Roundtable

The Rest Is History

Alternate perspectives on Alexander Hamilton, Queen Elizabeth II, and Neanderthals.

By Angela Serratore

Friday, April 22, 2016

Portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, c. 1806. National Gallery of Art.

• The fonts of ancient Rome: “The Republican and Imperial capitals were joined by rustic capitals, square capitals (Imperial Roman capitals written with a brush), uncials, and half-uncials, in addition to a more rapidly penned cursive for everyday use. From those uncial and half-uncial forms evolved a new formal book-hand practiced in France that spread rapidly throughout medieval Europe.” (I Love Typography

Experiencing the scents surrounding John F. Kennedy in his final four minutes​. (Hyperallergic

Chewets, gallimaufries, and funeral baked meats: the foods of Shakespeare’s plays. (NPR)

As she celebrates her ninetieth birthday, Queen Elizabeth remains in power: “Far younger monarchs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain have quit on grounds of age; even old Ratzo of the Holy See has shuffled off his subcinctorium. Meanwhile, the queen adheres to the throne as stubbornly as a seagull-splat baked to a sunshine roof.” (London Review of Books)

The real-life politics of Alexander Hamilton. (Early Americanists

•  New research suggests Neanderthals were just as familiar with fire as homo sapiens were: “The use of fire, however, is not specific to Homo sapiens. For decades, researchers have found clear archaeological evidence of fire use at a host of both Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis archaeological sites.  There remains, however, a long standing assumption that Homo sapiens have held a unique monopoly over the controlled creation and use of fire—it seems to be the ‘most human’ tool we can imagine.” (JSTOR Daily)