America's First 'Melting Pot' -- 1,000 Years Ago

Source: ngm.nationalgeographic.com

I enjoy well-researched historical fiction, especially when it provides an education about the times atop an interesting story, well-developed characters and unexpected plot twists.

Today's post is about Cahokia, a city of 20,000 native Americans now known to be from diverse cultures, always fertile ground for fiction.  While several authors have stories bases on this ancient city, this research opens the doors for conflict of the sort that creates story.  

Any takers?  I would love to read something based on this urban city of a thousand years ago.

Native American City on the Mississippi

Was America's First 'Melting pot'

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New evidence establishes that Cahokia, a sprawling, pre-Columbian city situated at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, hosted a sizable population of immigrants.

Cahokia was an early experiment in urban life, said Thomas Emerson, who led the new analysis. Emerson is Illinois state archaeologist and the director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey at the University of Illinois.

Researchers have traditionally thought of Cahokia as a relatively homogeneous and stable population drawn from the immediate area, he said. "But increasingly archaeologists are realizing that Cahokia at AD 1100 was very likely an urban center with as many as 20,000 inhabitants," he said. "Such early centers around the world grow by immigration, not by birthrate."

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Related research:

• Black drink: Evidence of ritual use of caffeinated brew at Cahokia
• How prehistoric Native Americans of Cahokia made copper artifacts
• Cahokia ~ National Geographic article with pictures and maps

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The new analysis, reported in the Journal of Archaeological Research, tested the chemical composition of 133 teeth from 87 people buried at Cahokia during its heyday. The researchers looked specifically at strontium isotope ratios in the teeth and in the remains of small mammals from the same area.

"Strontium isotope ratios in rock, soil, groundwater and vegetation vary according to the underlying geology of a region," the researchers wrote. "As an animal eats and drinks, the local strontium isotope composition of the water, plants and animals consumed is recorded in its skeletal tissues." Strontium signatures may not be unique to a location, Emerson said, but the ratios in a person's teeth can be compared to those of plants and animals in the immediate environment.

"Teeth retain the isotopic signature of an individual's diet at various periods of life depending on the tooth type sampled, ranging from in utero to approximately 16 years of age," the researchers wrote. The strontium signature in the teeth can be compared to that of their place of burial, to determine whether the person lived only in that vicinity. Early teeth and later teeth may have different strontium signatures, an indication that the person immigrated.

By analyzing the teeth of those buried in different locations in Cahokia, Emerson, state archaeological survey bioarchaeologist Kristin Hedman and graduate student Philip Slater discovered that immigrants formed one-third of the population of the city throughout its history (from about AD 1050 through the early 1300s).

"This indicates that Cahokia as a political, social and religious center was extremely fluid and dynamic, with a constantly fluctuating composition," Emerson said. The findings contradict traditional anthropological models of Cahokian society that are built on analogies with 19th-century Native American groups, Emerson said.

"Cahokia, because it was multiethnic and perhaps even multilingual, must have been a virtual 'melting pot' that fostered new ways of living, new political and social patterns and perhaps even new religious beliefs," he said.  

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Story Source:  Materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Philip A. Slater, Kristin M. Hedman, Thomas E. Emerson. Immigrants at the Mississippian polity of Cahokia: strontium isotope evidence for population movement. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014

Learning to be Funny: Comedy College

Oct. 15, 2013 — There is a science to crafting a good bit and delivering a one-liner that sets off a roar of laughter from the audience. And like any skill, Peter Orazem and Gavin Jerome believe it's one students in their Comedy College course at Iowa State University can learn -- no joke, they can learn to be funny.

"I get the question all the time, 'Can you teach someone to be funny? Either you're funny or you're not, right?' No, comedy is like any other skill, like welding, carpentry or brain surgery. There are tricks, techniques and formulas that if you study them, you will be funnier," said Jerome, a professional entertainer who has partnered with Orazem to teach the course.

Orazem, a University Professor of economics at Iowa State University, is living proof. He continues to master the skill he first developed as a student in one of Jerome's comedy workshops. And he admits his routine has come a long way since learning some of the tricks and techniques of comedy.

"I remember the first time, as an academic, my first joke was close to two pages and had footnotes. I learned there's a difference between a dissertation and a one-liner," Orazem said.

Orazem now gets regular requests to perform at charitable fundraisers and host campus events, like the farewell for former ISU President Gregory Geoffroy. And he uses humor in the classroom, adding punch lines to lectures on microeconomics -- a topic few find funny -- but Orazem can get a laugh. Jerome said his former student is a great example of how comedy is a tool anyone can use.

"Humor is such a universal language; it has practical applications for any student, no matter what field they're going into," Jerome said. "In each one of our lessons we try to add some serious, practical things. So the lesson may be fun, but we show how comedy relates to the workplace."

Lessons of comedy
Humor may be a universal language, but a good comedian understands some topics are off limits. It all depends on the audience and setting. There is a difference between a corporate comedy routine and a late-night comedy roast, Orazem said, and that is an important lesson for students to learn.

"It turns out that when you're going to be emcee for the president of the university, there are some things that you're not allowed to say," Orazem said. "The very best comedy is not the filthy crap. You can be absolutely hilarious without shocking people; you just have to be smart."

With comedy, it's not just what you say, but how you say it. Something Lisa Hansen, a sophomore in diet and exercise, said she learned after the first class.

"I'm very sarcastic and sometimes that doesn't quite resonate with others," Hansen said. "What I think is funny may not be funny to others, so I'm learning how to gauge the group and gauge the audience."

Throughout the semester, students will not only learn how to write and tell jokes, but Jerome and Orazem want to improve their sense of humor while sharing some of the tricks of the trade. Many of those tricks have been borrowed or passed down from some of the best comedians. Timing and delivery are important, but it all starts with writing good material.

"You start with a lot of material and several pages that you may whittle down to four lines, but you need to get efficiently to the funny part," Orazem said. "There's nothing scarier than writing jokes and not knowing how it's going to work. But you have to put the material in front of an audience to figure out if it's as good as you think it is."

No typical final exam
Orazem and Jerome know just how terrifying and exhilarating it is to test that material on stage for the first time, and they want students to have that experience. So for the class final, students will perform their stand-up routine at the M-Shop in the ISU Memorial Union on Dec. 3-4.

"It's like jumping out of a plane; I suggest everybody do it once. Getting that experience of doing a little standup and getting that first laugh, it's a feeling unlike anything else," Jerome said.

The idea is somewhat frightening for Eric Lacey, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, who admits to blushing anytime he gets in front of a crowd. But he took the class to build his public speaking skills and the final will be a test of his confidence.

"It might be terrifying while I'm up there, but it's going to be worth it in the end," Lacey said. "I figure if you can get up in front of a crowd and make them laugh, you can do pretty much anything related to speaking or giving a presentation in front of a group."

And that's the whole point of Comedy College. More than just making people laugh, Jerome and Orazem want students to learn that humor is a useful tool in any career and to be comfortable interacting with a large group of people.

"You do learn something about how to deal with new situations with a little bit of confidence," Orazem said. "I think if you can stand on stage and deliver your own material, even though you can feel the sweat dripping down your back, if you can do that, you can do anything."

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Comedy Writing Secrets: How to Think Funny, Write Funny, Act Funny and Get Paid for It
by Melvin Helitzer

Writing the Romantic Comedy: From "Cute Meet" to "Joyous Defeat" - How to Write Screenplays That Sell
by Billy Mernit

Story Source:  Iowa State University (2013, October 15). No joke: Learning the tricks of standup comedy. ScienceDaily