The Plague of Cyprian was a terrible event, no question. How terrible is uncertain. But it seems to me that one cannot understand the middle years of the Roman Empire without discussing the Plague of Cyprian and its consequences. It probably killed two Roman Emperors. Yet, chances are good you’ve never heard of it. Lucky […]
Tag: disease
Bison Skulls – A True Symbol of the Authentic Old West?
At first, this question about bison skulls perhaps seems axiomatic. Is there anything, besides a cowboy, a cactus, or a gunfight, perhaps, that seems obviously more Old West than a bison skull? Well, just because something has become a symbol doesn’t mean it should be. Read my previous post about cowboys and the cowboy way, […]
Human Extinction & the Columbian Exchange
It seems a dramatic thing to state, it’s true. The Columbian Exchange could have caused human extinction. Today I’ll explain how. It involves a bit of counterfactual history, of course, given that humanity is not extinct. If you need to read my last post to understand how this became possible, click here. We left off […]
The Symbolism of the Bison
Along with the grizzly bear and perhaps the wolf, the bison is the iconic animal of the American West. The symbolism of the bison seems a key aspect of Western history. Its numbers were legendary. There were so many bison roaming the West 200 years ago that estimates were almost pointless. In his journal entry […]