Welcome to Litsy!

This book is a great little introduction to the frames inside us: bones. The author discusses everything from how bones first developed and evolved, to religion, to how they have been used to justify terrible things, to what we do with them today. Fascinating!

Shown: The Lovers of Valdaro, dated approximately 6,000 years old. Discovered by archeologists at a Neolithic tomb in San Giorgio near Mantua, Italy, in 2007.

Bones are totems of enduring life. They testify to more than five hundred million years of evolutionary history, documenting resilience and survival against the odds. They grow and change, acting as osteological recorders. Through our interpretation of what they mean, they reveal the best and worst of us. Within us are more stories than we will ever fully realize.

Shown: evolutionary exhibit of horse feet @ Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA!

Human skeletons have historically had incredibly active afterlives. Human bones have been objects of worship, conquest, and curiosity for longer than we‘ll ever really know. They‘ve been used to both honor and denigrate the dead, from the origins of religion through the genesis of science and up through this very day.

Shown: photo I took in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC. The skull is mine but it isn‘t real.

Skeletons are biological time capsules that tell us of lives we‘ll never see in the flesh. A skeleton is a final and everlasting snapshot of concluded vitality, reminding us of our bodies‘ eventual conclusion. Bones are the only parts of us that have a chance of telling others about our lives millions of years after all our earthly works have turned to dust, when we‘re prehistoric creatures ourselves, dead as the dinosaurs

When Geza Uirmeny decided to take his own life, he turned to a blade. What he didn‘t know when he raised the cutting edge to his neck was that part of his throat had transformed to bone. (Ossified larynx). Because of this unexpected resistance, he ‘lived until 80 without further melancholy.‘

This is an interesting look at the history of bones from the first vertebrate up to the questionable treatment of some bones now, ignoring the former person‘s inherent identity. Switek‘s enthusiasm for his subject shines through. I enjoyed the book and it isn‘t hard science, though it‘s not quite as accessible as Lab Girl for those who are a bit science averse.

“I say La Brea‘s Asphalt Seeps because, as Herb Schaffer once pointed out, the title “The La Brea Tar Pits” translates to “The The Tar Tar Pits.”” Writes Switek. Imagine getting a chai tea at the La Brea Tar Pits. An interesting book on bones that goes to some dark places. The author is thoughtful and respectful of the people whose bodies become specimens. And it‘s funny.

Nifty interview today with the author of the tagged book on Science Friday. Sounds fantastic if you‘re into that subject.

Here‘s the link: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-leg-bones-connected-to-the-ankle-bone...

A fun overview of the history of the human skeleton and what it can tell us about our past. Switek‘s background is in non-human paleontology so he comes at the subject with an interesting mix of experience and self-education. He covers some famous cases of identification (such as when the skeleton of Richard III was positively identified) as well as the ethics of treating the skeletons of people who once lived as curios/objects to keep in museums.

This is probably my favorite paragraph in Skeleton Keys. All respect to the Shuar people for recognizing that the European colonizers were fetishizing weirdos. #amreading

Lunch reading. “T‘ain‘t no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones.” 🦴☠️🖤