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244 points benbreen | 5 comments | | HN request time: 0.209s | source
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bglazer ◴[] No.42727042[source]
Nice article about artifacts that make the past more immediate, that allow us to connect our experiences to people hundreds or thousands of years ago.

My favorite example is the writings of Onfim, who was a little boy in the 1200s in present day Russia whose scribbling and homework were exquisitely preserved on birch bark fragments. It’s so immediately recognizable as a little boy’s endearing doodles about knights and imaginary beasts, yet its 800 years old.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onfim

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romanhn ◴[] No.42728389[source]
Wow, haven't seen this before, thank you. Amazing that the writing can still be read by a modern reader (that said, really helps to know what it's supposed to say though). The note I found most relatable is the one with greetings to his classmate.
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1. ge96 ◴[] No.42730562[source]
Do some eyebrows convey emotion or coincidence? (near bottom of page)

Edit: I'm also curious how much time (thousands of years) for there to be noticeable difference in the capability of the brain like abstract thinking. Language may be the real problem.

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2. thaumasiotes ◴[] No.42733043[source]
> I'm also curious how much time (thousands of years) for there to be noticeable difference in the capability of the brain like abstract thinking.

It's not thousands of years. French Canadians are enriched for some of the same brain-related defects that Ashkenazi Jews can get; we assume for the same reasons.

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3. Vampiero ◴[] No.42736670[source]
Which defects? What reasons? Who is assuming?
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4. DiggyJohnson ◴[] No.42740633[source]
Uhhhh what?
5. thaumasiotes ◴[] No.42744141{3}[source]
You know, you can just look these things up. This isn't some piece of obscure trivia.

> Which defects?

Ashkenazi Jews are prone to a whole host of genetic defects that affect the brain, of which the most famous is Tay-Sachs.

> What reasons?

A lifestyle focused on commerce as opposed to foraging or agriculture.

> Who is assuming?

Everyone, basically.

In the case of the Ashkenazi Jews, as far as we can tell they've been like that for as long as records of the group have existed. But the French Canadian specialization in commerce postdates the discovery of North America.