Hi and Welcome! This is the third issue of Palimpsest of Flesh. As I've gotten really into the research (and grant requests!) for my next book, Warriors, Wanderers, and Weavers: The Real Story of Our Female Ancestors, I've been thinking quite a bit about how I
Hi and Welcome! This is the second issue of Palimpsest of Flesh. This month I'm thinking about the work that women do, and looking at the history of why it's overlooked, downplayed, and ignored. And a bit about how AI might change it. Speaking of work:
The clothing or the coifs could be from any era, but the physiques and faces beneath the maxi dresses and the makeup could only be from the 2020s. This is a deeper shift than just a hemline or a platform shoe versus a spike heel. And I think it heralds a deeper change in our culture, too.
What is a palimpsest? A goat hide is scraped of the language that once covered it, and new text is overwritten. But you can still see the old words, ghostly peeks, beneath. A beautiful painting is covered over by another work. A vase is inscribed with a poem of devotion,