Neanderthals had glittery makeup!
Archaeologists have found evidence of ornamentation in Neanderthal sites that dates back 50,000 years--long before Homo sapiens got to the area. This ornamentation includes shells strung together and pigmentation, including bright colors and shimmery pigments made with crushed pyrite.
These prehistoric cosmetics suggest that Neanderthals displayed symbolic thinking, the ability to follow multi-step recipes, and the ability to mine ores.
Image ID: A shell, carefully broken in half with holes, that has been painted with an orange pigment.
I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3
everyone should attempt an artisan craft at some point in their life because it would cut down the number of comments questioning why handmade goods like ceramics or textile craft or woodworking are so expensive
and this is an unrealistic expectation, but I think the attempt should include seeing through to the end at least one "finished" item, no matter how clumsy or lumpy your first attempts might be. like to me, there's a huge difference in perspective between attempting to learn how to crochet or throw a pot for a few days, acknowledging that it's harder than it looks and giving up, versus committing to finishing that scarf or clay pot you started and working on it for weeks while you painstakingly learn from your mistakes and grow attached to your project while also simultaneously hating it.
once you finish the latter, your perspective changes from "why does this crocheted blanket cost $200" to "holy shit I can't believe they're charging $200 for this crocheted blanket instead of $2000" because you may have known crocheting is hard, you may have easily agreed with the idea that "handmade goods take time and effort" even before attempting a craft, but now you know firsthand the absolute time sink it takes to make things. like yeah dude, that one item took you 2 months to make and probably wasn't even an ultra complex item if it was the first thing you made, now imagine attaching an hourly wage to that time to calculate the cost (and this is ignoring every nuance of the artistic element and master crafters being able to work faster/charge higher because of their years and years of experience)
anyway this rant has been motivated by a comment I saw on someone else's ceramic post asking why a mug was $60 and they understand it's handmade but $60 just seems overpriced, and bro do you know how long ceramics take to make. that mug probably took at minimum 3 weeks between how long it takes to throw the mug, dry partially, trim the mug, dry fully, bisque fire, wait a day for the kiln to cool, sand and paint and glaze, glaze fire, wait a day for the kiln to cool, take product photography of the mug, write description and list the mug online for sale, im not even including the skill needed to complete all these steps without the mug literally exploding or collapsing while also making it an appealing piece of art, aaaaaaaaaaaaa
•Magic has a cost. The more powerful the spell, the more it drains the caster’s life.
•’We tried that ages ago.The gods grew angry at our arrogance and stripped most of our powers away.’
•Magic is tied to the stars and planets. Its full potential can only manifest on certain astrological events.(And these are once-in-a-millennia type events)
•Only one will a pure heart and selfless intentions can use their full power.
•All magic users are descendants of a (god/spirit). As the years have gone by, the blood has become more diluted, and magic has grown weaker as a result.
•Spell casters can only cast (finite number of spells). They end up using their gift on trivial matters.
•’After the war, we realized the dangers that magic presented. And so we sealed it away, lest it destroy the world.’
•Everyone has magic. Trying to solve one problem is futile as it can be easily undone(often violently and with much destruction)
•inverse of the above: everyone has magic, but their powers are limited and (mostly) harmless.
•Individual, company, or nation has a monopoly on the only substance that can negate magic. As they rule the world, they have installed anti-magic devices everywhere.
•Individual, group, company, or nation has a monopoly on magic. To insure their grip on power, all magic users that do not submit to them are killed.
•An act of good will spawn one of evil. The use of fire will cause somewhere to grow cold and dark. And to save a life, one must sacrifice another.
•The only magic people have access to is Chaos Magic. No one uses it, for obvious reasons.
—••• •• ——• ——• • ••• —•• •• —•—• —•— ••— •••
Geological horror. You find a geode and crack it open and the crystal lining its walls is human blood that can't be genetically matched to anyone. You find a human skeleton but every one of the bones is made from rock, a rock that you know can't be whittled into those shapes. You find layers of clay and loam that sport ancient fossils at the top and the still-rotting corpses of modern animals at the bottom.
One thing most people don't realize about Gazebos is how bloodthirsty they used to be until the 1930s or so. It used to be that in order to appease your average small town gazebo you had to feed it 4-5 marching bands a year, or roughly 2 dozen barbershop groups. Noawadays? Throw it a steely dan cover act every 6 months, maybe a bridal party every few years if you're actively trying to court its favor, and you're pretty much in the clear. And the crazy thing is nobody knows why they calmed down, or that their appetite for flesh won't return to its 19th century heights one day. It's actually an increasingly popular theory among modern Gazebo researchers that we're at the tail end of a period of dormancy and it's only a matter of time until they start howling for blood again. And if/when that does happen there's the question of whether our modern zeeb-keepers are really ready for the task of booking enough sacrificial acts to meet that increased demand. Guild policy has gotten lax in the century since the heyday of Dark Pavillionism and a lot of local keepers refuse to even look at newer research that threatens to upset their status quo. Kind of scary to think about
Just to tell you that this post that you rebloged is a scam. The fact that they send you an ask is the first red flag. Also the account is less than one week old and it's always the same picture of the same people. Be careful with scam. https://www.tumblr.com/friedcupcakegoatee/730804844186714112/donate-to-shaban-oyugah?source=share
Thank you! My apologies, it's been a long time since I used Tumblr regularly. Good looking out 😅
"There, and I will live to tell the tale, when I've found the day to bid farewell...!" -- Ringmasters, Notre Dame Medley
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