This newsletter presents a small collection of geographic, historical, archaeological, cultural and/or artistic articles that have caught my attention. As a fantasy writer, I am fascinated by the nooks and corners of our real world and constantly find inspiration for my own world building and storytelling — it’s my hope that these newsletters are an inspirational resource for other writers, too, or for anyone who wants to learn more about our world.
I’m not a super fan of sharing Instagram videos in this newsletter because readers have to click out to watch them and I don’t want to inconvenience you. However, I was so fascinated by this slow process of creating ultramarine blue pigment that I had to include it. There are so many things that we take for granted these days — like having a wide range of colors in a wide range of media available whenever we want them — that it’s worthwhile to stop and learn about the labor and skill our ancestors had to use in order to get just a fraction of what we enjoy with a simple click of a “buy now” button.
Today’s newsletter includes an ancient Egyptian recipe for blood-red beer and an unusual partnership between Thaua hunters and orcas in New Zealand. As usual, I’ve clipped just a small part of the stories — the most interesting or entertaining nuggets — but I hope this week you’ll take the time to click through and read the full articles. They are each fascinating stories from beginning to end. The thread between them? Human ingenuity and persistence. The variety of our experiences through time and around the globe. The shared determination not just to live, but to live well. If there’s anything that unites us as a species beyond simple biology, it’s that.
The Art of Blue
Written in Stone
Versions of that same sacred song, known as “The Menu Song,” were chiseled onto the temples of Dendera, Philae, and Athribis. “It was recorded many times, which means it was important to the ancient Egyptians.”
As Goldsmith points out, four other Egyptologists have published analyses of this text before her and each has walked away with a subtly different interpretation of what it means. “The truth is that no one is incorrect and no one is correct,” she says.
The ingredients and steps are cloaked in metaphors and poetic language. But it’s not an accident that the text is tricky to follow.
“This belonged into the realm of restricted knowledge. [The ancient Egyptians] believed in the notion that knowledge is power. One way of immortalizing a document that is important while keeping it a secret is to write it in stone, but in a way that is very hard to understand.”
Goldsmith believes that hidden behind these layers of meaning are recipes for preparing two drinks, one for the mortals and one for the gods. The former may have been served at the Feast of Drunkenness, ancient Egypt’s wildest bacchanal.
“The Menu Song was probably sung on these [feast] days, while they drank this fragrant beer, and were in complete ecstasy,” Goldsmith says. “What is important to understand is that beer-brewing here is a mythological act. The brewing itself ensures that the cosmic order remains intact.”
Read more: Ancient Egyptians Celebrated the Feast of Drunkenness with Blood-Red Beer
The Law of the Tongue
The hunting expeditions typically occurred during winter, coinciding with the arrival of a population of killer whales in Twofold Bay. At times, the Thaua people would serenade the beowas, encouraging them to herd baleen whales closer to shore. With strategic precision, the beowas would ambush the baleen whales, tearing along their fins and flukes, while others swam beneath them to bite along the lip area. Some would breach atop the whale, near the blowhole, attempting to submerge and drown it. Once the prey was driven into shallower waters, local hunters swiftly dispatched them.
In a gesture of gratitude for the beowas' assistance, the Thaua hunters would sever the tongue of the fallen whale and cast it into the waters for the beowas to feast upon.
Read more: The Killer Whales of Eden
You have to love metaphors!