The Skull Collectors

The Skull Collectors PDF Author: Ann Fabian
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226233499
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. It would have been strange, but perhaps fitting, had Morton’s skull wound up in a collector’s cabinet, for Morton himself had collected hundreds of skulls over the course of a long career. Friends, diplomats, doctors, soldiers, and fellow naturalists sent him skulls they gathered from battlefields and burial grounds across America and around the world. With The Skull Collectors, eminent historian Ann Fabian resurrects that popular and scientific movement, telling the strange—and at times gruesome—story of Morton, his contemporaries, and their search for a scientific foundation for racial difference. From cranial measurements and museum shelves to heads on stakes, bloody battlefields, and the “rascally pleasure” of grave robbing, Fabian paints a lively picture of scientific inquiry in service of an agenda of racial superiority, and of a society coming to grips with both the deadly implications of manifest destiny and the mass slaughter of the Civil War. Even as she vividly recreates the past, Fabian also deftly traces the continuing implications of this history, from lingering traces of scientific racism to debates over the return of the remains of Native Americans that are held by museums to this day. Full of anecdotes, oddities, and insights, The Skull Collectors takes readers on a darkly fascinating trip down a little-visited but surprisingly important byway of American history.

The Skull Collectors

The Skull Collectors PDF Author: Ann Fabian
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226233499
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. It would have been strange, but perhaps fitting, had Morton’s skull wound up in a collector’s cabinet, for Morton himself had collected hundreds of skulls over the course of a long career. Friends, diplomats, doctors, soldiers, and fellow naturalists sent him skulls they gathered from battlefields and burial grounds across America and around the world. With The Skull Collectors, eminent historian Ann Fabian resurrects that popular and scientific movement, telling the strange—and at times gruesome—story of Morton, his contemporaries, and their search for a scientific foundation for racial difference. From cranial measurements and museum shelves to heads on stakes, bloody battlefields, and the “rascally pleasure” of grave robbing, Fabian paints a lively picture of scientific inquiry in service of an agenda of racial superiority, and of a society coming to grips with both the deadly implications of manifest destiny and the mass slaughter of the Civil War. Even as she vividly recreates the past, Fabian also deftly traces the continuing implications of this history, from lingering traces of scientific racism to debates over the return of the remains of Native Americans that are held by museums to this day. Full of anecdotes, oddities, and insights, The Skull Collectors takes readers on a darkly fascinating trip down a little-visited but surprisingly important byway of American history.

The Skull Beneath the Skin

The Skull Beneath the Skin PDF Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 143914429X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
Invited to protect an actress within the rose red walls of a fairy-tale castle, Detective Cordelia Gray finds the stage is set for death. Actress Clarissa Lisle has always been famous for her ravishing beauty—and her unscrupulous manipulations. Now on the death-shrouded island of Courcy, her schemes win her a starring role in a nightmare in which she can trust no one—not her deceived husband; her dangerously insecure stepson; her ominously genial host; her dependent, desperate cousin; or her cruelly amusing ex-lover. Soon Detective Cordelia gray finds that nothing is as it seems on Courcy—especially after the curtain goes down. Here she must delve into ancient secrets and guilt-stained pasts—and risk her life to stop a brilliantly cunning murderer who has set the stage for her death.

The Skull of Alum Bheg

The Skull of Alum Bheg PDF Author: Kim Wagner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190911743
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
In 1963, a human skull was discovered in a pub in Kent in south-east England. A brief handwritten note stuck inside the cavity revealed it to be that of Alum Bheg, an Indian soldier in British service who was executed during the aftermath of the 1857 Uprising, or The Indian Mutiny as historians of an earlier era described it. Alum Bheg was blown from a cannon for having allegedly murdered British civilians, and his head was brought back as a grisly war-trophy by an Irish officer present at his execution. The skull is a troublesome relic of both anti- colonial violence and the brutality and spectacle of British retribution. Kim Wagner presents an intimate and vivid account of life and death in British India in the throes of the largest rebellion of the nineteenth century. Fugitive rebels spent months, even years, hiding in the vastness of the Himalayas before they were eventually hunted down and punished by a vengeful colonial state. Examining the colonial practice of collecting and exhibiting human remains, this book offers a critical assessment of British imperialism that speaks to contemporary debates about the legacies of Empire and the myth of the 'Mutiny'.

Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead

Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead PDF Author: Stanley Brandes
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405178701
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Each October, as the Day of the Dead draws near, Mexican marketsoverflow with decorated breads, fanciful paper cutouts, andwhimsical toy skulls and skeletons. To honor deceased relatives,Mexicans decorate graves and erect home altars. Drawing on a richarray of historical and ethnographic evidence, this volume revealsthe origin and changing character of this celebrated holiday. Itexplores the emergence of the Day of the Dead as a symbol ofMexican and Mexican-American national identity. Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead poses a serious challengeto the widespread stereotype of the morbid Mexican, unafraid ofdeath, and obsessed with dying. In fact, the Day of the Dead, asshown here, is a powerful affirmation of life and creativity.Beautifully illustrated, this book is essential for anyoneinterested in Mexican culture, art, and folklore, as well ascontemporary globalization and identity formation.

Death's Head

Death's Head PDF Author: Joost Hølscher
Publisher: Editions Chamerelle
ISBN: 9082032600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
The richly illustrated book is the first part of a series on the history of uniform. This particular installment is an historical treatise on the origins, development and diffusion of the Death's Head badge among military units throughout the Western World, from the 17th century onward. It describes the different occurrences of this potent symbol and tries to shed some light on the reasons and motivations involved in the choice and implementation of so charged an image as the skull and crossbones. It tries to attenuate some of the justified aversion incurred since the Second World War and the use the Nazis made of the emblem, as it delves into the noble and honorable motives usually associated with the struggle against oppression, connected to the Death's Head during the nineteenth century. The sheer number of occurrences documented and illustrated (101) in the book is enough to generate some astonishment and will surely spark the curiosity of the reader. Most people are not aware of the use of skulls by any military unit other than the SS, let alone its employment by such irreproachable regiments as the Queens Royal Lancers. Even those interested in military history will probably not have realized the measure of proliferation the Skull & Bones badge has known nor the significance attached to it. A few of the instances I have discovered in my research will generate some interest as well, as these were not yet widely known or put together in a extensive study. For example, until now, the oldest known use of the emblem was usually attributed to the Prussian Von Ruesch hussars of 1741. I have been able to push back this date by a hundred years with my ‘discovery’ of the Von Menzel Pandurs and especially the Cronberg Cuirassiers of the Thirty Years War. Another point of interest is the depiction of many colorful and sometimes even extravagant uniforms of irregular units or even individual officers. For instance the attire of the (in)famous Baron de Géramb of 1810 stands out, but also the somewhat theatrical outfit of Josef Zienkowics of 1830, is of particular interest to uniformologists and historians of fashion alike. As the image of the skull and bones gains popularity among the numerous adherents of countless subcultural lifestyles, the interest in the subject also grows significantly outside the more usual circles of militaria buffs. Other proposed titles in this series: • The Sense of Uniform, Why are armies in uniform? • The Origins • The Fringe, Cords, ribbons and plumes • Headgear • Fashion, How do uniforms and civilian fashions interact? • Cavalry • Infantry • Guards • Navy and Marines

The Book of Skulls

The Book of Skulls PDF Author: Robert Silverberg
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504051351
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
How far will four friends go for immortality? This novel is Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author “Robert Silverberg at his very best” (George R. R. Martin). After Eli, a scholarly college student, finds and translates an ancient manuscript called The Book of Skulls, he and his friends embark on a cross-country trip to Arizona in search of a legendary monastery where they hope to find the secret of immortality. On the journey with Eli, there’s Timothy, an upper-class WASP with a trust fund and a solid sense of entitlement; Ned, a cynical poet and alienated gay man; and Oliver, a Kansas farm boy who escaped his rural origins and now wants to escape death. If they can find the House of Skulls where immortal monks allegedly reside, they’ll undergo a rigorous initiation. But do those eight grinning skulls mean the joke will be on them? For a sacrifice will be required. Two must die so that two may live forever . . . Stretching the boundary between science fiction and horror, Robert Silverberg masterfully probes deeper existential questions of morality, brotherhood, and self-determined destiny in what Harlan Ellison refers to as “one of my favorite nightmare novels.” This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images from the author’s personal collection.

Skulls

Skulls PDF Author: Paul Gambino
Publisher: Laurence King
ISBN: 9781786276513
Category : SOCIAL SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
It is said that the skull is the only human body part that is as powerful dead as it was when living. Skulls takes the reader on an eerie journey through history seen through the hollow eye sockets of this crown jewel of the human skeleton. The book is made up of a series of short illustrated stories laced with fascinating facts, historical and medical references, and compelling anecdotes. The testimonials of thirty-plus skull collectors reveal what is known of - or speculated about - the often gruesome history of the skulls, as well as how they were acquired, and what makes them so highly prized.

The Artifact Hunters

The Artifact Hunters PDF Author: Janet Fox
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 045147869X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Isaac Wolf can travel through time. But he's also in a race against it. With tensions in Prague rising at the height of World War II, Isaac Wolf is forced to leave home with nothing more than a small backpack and a pendant in the shape of an eternity knot. His parents believe the pendant will keep him safe--if he can discover what it really means. This clue leads him to Rookskill Castle, home of the Special Alternative Intelligence Unit where gifted children can learn to harness their powers to support the Allies' cause. With the help of his new friends and an antique watch that allows him to travel through time, Isaac must unlock his own powers and uncover the true meaning of the eternity knot. The only way he can do that, though, is by hunting for a series of magical artifacts that are scattered throughout the past . . . and Isaac isn't the only artifact hunter. Soon he finds himself in a race against a threat just as deadly as the war itself--one that his parents had been trying to shield him from all along.

Popular Skullture

Popular Skullture PDF Author: Monte Beauchamp
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1616555610
Category : Book covers
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description
"Our culture embraces the skull: apparel and products with skulls abound. Popular Skullture features the oddest, creepiest, and weirdest skull covers from 1930s to mid-'50s comics, pulps, and paperbacks."--

The Stone in the Skull

The Stone in the Skull PDF Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 0765380145
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Hugo Award–winning author Elizabeth Bear returns to her critically acclaimed epic fantasy world of the Eternal Sky with a brand new trilogy. Best SFF Books 2017—The Guardian Kirkus Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017 The Verge Recommended Fantasy for 2017 Locus 2017 Recommended Reading List The Stone in the Skull, the first volume in her new trilogy, takes readers over the dangerous mountain passes of the Steles of the Sky and south into the Lotus Kingdoms. The Gage is a brass automaton created by a wizard of Messaline around the core of a human being. His wizard is long dead, and he works as a mercenary. He is carrying a message from the most powerful sorcerer of Messaline to the Rajni of the Lotus Kingdom. With him is The Dead Man, a bitter survivor of the body guard of the deposed Uthman Caliphate, protecting the message and the Gage. They are friends, of a peculiar sort. They are walking into a dynastic war between the rulers of the shattered bits of a once great Empire. The Lotus Kingdoms #1 The Stone in the Skull The Eternal Sky Trilogy #1 Range of Ghosts #2 Shattered Pillars #3 Steles of the Sky