Facial Recognition Tech

New technology is at work to gain a better understanding of history. The article explores the face of Ann Boleyn in art.

Boleyn became Henry VIII's second wife in 1533, but her reign was short-lived: approximately three years. She was accused of adultery, incest and treason and was executed.

All the painted portraits that exist of her were made after her lifetime, creating a mystery around what she actually looked like and making her appearance the subject of fascination and debate for centuries.

The research team, led by the University of Bradford, says the new discovery is "exciting" and the methodology could be replicated to do more art detective work. But there is scepticism from within the art history community over the findings.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9pz53e891o?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us 

Citizenship by Descent

 If you like digging through history and finding your roots. Explore citizenship by descent opportunities. Countries like Romania, Hungary, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Croatia and Slovakia offer citizenship via your ancestors. Some allow you to go back quite far, like Canada and Croatia. Start a family tree for free at FamilySearch.org. Once you find the ancestor, start collecting the documents. You'll need to prove the relationship through birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates. But, for all your hard work you will have learned so much of your own history and be rewarded with a second passport.

Scientists Studied an Ancient Roman Shipwreck and Found a 2,200-Year-Old Portal to the Past

A very quick, but interesting read: Flecks of pollen embedded in the ship’s ancient waterproofing material contained evidence of the ship’s many stops along the Adriatic Sea.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a71140561/roman-shipwrecks-waterproof-coating/ 

Open Yale Courses

 About Yale Open Courses: Each course includes a full set of class lectures produced in high-quality video accompanied by such other course materials as syllabi, suggested readings, exams, and problem sets. The lectures are available as downloadable videos, and an audio-only version is also offered. In addition, searchable transcripts of each lecture are provided. Please note that we have recently removed Craig Wright's, "Introduction To Classical Music," and Ian Shapiro's, "Moral Foundations of Political Philosophy," from this site. Both courses have been updated and are now available through the Coursera platform. Please visit Yale's home on Coursera to enroll in all of our courses for free. 

https://oyc.yale.edu/courses

Many history and humanities courses are listed, a great selection! 

Oxford University's 750-year-old medieval library

 Great article, great pictures! 

Predating the Aztec Empire, Merton College Library in Oxford has been used by everyone from celebrated 14th-Century mathematicians to JRR Tolkien. In an exclusive interview with the BBC for its 750th birthday, its librarian describes what makes it so special.

 https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260423-the-enchanting-story-of-oxfords-medieval-library

 

See the World-Peace Corps

 

 For 65 years, Peace Corps Volunteers have partnered with community members in more than 140 countries—putting their experience, skills, grit, and purpose to work on locally led projects. It’s been called the toughest job you’ll ever love. Tough because it asks so much of you. And the love part comes from knowing your work can transform lives and build bridges across cultures.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/serve/ 

Research Article on Governance of Maya

 Archaeologists in northern Guatemala unearthed a colonnaded open hall that may have served as a council house, where local leaders and everyday people met to discuss political issues

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-times-trouble-maya-rejected-divine-kingship-newly-discovered-public-building-reveals-how-the-transition-to-shared-power-unfolded-180988567/