Scrutinized – Animal sacrifice in Brazilian folk religion

Candomblé, a religion practiced primarily in South America and inspired by older African beliefs, makes much use of animal sacrifice. Researchers writing in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine carried out interviews with priests, priestesses and adherents of the religion, documenting the role sacrifice plays in their beliefs.

Grim Behavior – Facedown Burials Widely Used to Humiliate the Dead

From wayward nuns to convicted witches, the global custom of burying people prone was likely used to disrespect or humiliate the dead, according to the first study of its kind. It suggests that it was a custom used across societies to disrespect or humiliate the dead.

Ancient maps – A pocket guide to prehistoric Spain

A nice find, and a nice story: “hunter-gatherers may have had had their own maps. A team of archaeologists have matched etchings made 14,000 years ago on a polished chunk of sandstone in northern Spain to the landscape in which it was found. They claim to have the earliest known map of a region in western Europe – a prehistoric hunting map.

Grim Reality – The Birth of a Two-Headed Calf

A good friend mailed me an article this morning about a two-headed calf that was born somewhere in Belgium, Europe. Even though we don’t see things like this happening everyday, it is not new. The first attestations of two-headed animals (and even humans) occur in Mesopotamian texts, written down on clay tablets, and throughout history malformities of this kind were almost always interpreted as bad omens.