvement of the African peoples who were already living there.

So they found that about half of the DNA they analyzed came mainly from African women and the other half mainly came from Asian men, particularly Persian men, and this aligns with what's recorded in a Swahili oral history known as the Kilwa Chronicle, that reported that the Swahili civilization grew from marriages between African and Asian ancestors, leading to a society that was multi racial, especially among its more elite class. But until now, this oral history had largely been dismissed by mainstream archaeologists and historians, who instead favored the idea that ports along the Swahili coast had been built by colonists without the contributions or involvement of the African peoples who were already living there.

The researchers did note one limitation to this work. The DNA samples that were collected were from cemeteries where Muslims from the more elite social classes were buried, so they may not be reflective of patterns that would be found within the more general population. Chapruka Kusimba, a professor at the University of South Florida who was born in Kenya and was one of the authors on this paper, has described this as his life's work.

The researchers did note one limitation to this work. The DNA samples that were collected were from cemeteries where Muslims from the more elite social classes were buried, so they may not be reflective of patterns that would be found within the more general population. Chapruka Kusimba, a professor at the University of South Florida who was born in Kenya and was one of the authors on this paper, has described this as his life's work.

Now we're going to move on to some pieces of jewelry and other adornments. Back in twenty nineteen, a metal detectorist named Charlie Clark had found a gold pendant in Warwickshire, England, which has now been unveiled by the British Museum. It is a heart shaped pendant on a gold chain, decorated in enameled red and white, with the initials H and K and a pomegranate bush and a tutor rose and tests dated it to sometime prior to fifteen thirty, probably around fifteen twenty one, meaning that it was made during the time that Henry the eighth was married to Catherine of Aragon. According to Rachel King, curator of Renaissance Europe at the British Museum, nothing of this size and importance dating back to this period has been found in Britain in more than two decades.

Now we're going to move on to some pieces of jewelry and other adornments. Back in twenty nineteen, a metal detectorist named Charlie Clark had found a gold pendant in Warwickshire, England, which has now been unveiled by the British Museum. It is a heart shaped pendant on a gold chain, decorated in enameled red and white, with the initials H and K and a pomegranate bush and a tutor rose and tests dated it to sometime prior to fifteen thirty, probably around fifteen twenty one, meaning that it was made during the time that Henry the eighth was married to Catherine of Aragon. According to Rachel King, curator of Renaissance Europe at the British Museum, nothing of this size and importance dating back to this period has been found in Britain in more than two decades.

It's not clear who made this piece or why. The materials are very high quality, but the craftsmanship really isn't. It looks like it might have been made in a rush without a lot of attention to detail. Some speculations or that it might have been made as a tournament prize, or it may have been commissioned by someone to wear. It's something like a tournament where other people wouldn't really be seeing it close up.

It's not clear who made this piece or why. The materials are very high quality, but the craftsmanship really isn't. It looks like it might have been made in a rush without a lot of attention to detail. Some speculations or that it might have been made as a tournament prize, or it may have been commissioned by someone to wear. It's something like a tournament where other people wouldn't really be seeing it close up.

Next, archaeologists investigating a Roman bathhouse in Carlisle near Hadrian's Wall have found a bunch of two thousand year old engraved semi precious gemstones known as Intalio's in the bathhouse drains. These would have been worn as rings and used to stamp documents, so the design that was carved in the stone would leave a shape behind when it was pressed into clay or wax. These were probably lost when the warmth and the moisture of the bathhouse weakened the glue that was holding them in place in their settings, and then the metal in the settings also expanded in the heat, so people came out of the bath with their ring on but not the stone in it anymore.

Next, archaeologists investigating a Roman bathhouse in Carlisle near Hadrian's Wall have found a bunch of two thousand year old engraved semi precious gemstones known as Intalio's in the bathhouse drains. These would have been worn as rings and used to stamp documents, so the design that was carved in the stone would leave a shape behind when it was pressed into clay or wax. These were probably lost when the warmth and the moisture of the bathhouse weakened the glue that was holding them in place in their settings, and then the metal in the settings also expanded in the heat, so people came out of the bath with their ring on but not the stone in it anymore.

This seems like the set up plot to such a good heist movie. These pieces are very beautiful and well made, so the people who wore them would have been wealthy. A lot of them are really really lovely circular or oval with carvings of people, birds, animals, deities, etc. And they're small enough that the person who carved them would have to be really skilled to get all that detail.

This seems like the set up plot to such a good heist movie. These pieces are very beautiful and well made, so the people who wore them would have been wealthy. A lot of them are really really lovely circular or oval with carvings of people, birds, animals, deities, etc. And they're small enough that the person who carved them would have to be really skilled to get all that detail.

It is not unusual at all for objects like these to be found in the drains of the bathhouses. People lost all kinds of stuff in there, which then wound up being flushed into the drain when the pools were cleaned. Other finds in these drains have included a whole lot of hairpins and beads that were probably part of a necklace.

It is not unusual at all for objects like these to be found in the drains of the bathhouses. People lost all kinds of stuff in there, which then wound up being flushed into the drain when the pools were cleaned. Other finds in these drains have included a whole lot of hairpins and beads that were probably part of a necklace.

Back in two thousand and seven, archaeologists found a small gold plated copper pendant in the Old City section of Mez in Germany, and the size was about six centimeters across in one centimeter deep. And this pendant has a locking mechanism and is adorned with religious imagery such as Jesus Christ and his mother Mary, primarily in blue and green. Archaeologists thought that this might be a philactory or something to hold religious relics, but it was so tiny and delicate that there was no way to open it without the risk of badly damaging or destroying it. An attempt to X ray the pendant also didn't really show anything discernible.

Back in two thousand and seven, archaeologists found a small gold plated copper pendant in the Old City section of Mez in Germany, and the size was about six centimeters across in one centimeter deep. And this pendant has a locking mechanism and is adorned with religious imagery such as Jesus Christ and his mother Mary, primarily in blue and green. Archaeologists thought that this might be a philactory or something to hold religious relics, but it was so tiny and delicate that there was no way to open it without the risk of badly damaging or destroying it. An attempt to X ray the pendant also didn't really show anything discernible.

Now, using neutron tomography, they've discovered that there are indeed five tiny silk and linen packets inside of their connected by a thread, with fragments of bone inside each of them. Researchers believe that the pendant was made in a workshop in Hildesheim in northern Germany, which also made three other known filactories that have still survived until today. We do not know who these bones may have belonged to, or have been believed to have belonged to. Some philactories like this have a small piece of parchment inside with the name of the saint they were connected to, but if there's one inside this pendant, it was not visible in this imaging work. And the last thing before we take a quick break back in twenty twenty one, a treasure hunter working with a metal detector north of Amsterdam found a cash of silver coins, gold leaf and four gold ear rings. This spine was announced in March after the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities had studied it. These items were probably buried sometime between the years twelve hundred and twelve fifty, and the ear rings were already about two hundred years old when they were buried, So it seems like this may have been family heirlooms or otherwise treasured possessions that someone had maybe passed down in their family that they were burying for some reason. These may have been worn hanging from straps on a hood rather than worn directly from a person's ears.

Now, using neutron tomography, they've discovered that there are indeed five tiny silk and linen packets inside of their connected by a thread, with fragments of bone inside each of them. Researchers believe that the pendant was made in a workshop in Hildesheim in northern Germany, which also made three other known filactories that have still survived until today. We do not know who these bones may have belonged to, or have been believed to have belonged to. Some philactories like this have a small piece of parchment inside with the name of the saint they were connected to, but if there's one inside this pendant, it was not visible in this imaging work. And the last thing before we take a quick break back in twenty twenty one, a treasure hunter working with a metal detector north of Amsterdam found a cash of silver coins, gold leaf and four gold ear rings. This spine was announced in March after the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities had studied it. These items were probably buried sometime between the years twelve hundred and twelve fifty, and the ear rings were already about two hundred years old when they were buried, So it seems like this may have been family heirlooms or otherwise treasured possessions that someone had maybe passed down in their family that they were burying for some reason. These may have been worn hanging from straps on a hood rather than worn directly from a person's ears.

One of the pairs of earrings is engraved with decorations that include a representation of Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched, and this one is actually pretty charming. It looks almost like a child's drawing of someone offering to give you a hug.

One of the pairs of earrings is engraved with decorations that include a representation of Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched, and this one is actually pretty charming. It looks almost like a child's drawing of someone offering to give you a hug.

Yeah, I would not have known it was supposed to represent Jesus without that being explained in the article, because it really just does look like an almost childlike arms outstretched kind of image. We will take a quick sponsor break and we'll come back and talk about some food and beverage. Now we have some edibles and potables. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pisa have been working at the site of a settlement called Lagash in southern Iraq, and they have found a five thousand year old public eatery that still contains remnants of food. Most sources have described this as a tavern or a pub. It had an open air dining area with tables and benches, as well as a kitchen. Found evidence of an oven, a clay cooling device known as a zeir, and a lot of storage vessels, as well as more than one hundred and fifty serving bowls, some of them still containing a residue of a fish stew. There's also evidence of beer drinking.

Yeah, I would not have known it was supposed to represent Jesus without that being explained in the article, because it really just does look like an almost childlike arms outstretched kind of image. We will take a quick sponsor break and we'll come back and talk about some food and beverage. Now we have some edibles and potables. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pisa have been working at the site of a settlement called Lagash in southern Iraq, and they have found a five thousand year old public eatery that still contains remnants of food. Most sources have described this as a tavern or a pub. It had an open air dining area with tables and benches, as well as a kitchen. Found evidence of an oven, a clay cooling device known as a zeir, and a lot of storage vessels, as well as more than one hundred and fifty serving bowls, some of them still containing a residue of a fish stew. There's also evidence of beer drinking.

This tavern is part of a much larger settlement and excavations have been going on there for decades, with interruptions due to wars and other unrests, and of course due to the COVID nineteen pandemic. This most recent work has incorporated things like drone photography, thermal imaging, and microstratigraphic sampling, which is a way of examining the layers of the site at a very very small scale.

This tavern is part of a much larger settlement and excavations have been going on there for decades, with interruptions due to wars and other unrests, and of course due to the COVID nineteen pandemic. This most recent work has incorporated things like drone photography, thermal imaging, and microstratigraphic sampling, which is a way of examining the layers of the site at a very very small scale.

Next, we have a trio of dairy finds. First researchers studying a Mongol Era cemetery have found evidence that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, elite people in the Mongol Empire were consuming the milk of various ruminants, including yax. This discovery was made through examining the proteins on dental calculus from remains in the cemetery. Although researchers already knew that people in this area had been drinking milk for at least five thousand years, it has not been as clear exactly when people started drinking yack milk or when people started domesticating yaks. Researchers in Poland have found evidence that late Neolithic peoples were making cheese from the milk of several different animals, including cows, sheep, and goats, as long ago as the sixth millennium BCE. As is the case with so many prehistoric food discoveries, this came from examining pottery residues. This may help explain why there's so much evidence of people consuming milk during a time when virtually all adults were lactose intolerant. The genetic mutation that allows people to digest lactose into adulthood didn't become common in Europe until the Late Bronze Age. Assessing milk into cheese would have helped to reduce its lactose content in addition to giving it a longer shelf life and making it delicious. Yes, we are both fans of cheese. In our last little bit of dairy news, Chinese scientists have found evidence of milk being consumed and stored in Tibet as long as three thousand years ago. This research also involved analyzing lipid residues from pottery. This pottery was found in settlements very high up on the Tibetan Plateau, roughly four thousand meters or thirteen thousand feet above sea level. People in this area have historically consumed a really high protein, high fat diet, and for a long time it has mainly come from red meat, including beef and mutton, and researchers noted that the addition to milk happened about the same time as animals were first being domesticated for their meat. We have another food find from Tibet, this one dating back thirteen hundred years. Researchers found charred grains of rice along with pieces of broken pottery. Genetic study confirmed that it was Indica rice. Indica rice is one of the two main species of domesticated rice grown in Asia. For reference, basmadi and jasmine rice are both types of indicca rice. The climate and elevation of this area are not suitable for growing rice, so this rice would have been brought in from somewhere else. So this find offers a clue into trade networks in Asia and into how and when consumption of this type of rice spread across Asia after it was domesticated.

Next, we have a trio of dairy finds. First researchers studying a Mongol Era cemetery have found evidence that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, elite people in the Mongol Empire were consuming the milk of various ruminants, including yax. This discovery was made through examining the proteins on dental calculus from remains in the cemetery. Although researchers already knew that people in this area had been drinking milk for at least five thousand years, it has not been as clear exactly when people started drinking yack milk or when people started domesticating yaks. Researchers in Poland have found evidence that late Neolithic peoples were making cheese from the milk of several different animals, including cows, sheep, and goats, as long ago as the sixth millennium BCE. As is the case with so many prehistoric food discoveries, this came from examining pottery residues. This may help explain why there's so much evidence of people consuming milk during a time when virtually all adults were lactose intolerant. The genetic mutation that allows people to digest lactose into adulthood didn't become common in Europe until the Late Bronze Age. Assessing milk into cheese would have helped to reduce its lactose content in addition to giving it a longer shelf life and making it delicious. Yes, we are both fans of cheese. In our last little bit of dairy news, Chinese scientists have found evidence of milk being consumed and stored in Tibet as long as three thousand years ago. This research also involved analyzing lipid residues from pottery. This pottery was found in settlements very high up on the Tibetan Plateau, roughly four thousand meters or thirteen thousand feet above sea level. People in this area have historically consumed a really high protein, high fat diet, and for a long time it has mainly come from red meat, including beef and mutton, and researchers noted that the addition to milk happened about the same time as animals were first being domesticated for their meat. We have another food find from Tibet, this one dating back thirteen hundred years. Researchers found charred grains of rice along with pieces of broken pottery. Genetic study confirmed that it was Indica rice. Indica rice is one of the two main species of domesticated rice grown in Asia. For reference, basmadi and jasmine rice are both types of indicca rice. The climate and elevation of this area are not suitable for growing rice, so this rice would have been brought in from somewhere else. So this find offers a clue into trade networks in Asia and into how and when consumption of this type of rice spread across Asia after it was domesticated.

We also have multiple studies into what neanderthals eight. Based on shells found in a cave in Portugal, they probably cooked and ate crabs. This is based on the discovery of shell fragments from at least thirty three different brown crabs, which showed evidence of being exposed to high heat and of being intentionally broken apart with tools. The size of the shells also suggests that people were intentionally harvesting the biggest ones that they could find.

We also have multiple studies into what neanderthals eight. Based on shells found in a cave in Portugal, they probably cooked and ate crabs. This is based on the discovery of shell fragments from at least thirty three different brown crabs, which showed evidence of being exposed to high heat and of being intentionally broken apart with tools. The size of the shells also suggests that people were intentionally harvesting the biggest ones that they could find.

One of the reasons researchers were surprised at the possibility of Neanderthals eating crabs is that even if they were going after the biggest ones of this type of crab, the crabs are still just not very big. A common assumption has been that the effort required to gather and prepare crabs would not be worth it compared to what Neanderthals might be able to get from a bigger animal, like say, elephants. Researchers studying bones from a site in central Germany have concluded that one hundred and twenty five thousand years ago, Neanderthals were killing and butchering straight tusked elephants. These elephants are now extinct, but at the time they were the world's largest land animal. The meat from one of them would likely have been enough to feed hundreds of people. This is the earliest evidence found so far of early humans killing elephants for food.

One of the reasons researchers were surprised at the possibility of Neanderthals eating crabs is that even if they were going after the biggest ones of this type of crab, the crabs are still just not very big. A common assumption has been that the effort required to gather and prepare crabs would not be worth it compared to what Neanderthals might be able to get from a bigger animal, like say, elephants. Researchers studying bones from a site in central Germany have concluded that one hundred and twenty five thousand years ago, Neanderthals were killing and butchering straight tusked elephants. These elephants are now extinct, but at the time they were the world's largest land animal. The meat from one of them would likely have been enough to feed hundreds of people. This is the earliest evidence found so far of early humans killing elephants for food.

And in our last food find researchers in Israel have found eight ostrich eggs that are at least forty five hundred years old, but maybe as old as seventy five hundred years old. These were found at a camping site used by nomadic peoples, along with tools, burned stones, and pottery fragments. The number and position of the eggs suggest that they were intentionally gathered to be eaten as food, especially since one of them was directly in the fire pits.

And in our last food find researchers in Israel have found eight ostrich eggs that are at least forty five hundred years old, but maybe as old as seventy five hundred years old. These were found at a camping site used by nomadic peoples, along with tools, burned stones, and pottery fragments. The number and position of the eggs suggest that they were intentionally gathered to be eaten as food, especially since one of them was directly in the fire pits.

Next up, we have a few things that we are calling cases of mistaken identity. First, there were some dueling headlines in February and March about exactly what a two thousand year old Roman object found at Vendolanda was used for. This object is oblong, slightly tapered, and a little more than six inches long, and it has a roughly horizontal groove carved just below the smaller end.

Next up, we have a few things that we are calling cases of mistaken identity. First, there were some dueling headlines in February and March about exactly what a two thousand year old Roman object found at Vendolanda was used for. This object is oblong, slightly tapered, and a little more than six inches long, and it has a roughly horizontal groove carved just below the smaller end.

When this item was found in nineteen ninety two, archaeologists described it as a darning tool. Then a paper published in the journal Antiquity earlier this year concluded that it was a quote large disembodied fallis. Three main ideas were put forth for what this fallus may have been used for. For sexual purposes, or as a pestle, perhaps with the idea that its shape would give the ingredients being ground a special potency, or for decorative purposes, maybe just as part of a statue.

When this item was found in nineteen ninety two, archaeologists described it as a darning tool. Then a paper published in the journal Antiquity earlier this year concluded that it was a quote large disembodied fallis. Three main ideas were put forth for what this fallus may have been used for. For sexual purposes, or as a pestle, perhaps with the idea that its shape would give the ingredients being ground a special potency, or for decorative purposes, maybe just as part of a statue.

But then, not long after this article came out, a counter argument started making the rounds that it wasn't a darning tool or a fallus, that it was a drop spindle, and that notch at the end was used to secure the fiber that was being spun. This explanation was offered up by a spinner named Lindsey duncan Pitt, who saw similarities between the design of this object in two different types of Scottish drop spindles, and a letter to the newspaper The Guardian, duncan Pitt also argued that a drop spindle would make a lot of sense given the other items that this object was found with, which included shoes, dress accessories, crafting tools and scraps like pieces of leather and worked antler, which just made my brain go this was from an ancient costume shop.

But then, not long after this article came out, a counter argument started making the rounds that it wasn't a darning tool or a fallus, that it was a drop spindle, and that notch at the end was used to secure the fiber that was being spun. This explanation was offered up by a spinner named Lindsey duncan Pitt, who saw similarities between the design of this object in two different types of Scottish drop spindles, and a letter to the newspaper The Guardian, duncan Pitt also argued that a drop spindle would make a lot of sense given the other items that this object was found with, which included shoes, dress accessories, crafting tools and scraps like pieces of leather and worked antler, which just made my brain go this was from an ancient costume shop.

And speaking of antler, curators in Vietnam thought a pair of deer antlers excavated in the nineteen nineties were simply well preserved pieces of antler placed them in storage, but researchers examined those antlers in the twenty teens and concluded that they were really single stringed instruments. Their research was published in the journal Antiquity in February. These items are at least two thousand years old, making them the earliest known string instruments ever found in Asia.

And speaking of antler, curators in Vietnam thought a pair of deer antlers excavated in the nineteen nineties were simply well preserved pieces of antler placed them in storage, but researchers examined those antlers in the twenty teens and concluded that they were really single stringed instruments. Their research was published in the journal Antiquity in February. These items are at least two thousand years old, making them the earliest known string instruments ever found in Asia.

Researchers in Brazil believe fifty thousand year old stone tools long believed to have been made by early humans may really have been made by capuchin monkeys. Basically, the monkeys intentionally gather and use rocks for a number of different purposes, and one of them is to crack nuts. So they put a nut on a big flat rock and use another smaller rock to smash the nut open. I watched a monkey do this on a YouTube video for a solid two minutes. In the process, little pieces of the stone can flake away, and that results in the exact same kinds of patterns that are found in rocks that humans have modified intentionally to turn them into tools.

Researchers in Brazil believe fifty thousand year old stone tools long believed to have been made by early humans may really have been made by capuchin monkeys. Basically, the monkeys intentionally gather and use rocks for a number of different purposes, and one of them is to crack nuts. So they put a nut on a big flat rock and use another smaller rock to smash the nut open. I watched a monkey do this on a YouTube video for a solid two minutes. In the process, little pieces of the stone can flake away, and that results in the exact same kinds of patterns that are found in rocks that humans have modified intentionally to turn them into tools.

This is not the first research to come to this conclusion. Several papers have been published since twenty seventeen that have suggested that objects that look like they were made by humans may really have been made by monkeys. So this research is adding to a greater body of work that I find charming.

This is not the first research to come to this conclusion. Several papers have been published since twenty seventeen that have suggested that objects that look like they were made by humans may really have been made by monkeys. So this research is adding to a greater body of work that I find charming.

Yeah. This is also connected to ongoing research into when humans first arrived in the America's, something that we briefly mentioned in part one of this episode. For a while, the most widely held idea within the field of archaeology has been that the first people in the Americas were what's known as the Clovis people, who crossed a land bridge across the Bearing Straight roughly thirteen thousand years ago. That idea contradicted the oral histories of a number of indigenous nations, which described those nations' ancestors as being on the continent earlier than that or as arriving by some other route.

Yeah. This is also connected to ongoing research into when humans first arrived in the America's, something that we briefly mentioned in part one of this episode. For a while, the most widely held idea within the field of archaeology has been that the first people in the Americas were what's known as the Clovis people, who crossed a land bridge across the Bearing Straight roughly thirteen thousand years ago. That idea contradicted the oral histories of a number of indigenous nations, which described those nations' ancestors as being on the continent earlier than that or as arriving by some other route.

A number of more recent studies have suggested that there may have been humans in the Americas as many as twenty thousand years before the Clovis people arrived, but some of that research has focused on the kinds of tools that were analyzed in this study. Now that doesn't mean there weren't humans in the area years ago, but it does mean that these tools may not be the evidence that they were. This research was published in the February twenty twenty three issue of the journal The Holocene.

A number of more recent studies have suggested that there may have been humans in the Americas as many as twenty thousand years before the Clovis people arrived, but some of that research has focused on the kinds of tools that were analyzed in this study. Now that doesn't mean there weren't humans in the area years ago, but it does mean that these tools may not be the evidence that they were. This research was published in the February twenty twenty three issue of the journal The Holocene.

In somewhat similar tool news, one type of tool that early humans used to do things like butcher animals and pound plant material into food is known as Oldowan tools or the old one industry. These were used as far back as two point nine million years ago in parts of eastern Africa, but a recent discovery at one site in Kenya has raised questions about whether early humans were the only ones using these tools. Specifically, some of these tools were found near molars that came from not an early human, but a hominin known as parenthropis. There are two recognized species of Parenthropis who existed alongside several early human species, but Parenthropis are not considered to be early humans, more like early humans distant cousins.

In somewhat similar tool news, one type of tool that early humans used to do things like butcher animals and pound plant material into food is known as Oldowan tools or the old one industry. These were used as far back as two point nine million years ago in parts of eastern Africa, but a recent discovery at one site in Kenya has raised questions about whether early humans were the only ones using these tools. Specifically, some of these tools were found near molars that came from not an early human, but a hominin known as parenthropis. There are two recognized species of Parenthropis who existed alongside several early human species, but Parenthropis are not considered to be early humans, more like early humans distant cousins.

Prior to this, many researchers have believed that other non human hominids may have also used tools, but that Oldowan tools were more sophisticated and were only used by hominids in the genus Homo, or species that can be classified as human. This has raised questions about whether parenthropists may have been capable of making more sophisticated tools, but there are also alternate explanations, including that the parenthropists these molars came from was the victim of violence at the hands of early humans.

Prior to this, many researchers have believed that other non human hominids may have also used tools, but that Oldowan tools were more sophisticated and were only used by hominids in the genus Homo, or species that can be classified as human. This has raised questions about whether parenthropists may have been capable of making more sophisticated tools, but there are also alternate explanations, including that the parenthropists these molars came from was the victim of violence at the hands of early humans.

Back in the nineteen thirties, the Field Museum acquired a sword that had been pulled out of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, which was believed to be a replica, but it turns out it really does date back to sometime between ten eighty and nine hundred BCE, the field had acquired a whole group of objects and that grew included both authentic items and replicas, and this one was misidentified as one of the replicas until the museum started preparing for a new exhibition called First Kings of Europe. Apparently, Hungarian archaeologists who were working on this exhibition recognized the sword as authentic as soon as they saw it, and further testing confirmed that its chemical makeup was a match for other Bronze Age swords.

Back in the nineteen thirties, the Field Museum acquired a sword that had been pulled out of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, which was believed to be a replica, but it turns out it really does date back to sometime between ten eighty and nine hundred BCE, the field had acquired a whole group of objects and that grew included both authentic items and replicas, and this one was misidentified as one of the replicas until the museum started preparing for a new exhibition called First Kings of Europe. Apparently, Hungarian archaeologists who were working on this exhibition recognized the sword as authentic as soon as they saw it, and further testing confirmed that its chemical makeup was a match for other Bronze Age swords.

Since the museum staff had not previously known that this sword was authentic, it wasn't included in the Bronze Age era of the exhibit. Instead, it was placed in the main hall as a preview for the exhibit, and that opened on March thirty.

Since the museum staff had not previously known that this sword was authentic, it wasn't included in the Bronze Age era of the exhibit. Instead, it was placed in the main hall as a preview for the exhibit, and that opened on March thirty.

First, I'm going to take a quick sponsor break. Next up, we are talking about some repatriations, some of which also could have been classified under updates, and we're actually starting with something that isn't exactly a repatriation, but it has a lot of themes in common with a lot of the repatriations that we talk about on the show. Charles Byrne was nicknamed the Irish giant. He lived in the eighteenth century and reached a height of about seven feet seven inches tall, and became famous for that height. While he earned a living by exhibiting himself as a curiosity, he was also really afraid that somebody would try to dissect his body after his death or put it on display.

First, I'm going to take a quick sponsor break. Next up, we are talking about some repatriations, some of which also could have been classified under updates, and we're actually starting with something that isn't exactly a repatriation, but it has a lot of themes in common with a lot of the repatriations that we talk about on the show. Charles Byrne was nicknamed the Irish giant. He lived in the eighteenth century and reached a height of about seven feet seven inches tall, and became famous for that height. While he earned a living by exhibiting himself as a curiosity, he was also really afraid that somebody would try to dissect his body after his death or put it on display.

When Burn was twenty two, he became very ill. The cause of that illness is not conclusively known, and researchers have drawn different conclusions over the years as medical science has advanced. In June of seventeen eighty three, he asked friends to make sure that after his death, his body would be buried at sea in a lead coffin to prevent anyone from dissecting or displaying it.

When Burn was twenty two, he became very ill. The cause of that illness is not conclusively known, and researchers have drawn different conclusions over the years as medical science has advanced. In June of seventeen eighty three, he asked friends to make sure that after his death, his body would be buried at sea in a lead coffin to prevent anyone from dissecting or displaying it.

But after Burn died, surgeons swarmed his home with the hope of claiming his body for their own purposes. One of them, John Hunter, reportedly bribed one of Burn's friends to steal his body from the coffin and replace it with weights. Four years later, Hunter put Burns prepared skeleton on display, and then after Hunter's death, his collection was given to what's now the Royal College of Surgeons of England under legal terms requiring that collection to be kept intact.

But after Burn died, surgeons swarmed his home with the hope of claiming his body for their own purposes. One of them, John Hunter, reportedly bribed one of Burn's friends to steal his body from the coffin and replace it with weights. Four years later, Hunter put Burns prepared skeleton on display, and then after Hunter's death, his collection was given to what's now the Royal College of Surgeons of England under legal terms requiring that collection to be kept intact.

The Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England has been closed for about five years while undergoing a redevelopment process, and in January it was announced that when the museum reopens in May, Burn's skeleton will no longer be on display there at this point, however, it is going to remain part of the museum's collection.

The Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England has been closed for about five years while undergoing a redevelopment process, and in January it was announced that when the museum reopens in May, Burn's skeleton will no longer be on display there at this point, however, it is going to remain part of the museum's collection.

Next moving away from things that our human remains. In January the reports that the British Museum and the Nation of Greece were nearing an agreement on the return of the Parthenon marbles, which we have covered on the show before and have talked about in a number of Unearthed updates since then. This proposed agreement involved the British Museum treating this return as a long term loan, but Greek officials apparently rejected this deal under the argument that the British Museum does not own these works and therefore has no authority to lend them to anyone. In our year End Unearthed for twenty twenty two, we mentioned that Pope Francis had announced that Parthenon sculptures in the collections of the Vatican City Museums would be returned to Greece. In March, three fragments were returned, the head of a boy, the head of a bearded man, and the head of a horse. These fragments will be placed in the Acropolis Museum. This was framed as a donation from the Vatican to the Greek Orthodox Church and as a quote gesture of friendship. We have also previously discussed French President Emmanuel Macran's announcement that France would be returning looted artifacts to countries in Africa. He first made that announcement in twenty seventeen, and it's come up on the show a couple of times since then. One of the items that was returned earlier this year was a ten foot long, nine one hundred and forty pound wooden drum which colonists seized in nineteen sixteen.

Next moving away from things that our human remains. In January the reports that the British Museum and the Nation of Greece were nearing an agreement on the return of the Parthenon marbles, which we have covered on the show before and have talked about in a number of Unearthed updates since then. This proposed agreement involved the British Museum treating this return as a long term loan, but Greek officials apparently rejected this deal under the argument that the British Museum does not own these works and therefore has no authority to lend them to anyone. In our year End Unearthed for twenty twenty two, we mentioned that Pope Francis had announced that Parthenon sculptures in the collections of the Vatican City Museums would be returned to Greece. In March, three fragments were returned, the head of a boy, the head of a bearded man, and the head of a horse. These fragments will be placed in the Acropolis Museum. This was framed as a donation from the Vatican to the Greek Orthodox Church and as a quote gesture of friendship. We have also previously discussed French President Emmanuel Macran's announcement that France would be returning looted artifacts to countries in Africa. He first made that announcement in twenty seventeen, and it's come up on the show a couple of times since then. One of the items that was returned earlier this year was a ten foot long, nine one hundred and forty pound wooden drum which colonists seized in nineteen sixteen.

Ivory Coast had requested the return of this drum, which is known as the Talking Drum, in twenty eighteen, along with one hundred and forty seven other objects. One reason it's taken a few years to return the drum is that conservators were working to restore it first. It had been kept outside the home of the colonial governor in Ivory Coast from nineteen sixteen to nineteen thirty, and during that it had been damaged by weather and insects.

Ivory Coast had requested the return of this drum, which is known as the Talking Drum, in twenty eighteen, along with one hundred and forty seven other objects. One reason it's taken a few years to return the drum is that conservators were working to restore it first. It had been kept outside the home of the colonial governor in Ivory Coast from nineteen sixteen to nineteen thirty, and during that it had been damaged by weather and insects.

Next, one of the arguments that people sometimes make against the idea of repatriating objects to their nation of origin involves what will happen if that nation is facing some kind of war or other unrest. There are whole nuances to that argument that we're really not going to dive into. But our next repatriation is an example of one approach to dealing with that kind of situation. In February, the United States started the process of repatriating seventy seven objects to Yemen, but the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art and the government of the Republic of Yemen have entered into an agreement for the Smithsonian to store these objects for up to two years in the wake of ongoing unrest. The Embassy of the Republic of Yemen government hosted a repatriation ceremony in Washington, d C. In February, and the Yemeni government has the option to request an extension of this agreement at the end of the two years if it seems like it's necessary.

Next, one of the arguments that people sometimes make against the idea of repatriating objects to their nation of origin involves what will happen if that nation is facing some kind of war or other unrest. There are whole nuances to that argument that we're really not going to dive into. But our next repatriation is an example of one approach to dealing with that kind of situation. In February, the United States started the process of repatriating seventy seven objects to Yemen, but the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art and the government of the Republic of Yemen have entered into an agreement for the Smithsonian to store these objects for up to two years in the wake of ongoing unrest. The Embassy of the Republic of Yemen government hosted a repatriation ceremony in Washington, d C. In February, and the Yemeni government has the option to request an extension of this agreement at the end of the two years if it seems like it's necessary.

We have mentioned Subash Kapoor a couple of times on the show. That is the antiquities dealer who was convicted of running an international smuggling ring. The items he smuggled wound up in the collections of some major museums, and one of these is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has recently announced a plan to return fifteen sculptures to India. This came after the Supreme Court of the State of New York issued a search warrant related to those fifteen items. This is an ongoing process. The met has been communicating with the Department of Homeland Security about works that may be connected to Kapor since twenty fifteen.

We have mentioned Subash Kapoor a couple of times on the show. That is the antiquities dealer who was convicted of running an international smuggling ring. The items he smuggled wound up in the collections of some major museums, and one of these is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has recently announced a plan to return fifteen sculptures to India. This came after the Supreme Court of the State of New York issued a search warrant related to those fifteen items. This is an ongoing process. The met has been communicating with the Department of Homeland Security about works that may be connected to Kapor since twenty fifteen.

A couple of the pieces that were announced as being returned over the last few months are items that had been looted from their countries of origin during wars or other periods of unrest just within the last couple of decades. The US is returning a nearly three thousand year old piece known as Furniture fitting with Sphinx trampling a youth to Iraq. This was looted from the Iraq Museum during the two thousand and three invasion of Iraq. A wooden sarcophagus with a green face that's been in the collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences as being returned to Egypt. It had been taken out of Egypt after Egyptian President Hosni Murrak was overthrown in twenty eleven. To circle back to the met for a second in twenty nineteen, it returned a gilded coffin that had also been smuggled out of Egypt by that same group of traffickers that took this one with the green face.

A couple of the pieces that were announced as being returned over the last few months are items that had been looted from their countries of origin during wars or other periods of unrest just within the last couple of decades. The US is returning a nearly three thousand year old piece known as Furniture fitting with Sphinx trampling a youth to Iraq. This was looted from the Iraq Museum during the two thousand and three invasion of Iraq. A wooden sarcophagus with a green face that's been in the collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences as being returned to Egypt. It had been taken out of Egypt after Egyptian President Hosni Murrak was overthrown in twenty eleven. To circle back to the met for a second in twenty nineteen, it returned a gilded coffin that had also been smuggled out of Egypt by that same group of traffickers that took this one with the green face.

And for our last repatriation in twenty twenty two, Tuscarora citizen Brennan Ferguson was at the Geneva Museum of Ethnography in Switzerland and saw two Hadenashani sacred items on display there, a mask and a turtle rattle. Ferguson met with the mum director, who took the mask off of public display at Ferguson's request, and then the museum began working with the Hoddanashani Confederacy to return the items to them. The Tuscarora are one of the six nations of the Hodanashani.

And for our last repatriation in twenty twenty two, Tuscarora citizen Brennan Ferguson was at the Geneva Museum of Ethnography in Switzerland and saw two Hadenashani sacred items on display there, a mask and a turtle rattle. Ferguson met with the mum director, who took the mask off of public display at Ferguson's request, and then the museum began working with the Hoddanashani Confederacy to return the items to them. The Tuscarora are one of the six nations of the Hodanashani.

The item was a return in February, and this whole process took about seven months. Which is much faster than a lot of the repatriations we have talked about on the show, and interviews Ferguson and other tribal citizens who were involved with this repatriation have mentioned that the museum was quick to act and respectful through this whole process.

The item was a return in February, and this whole process took about seven months. Which is much faster than a lot of the repatriations we have talked about on the show, and interviews Ferguson and other tribal citizens who were involved with this repatriation have mentioned that the museum was quick to act and respectful through this whole process.

Now it is time to move on to shipwrecks, which is how we're going to wrap up this edition of Unearthed, starting with one that's also an update. So back in twenty twenty, we talked about the wreck of the warship Grimshunden, which belonged to King Hans of Denmark. This ship had been loaded up with fine goods in preparation for negotiations with Sweden. Sweden wanted to break away from the Kalamar Union, which included Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and Hans wanted to encourage Sweden to stay through the combination of extravagant gifts and the presence of a great, big warship. But that ship caught fire and it sank before arriving. Archaeologists with Lund University in Sweden have found what's being described as a trove of spices on board, including nutmeg cloves, mustard, dill, Saffron and Ginger, suggesting that Hans had access to trade goods from as far away as Indonesia.

Now it is time to move on to shipwrecks, which is how we're going to wrap up this edition of Unearthed, starting with one that's also an update. So back in twenty twenty, we talked about the wreck of the warship Grimshunden, which belonged to King Hans of Denmark. This ship had been loaded up with fine goods in preparation for negotiations with Sweden. Sweden wanted to break away from the Kalamar Union, which included Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and Hans wanted to encourage Sweden to stay through the combination of extravagant gifts and the presence of a great, big warship. But that ship caught fire and it sank before arriving. Archaeologists with Lund University in Sweden have found what's being described as a trove of spices on board, including nutmeg cloves, mustard, dill, Saffron and Ginger, suggesting that Hans had access to trade goods from as far away as Indonesia.

Next to fifteenth century shipwreck was found in Newport, Wales during work on the city's riverfront theater in two thousand and two. That wreck was sent to Portsmouth to be dried and preserve, which was handled by some of the same people who worked to preserve the wreck of the Mary Rose. Now the ship is being sent back to Newport as approximately twenty five hundred shipwreck pieces that are going to need to be reassembled. The plan is to eventually make it a public attraction. As I understand it, they're having to find an appropriate place to put it because of how big it is, and it also how a big enough place to reassemble all twenty five hundred piece.

Next to fifteenth century shipwreck was found in Newport, Wales during work on the city's riverfront theater in two thousand and two. That wreck was sent to Portsmouth to be dried and preserve, which was handled by some of the same people who worked to preserve the wreck of the Mary Rose. Now the ship is being sent back to Newport as approximately twenty five hundred shipwreck pieces that are going to need to be reassembled. The plan is to eventually make it a public attraction. As I understand it, they're having to find an appropriate place to put it because of how big it is, and it also how a big enough place to reassemble all twenty five hundred piece.

I know, I'm picturing like the world's biggest lego table. A shipwreck off the coast of Eastbourn, England, was found in twenty nineteen, and for whatever reason, it did not wind up on an episode of Unearthed at that time. We don't think anyway, we don't. Neither of us recalls it. Yeah.

I know, I'm picturing like the world's biggest lego table. A shipwreck off the coast of Eastbourn, England, was found in twenty nineteen, and for whatever reason, it did not wind up on an episode of Unearthed at that time. We don't think anyway, we don't. Neither of us recalls it. Yeah.

I looked and I was like, I don't see anything that sounds like the same thing. It may have been on your list in one of the things that just didn't make it that happens that has now been identified as the seventeenth century Dutch warship klein Holandia, which was involved in numerous battles during the Second Anglo Dutch War. It sank after being attacked and boarded by an English naval force in sixteen seventy two. Divers have found a lot of material at the reck site, including parts of the hull, some of the ship's cannons, and pieces of Italian pottery. And finally, in twenty nineteen, a schooner barge called the iron Ton was spotted on the floor of Lake Huron using sonar imagery. This discovery was not announced until March of this year to give researchers some time to study it before the news was made public. The iron Ton sank in what sounds like really a terrifying ordeal. The iron Ton and another vessel called the Moonlight were both being towed by a steamer and the steamer broke down, and then a storm started and driving winds started, threatening all three of these vessels, which led the crew of the Moonlight to cut through the iron Ton's toe line with the hope of preventing a collision with them.

I looked and I was like, I don't see anything that sounds like the same thing. It may have been on your list in one of the things that just didn't make it that happens that has now been identified as the seventeenth century Dutch warship klein Holandia, which was involved in numerous battles during the Second Anglo Dutch War. It sank after being attacked and boarded by an English naval force in sixteen seventy two. Divers have found a lot of material at the reck site, including parts of the hull, some of the ship's cannons, and pieces of Italian pottery. And finally, in twenty nineteen, a schooner barge called the iron Ton was spotted on the floor of Lake Huron using sonar imagery. This discovery was not announced until March of this year to give researchers some time to study it before the news was made public. The iron Ton sank in what sounds like really a terrifying ordeal. The iron Ton and another vessel called the Moonlight were both being towed by a steamer and the steamer broke down, and then a storm started and driving winds started, threatening all three of these vessels, which led the crew of the Moonlight to cut through the iron Ton's toe line with the hope of preventing a collision with them.

Not long after that, the iron Ton did collide, not with the Moonlight, but with a totally different ship, the Ohio, which was laden with grain. The iron Ton's crew tried to deploy a lot lifeboat, but no one untied the lifeboat from the iron Ton. It's not clear whether this was someone's oversight or if it just wasn't possible to do. In the middle of all of this, all but two of the iron Ton's crew drowned. The Ohio also sank, but all of its crew survived.

Not long after that, the iron Ton did collide, not with the Moonlight, but with a totally different ship, the Ohio, which was laden with grain. The iron Ton's crew tried to deploy a lot lifeboat, but no one untied the lifeboat from the iron Ton. It's not clear whether this was someone's oversight or if it just wasn't possible to do. In the middle of all of this, all but two of the iron Ton's crew drowned. The Ohio also sank, but all of its crew survived.

Divers have been to the wreck site and found the iron Ton to be in such good condition that they described it as not even seeming like a wreck, more like just an intact ship sitting on the bottom of the lake, and that lifeboat is still attached to it.

Divers have been to the wreck site and found the iron Ton to be in such good condition that they described it as not even seeming like a wreck, more like just an intact ship sitting on the bottom of the lake, and that lifeboat is still attached to it.

Dundundi. Yeah, that is kind of a creepy note to end on, which is fine by me. We're halfway to Halloween, so this seems right. Sure, but we will be back with more unearthed than three months or so, which may or may not also have haunting imagery.

Dundundi. Yeah, that is kind of a creepy note to end on, which is fine by me. We're halfway to Halloween, so this seems right. Sure, but we will be back with more unearthed than three months or so, which may or may not also have haunting imagery.

Maybe so I have listener mail from Jennifer to take us out. I loved the subject line of this email. It says old vocabulary, and Jennifer wrote, Hi, Holly and Tracy, I just wanted to send a brief note for me. I tend to be wordy after today's episode. That episode was the one about the autobiographies of Jenny June, so Jennifer wrote, you mentioned that the word bisexual used to mean people with characteristics of both sexes rather than how we define it today. You can find a real world example of that well into the nineteen sixties. In The Star Trek, the original series episode the Trouble with Tribles, doctor McCoy describes Tribles as bisexual reproducing at will. This episode has a special place in my heart because it's the very first episode I ever saw. Around nineteen eighty three, when my dad, who was collecting the show on the two episodes per tape release, got that episode and set five year old meet in front of it, and I was hooked. Star Trek became our thing. So of course I immediately thought of that quote when you were discussing vocabulary in this episode. I think I've sent pics in my casts before, just in case here is Pumpkin, big and round in orange, hopefully making the name self explanatory. And Jamie, who my brother named after the boy on the eighties show Small Wonder on a cross country RV trip a few years ago. Don't worry, I took the pics while we were stopped for the day. The bottom one is Jamie and his baby girl, Joxer, who got her name as a kitten before her mostly feral mama Zena led us close enough to find out that she was a girl. How mostly feral Zena had a litter of kiddies after she'd come inside as a whole separate story about my overly optimistic mom. But she kept all three babies. I love that story. I love these names for these cats. I love these cats pictures. These are great. I also love the trouble with Tribbles. And I want to note that you do still sometimes see the word bisexual, meaning like having elements of two sexes, in things like biology texts or botany texts and that kind of thing. But it like it. We don't really use it that way to describe people in everyday conversation anymore. So I also now am vividly thinking about that like animated version of Star Trek the original series. There was an ant like just it was just like animated translations of episodes as I remember it, and I remember seeing an animated one on Nickelodeon or something. So anyway, and the live action one. And now I'm just gonna think about triples all day and cats. So thanks Jennifer for this email. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, we're at History Podcast atiheartradio dot com and we're all over social media. Miss in History. That's ree you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, and you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you like to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in His Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Maybe so I have listener mail from Jennifer to take us out. I loved the subject line of this email. It says old vocabulary, and Jennifer wrote, Hi, Holly and Tracy, I just wanted to send a brief note for me. I tend to be wordy after today's episode. That episode was the one about the autobiographies of Jenny June, so Jennifer wrote, you mentioned that the word bisexual used to mean people with characteristics of both sexes rather than how we define it today. You can find a real world example of that well into the nineteen sixties. In The Star Trek, the original series episode the Trouble with Tribles, doctor McCoy describes Tribles as bisexual reproducing at will. This episode has a special place in my heart because it's the very first episode I ever saw. Around nineteen eighty three, when my dad, who was collecting the show on the two episodes per tape release, got that episode and set five year old meet in front of it, and I was hooked. Star Trek became our thing. So of course I immediately thought of that quote when you were discussing vocabulary in this episode. I think I've sent pics in my casts before, just in case here is Pumpkin, big and round in orange, hopefully making the name self explanatory. And Jamie, who my brother named after the boy on the eighties show Small Wonder on a cross country RV trip a few years ago. Don't worry, I took the pics while we were stopped for the day. The bottom one is Jamie and his baby girl, Joxer, who got her name as a kitten before her mostly feral mama Zena led us close enough to find out that she was a girl. How mostly feral Zena had a litter of kiddies after she'd come inside as a whole separate story about my overly optimistic mom. But she kept all three babies. I love that story. I love these names for these cats. I love these cats pictures. These are great. I also love the trouble with Tribbles. And I want to note that you do still sometimes see the word bisexual, meaning like having elements of two sexes, in things like biology texts or botany texts and that kind of thing. But it like it. We don't really use it that way to describe people in everyday conversation anymore. So I also now am vividly thinking about that like animated version of Star Trek the original series. There was an ant like just it was just like animated translations of episodes as I remember it, and I remember seeing an animated one on Nickelodeon or something. So anyway, and the live action one. And now I'm just gonna think about triples all day and cats. So thanks Jennifer for this email. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, we're at History Podcast atiheartradio dot com and we're all over social media. Miss in History. That's ree you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, and you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you like to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in His Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.