Invisible Histories

Meryl Streep’s wistful reference during the last episode of Henry Louis Gates’ program Faces of America to the “invisible histories of the women” resonated deeply with me. Although that moment was an obvious reminder of why I initially became involved in genealogy, even more so it was the thought-provoking realization that it was wanting to grasp those elusive stories not so readily visible or accessible which first sparked my interest in history decades ago. It has effectively driven my academic/creative – and in some respects, personal – life ever since; I am forever wanting to see beneath and beyond.

It is what caused me to spend countless hours researching the use of red ochre as a paleolithic pigment and trying to understand what its symbolic meaning in prehistoric cultures might have been. It is what led me to an archaeology class dubbed Dirt Bags 101, where we exhaustively tweezered out, sorted and mapped tiny fragments from site sample bags in an attempt to compile a picture at the micro level of a historic Chinook household. More recently it was behind my need to finally piece together the story of my mother’s adoption as well as being responsible for my ongoing fascination with genealogy mysteries and all things DNA.

And so:  there’s a blog for that. Or at least my own take on those stories that are typically beneath the surface, whether that be literally or in general.

Like me, the blog will have an eclectic bent and be at moments unapologetically Finn-centric. And will inevitably involve food because let’s face it, nothing revs up the appetite more than sitting in front of the computer all day in my pajamas.

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