re: Cool old pictures - more pics throughout thread

Maybe it's just me but I'm always astounded that legendary figures that you spend your entire life hearing about, simply look like Uncle Ned who went out behind the barn for a pinch of snuff when you see a real picture of them.

Do you like movies about gladiators?

Not an "old" picture, but a picture of some very old people.

Tocharian mummies in western China. European folks who somehow made it to China in 2000 BC (probably for trade). Their bodies were mummified by the arid climate of the Taklamakan Desert.

A Tocharian woman dubbed "Beauty of Xiaohe". She is 4,000 years old. She was buried in a wooden coffin with numerous grave goods. She had a carved wooden penis placed on her chest as a fertility symbol. The area she was buried, there are many wooden pillars sticking out of the sand. Scholars believe some of them are also phalluses. (These people loved the penis).






A Tocharian man after having his coffin opened in the 1930's. He's at least 3,000 years old.



Another Tocharian man, dated to 1000 BC (3,000 years old):



Ancient Chinese texts discuss "strange looking men" with "blue eyes and red hair" approaching them from the West, although those texts were written much later than when these people lived.

It is believed by scholars that these people were associated with the Andronovo and Afansievo cultures, which were cultures in west and central Asia closely associated with Europe. That is to say, it is believed Europeans migrated out of Europe and went east and took over large swaths of central Asia. From The Caspian all the way to the borders of Mongolia. At some point they landed in western China.

How do we know? DNA testing of the remains prove them to be closely related to Europeans. Testing of Andronovo remains in central Asia prove the Tarim mummies are closely related (and probably derived from) the Andronovo culture. Also, their fabrics and weaving patterns were ONLY found in places like Germany and Austria in 2,000 B.C. These facts imply a migration out of Europe (or perhaps out of Southern Russia) into central Asia, then finally into China and the Altai mountains.

Here's a map of the cultures, dates, and where they were been located.

Anybody have any information about that church behind the statue? It appears to be sitting about where the old K&B building is located on the circle, maybe overlapping onto the property where the Exxon station is now located. It’s facing what would have been Calliope Street before the Hwy 90B overpass was built.

ETA: After a quick search, I found out that the church was the original Temple Sinai. It was a “reformed Jewish Temple” only a couple of blocks away from Jerusalem Temple on St. Charles Ave. (still standing but no longer a Temple).

This site has the info:
LINK

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An 1885 guide to New Orleans proclaimed that Temple Sinai, Jewish, a graceful and most imposing structure, is situated on Carondelet, between Delord and Calliope streets, and is, without a doubt, the most beautiful edifice of the kind in the United States, combining grandeur with simplicity so appropriately that the beholder is charmed.¹ The synagogue was constructed in 1871-72 for a newly established Reform congregation that included some of the city’s wealthiest Jewish citizens.² Designed by local architect Charles Lewis Hilger, it was prominently sited near Lee Circle, and its twin Byzantine-style towers could be seen from miles away.³ In 1928, the Temple Sinai congregation moved to a new temple Uptown on St. Charles Avenue and Calhoun Street and sold its old building to the Knights of Pythias.4 The Motion Picture Advertising Company purchased and remodeled the structure to serve as its headquarters in the 1930s.5 In 1977, owner Katz and Besthoff Inc., whose modern K&B Plaza is adjacent to the site, was issued a permit to demolish Temple Sinai and in July began removing the roof. In response, the nascent Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC) issued a stop-work order because the temple had been nominated for local landmark status, and numerous preservation groups and local architects also protested the demolition.6 Yet, when the owners then filed suit against the City, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff and Temple Sinai was destroyed.7 Bruised by this major architectural loss, the HDLC soon successfully designated several local landmarks in order to protect them from a similar fate, including the nearby St. John the Baptist Church, Howard Memorial Library, and Confederate Memorial Hall.

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Ancient Chinese texts discuss "strange looking men" with "blue eyes and red hair"

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The only physical description of Genghis Khan, from a Persian, says he had red hair and green eyes.

Those big reds were indestructible

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In 1977, owner Katz and Besthoff Inc., whose modern K&B Plaza is adjacent to the site, was issued a permit to demolish Temple Sinai

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The unbroken seal on King Tut's tomb.

Looks like he's having a bad reaction to Mexican food.