Courier List
A viewset for viewing and editing Couriers.
GET /api/sc/couriers/?format=api
{ "count": 410, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/couriers/?format=api&page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 1, "polity": { "id": 137, "name": "af_durrani_emp", "long_name": "Durrani Empire", "start_year": 1747, "end_year": 1826 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§Gommans, Jos JL. <i>The Rise of the Indo-Afghan Empire: C. 1710-1780.</i> p. 81§REF§ Individual merchants may have had more advanced message capacities, but the state was not providing either postal stations or a general postal service." }, { "id": 2, "polity": { "id": 134, "name": "af_ghur_principality", "long_name": "Ghur Principality", "start_year": 1025, "end_year": 1215 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": "Unclear, based on the literature consulted. \r\n\r\nThomas seems to suggest that long-distance communication mainly took place via a system of watchtower, possibly augmented by carrier pigeons.\r\n\r\n\"[Fortresses] seem to have functioned as part of networks of watchtowers that provided an efficient signalling and communication system, although al-Juzjani also states that pigeons were used to carry messages between the fortresses.\"§REF§(Thomas 2018, no page number) Thomas, D. C. 2018. The Ebb and Flow of the Ghūrid Empire. Sydney University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WP4SXX74/library§REF§\r\n\r\nAt the same time, it is possible that, following the conquest of the Ghaznavid polity, the Ghurids adopted all or some of whatever communication system may have existed in those lands. Nizami does point to the existence of an official in charge of diplomatic correspondence, which implies the existence of some kind of messaging system, though possibly one restricted to government use.\r\n\r\n\"The d ̄ıwa ̄n of the chief secretary dealt with correspondence with provincial officials and with external rulers. We possess in sources such as Bayhaq ̄ı’s history and cAq ̄ıl ̄ı’s A ̄tha ̄r al-wuzara ̄’ [Famous Past Deeds of the Viziers or Past Traces of the Viziers] the texts, in florid Arabic and Persian, of several letters to the Karakhanids and the cAbbasid caliphs, including announcements of victories (fat’h-na ̄mas).\" §REF§(Bosworth 1998: 119) Bosworth, C. E. 1998. The Ghaznavids. In Asimov (ed) History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The historical, social and economic setting, Volume 1 pp. 103-124. UNESCO. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MVIGXRNM/library§REF§" }, { "id": 3, "polity": { "id": 350, "name": "af_greco_bactrian_k", "long_name": "Greco-Bactrian Kingdom", "start_year": -256, "end_year": -125 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 4, "polity": { "id": 129, "name": "af_hephthalite_emp", "long_name": "Hephthalite Empire", "start_year": 408, "end_year": 561 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": "" }, { "id": 5, "polity": { "id": 281, "name": "af_kidarite_k", "long_name": "Kidarite Kingdom", "start_year": 388, "end_year": 477 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 6, "polity": { "id": 127, "name": "af_kushan_emp", "long_name": "Kushan Empire", "start_year": 35, "end_year": 319 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 7, "polity": { "id": 467, "name": "af_tocharian", "long_name": "Tocharians", "start_year": -129, "end_year": 29 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 8, "polity": { "id": 253, "name": "cn_eastern_han_dyn", "long_name": "Eastern Han Empire", "start_year": 25, "end_year": 220 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Commandery governors had a bureau that dealt with postal stations and couriers. §REF§(Bielenstein 1986, 508)§REF§" }, { "id": 9, "polity": { "id": 254, "name": "cn_western_jin_dyn", "long_name": "Western Jin", "start_year": 265, "end_year": 317 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Dunhuang City, Gansu: \"Excavations between 1990 and 1992 exposed the site of a 'postal relay station' (zhi), which was used from the middle of the Western Han (ca. 111 BCE) until the Cao Wei (220-65 CE) and Western Jin (265-316 CE) periods. The site included a hostel, kitchen facilities, rooms for courier personnel, and stables.\"§REF§(Barbieri-Low and Yates 2015, 44) Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. Yates, Robin D.S. 2015. Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China (2 vols): A Study with Critical Edition and Translation of the Legal Texts from Zhangjiashan Tomb, Issue 247. BRILL.§REF§" }, { "id": 10, "polity": { "id": 422, "name": "cn_erligang", "long_name": "Erligang", "start_year": -1650, "end_year": -1250 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " It is likely that the political core in Zhengzhou communicated to the elites in the regions, such as at Panlongcheng, through messengers." }, { "id": 11, "polity": { "id": 421, "name": "cn_erlitou", "long_name": "Erlitou", "start_year": -1850, "end_year": -1600 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " It is likely that the elite used messengers even over short distances for both convenience, the ability to transmit more than one message simultaneously and perhaps to enhance their status." }, { "id": 12, "polity": { "id": 471, "name": "cn_hmong_2", "long_name": "Hmong - Early Chinese", "start_year": 1895, "end_year": 1941 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Hmong families and villages sent out relatives and other community members on the occasion of festivals. These were not professionals: 'After the autumn harvest has been completed and the first frost has arrived, an auspicious day is chosen to sacrifice to the kuei. Half a month before, four paternal male cousins are asked to go separately to where the relatives live to notify them. The most important relatives are the families of the hosts mother's brother and the wife's maternal uncle, who are said to be the “leg-bearing relatives.” They are so-called because after sacrificing to the kuei, one leg of the buffalo is given to the maternal uncle's relatives. A buffalo is divided into four legs. The first belongs to the /host's/ mother's brother, the second to the wife's maternal uncle, and the third and fourth are sent to other close relatives. The “leg-bearing relatives on receiving the notification presents the messenger with a strip of red cloth as an expression of gratitude.' §REF§Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 208§REF§ 'A few days before “Welcoming the Dragon,” messengers must be sent to the family of the wife of the mother's brother /chiu-mu; is this an inversion of mu-chiu, “mother's brother”?/ to convey the tidings. The host personally goes to engage the services of two Miao sorcerers. The relatives /of the same clan/ in the village are also asked to come to help. For this affair they prepare three kinds of mi-pa, the thunder pa, the dragon pa, and the guest pa, and in addition, a rice dragon must be made.' §REF§Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 233§REF§" }, { "id": 13, "polity": { "id": 245, "name": "cn_jin_spring_and_autumn", "long_name": "Jin", "start_year": -780, "end_year": -404 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Basic system of messaging must have been present for the Jin government, as it probably was for the Chu." }, { "id": 14, "polity": { "id": 420, "name": "cn_longshan", "long_name": "Longshan", "start_year": -3000, "end_year": -1900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " It is possible that the rulers at this time used messengers even over short distances for both convenience, the ability to transmit more than one message simultaneously and perhaps to enhance their status." }, { "id": 15, "polity": { "id": 266, "name": "cn_later_great_jin", "long_name": "Jin Dynasty", "start_year": 1115, "end_year": 1234 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " China had record of relay station as early as Zhou (700-1000 BCE)" }, { "id": 16, "polity": { "id": 269, "name": "cn_ming_dyn", "long_name": "Great Ming", "start_year": 1368, "end_year": 1644 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The Ministry of War operated the courier system with military labor. The Ministry of War produced a guide, Network of Routes Connecting the Realm (Hyanyu tongue). This cheaply printed handbook, first published in 1394 CE, lists all courier routes in the country along with the 1,706 station serving them. Use of the system required a pass that specified the route and the mode of transport. §REF§(Brook, 2010, p.31)§REF§" }, { "id": 17, "polity": { "id": 425, "name": "cn_northern_song_dyn", "long_name": "Northern Song", "start_year": 960, "end_year": 1127 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 18, "polity": { "id": 258, "name": "cn_northern_wei_dyn", "long_name": "Northern Wei", "start_year": 386, "end_year": 534 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"The creation of a system of relay postal stations has been credited to Chinngis Khan, but was most effectively employed by Chinngis Khan's successor Ogodei. Ogodei did not invent the system that goes back nearly two thousand years. Athough the Tuoba rulers of what is now northern China had a similar system in the fourth and fifth centuries, it appears to have been implemented already by the Honno, the first steppe empire in history, an empire contemporary with the Roman Empire and ruled by a Turkic tribe.\" §REF§(Avery 2003, 40)§REF§" }, { "id": 19, "polity": { "id": 1, "name": "cn_qing_dyn_1", "long_name": "Early Qing", "start_year": 1644, "end_year": 1796 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " During the Qing dynasty, the courier stations set out by the government on the post roads had size names: Yi, Zhan, Tang, Tai, Suo, and Pu, depending on which type of mail they delivered. §REF§(Ma et al. 2016, p.306)§REF§" }, { "id": 20, "polity": { "id": 2, "name": "cn_qing_dyn_2", "long_name": "Late Qing", "start_year": 1796, "end_year": 1912 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Qing dynasty revived the courier postal system and used the courier system to transmit a form of confidential communication called a \"palace memorial.\" §REF§(Halsey 2015, 213-214)§REF§" }, { "id": 21, "polity": { "id": 243, "name": "cn_late_shang_dyn", "long_name": "Late Shang", "start_year": -1250, "end_year": -1045 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " It is likely that the political core communicated to the elites in the regions using messengers." }, { "id": 22, "polity": { "id": 260, "name": "cn_sui_dyn", "long_name": "Sui Dynasty", "start_year": 581, "end_year": 618 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 23, "polity": { "id": 261, "name": "cn_tang_dyn_1", "long_name": "Tang Dynasty I", "start_year": 617, "end_year": 763 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"domestic trade which was stimulated also by improved communications, including a new postal system on the main trunk roads which emanated from the capital.\" §REF§(Rodzinski 1979, 122)§REF§" }, { "id": 24, "polity": { "id": 264, "name": "cn_tang_dyn_2", "long_name": "Tang Dynasty II", "start_year": 763, "end_year": 907 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"domestic trade which was stimulated also by improved communications, including a new postal system on the main trunk roads which emanated from the capital.\" §REF§(Rodzinski 1979, 122)§REF§" }, { "id": 25, "polity": { "id": 424, "name": "cn_wei_dyn_warring_states", "long_name": "Early Wei Dynasty", "start_year": -445, "end_year": -225 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " specialist messengers likely used by the government" }, { "id": 26, "polity": { "id": 251, "name": "cn_western_han_dyn", "long_name": "Western Han Empire", "start_year": -202, "end_year": 9 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Liu Bang was a \"minor functionary in charge of a postal relay station\" before he became a politician and eventually king, and Emperor. §REF§(Kerr 2013, 35§REF§" }, { "id": 27, "polity": { "id": 244, "name": "cn_western_zhou_dyn", "long_name": "Western Zhou", "start_year": -1122, "end_year": -771 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The Western Zhou government system would have required specialist couriers." }, { "id": 28, "polity": { "id": 419, "name": "cn_yangshao", "long_name": "Yangshao", "start_year": -5000, "end_year": -3000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Specialist messenger probably unlikely at this early time." }, { "id": 29, "polity": { "id": 268, "name": "cn_yuan_dyn", "long_name": "Great Yuan", "start_year": 1271, "end_year": 1368 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " There were mounted couriers during Yuan. Beneath the courier system and parallel to it, the Ministry of War also operated a postal system to move routine government communications. The system relied on runners rather than mounted messengers. The runners wore large belts, set all round with bells, so that when they ran there were audible at a great distance. §REF§(Brook, 2010, p.30)§REF§ \"The most remarkable improvement in transport involved the postal relay system. China had had postal stations and relays at least since the Han dynasty, but the Mongolian rulers vastly extended the system. The postal stations were designed for the transmission and delivery of official mail, but they were also available to traveling officials, military men, and foreign state guests, aided in the transport of foreign and domestic tribute, and facilitated trade. They were not intended as hostels for merchants, but they came to be used as such and were vital links in the networks of foreign and domestic commerce. By the end of Khubilai's reign, China had more than 1,400 postal stations, which in turn had at their disposal about 50,000 horses, 1,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 4,000 carts, almost 6,000 boats, over 200 dogs, and 1,150 sheep. The individual stations were anywhere from fifteen to forty miles apart, and the attendants worked in the stations as part of their corvee obligations. In an emergency, the rider-messengers could cover up to 250 miles a day to deliver significant news, a remarkably efficient mail service for the thirteenth, or any other, century. Despite abuses by officials, merchants, and attendants, the postal system operated efficiently, a fact to which numerous foreign travelers, including Marco Polo, have attested.\" §REF§(Rossabi, M. 1994. The reign of Khubilai khan. In Franke, H. and D. Twitchett (eds) The Cambridge History of China, volume 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 710-1368 pp. 414-489. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P. 450)§REF§" }, { "id": 30, "polity": { "id": 196, "name": "ec_shuar_1", "long_name": "Shuar - Colonial", "start_year": 1534, "end_year": 1830 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Shuar communities transmitted messages through ceremonial and war drums: 'A few words must be said about the túndui, the wireless telephone of the Aguarunas. It consists of a hollowed-out tree trunk, about 100-120 cm. long and of a thickness of 30-35 cm. At each end there is a handle, one of which is used to grab it, the other as a support on the ground, so that the instrument is free to vibrate. On top of the drum there are four holes in one direction. Originally, these holes may have been used to hollow out the trunk, in the end they help with the resonance. (See Illustration number 4.) They beat the instrument with a short stick which is wound with vegetarian wool at one end. The sound differs depending on whether the drum is hit from the side or at the top. The messages are conveyed, in the manner of our Morse system, by a combination of these two sound possibilities. If the air is quiet, one is able to hear the túndui at a distance of several kilometers. The message is transmitted from one place to the other by a process of interception and further transmission.' §REF§Brüning, Hans H. 1928. “Travelling In The Aguaruna Region”, 74§REF§ '“As we sat on the banks of the Upano, listening to the words of wisdom that fell from Kuashu's lips, we heard the distant beat of a drum resounding harshly over the forest. It was not the low musical note, full and vibrant, but a peculiarly hard, penetrating noise, resembling the rapid blows of an axe on some fallen tree-trunk. The signal drum or tundai of the Jivaros is just a log of hard wood, carefully hollowed out by hand and slung between a couple of poles for support. It is beaten with a club and the sound emitted has remarkable carrying qualities. If anything of moment ever occurs in the locality, the news is spread from house to house through the medium of the tundai. It also plays a prominent part on all festive occasions.' §REF§Dyott, George Miller 1926. “On The Trail Of The Unknown In The Wilds Of Ecuador And The Amazon\", 173§REF§ 'First, the tunduí is beaten at the feasts when the narcotics nate´ma or maikoa are ceremonially consumed. In this case the drumming is in very slow time' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 111p§REF§ 'Secondly, the Jibaros beat the tunduí at the feasts (nambeŕa) where the ordinary manioc-beer (nihamańchi) or the beer made of the fruit of the chontaruŕu palm is ceremonially consumed.' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 111p§REF§ 'In both these cases the spirits (iguańchi), and not human beings, are summoned by means of the tunduí. But thirdly, the Indians use the signal drum to summon their human friends in two events, namely, when a death has taken place in a house and when enemies are [112] making an attack upon it. Since a death is always set down by the Jibaros to the secret machinations of some enemy sorcerer, the situation in the two events is essentially the same. The beating of the drum is a cry for help, or a notification that a crime has been committed. In this third case, i.e. when the drum is beaten for the purpose of giving friends notice of danger, the signalling consists of a series of short, fast strokes in a tone which, in each series, is at first forte or fortissimo and thereafter gradually diminishes. This is repeated several times. This particular mode of signalling is called Pakinmawae.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru\", 111p§REF§ '“The big signal drum of the Jibaros, called tundúi, also plays a part in the wars, although originally it seems to have been a purely religious instrument. At times when there is fear of an attack of enemies it is placed outside the house on the hill, and the beats may then be heard at a distance of several miles. The drum tundúi is beaten when the Jibaros drink the narcotics maikoa and natéma-in which case the object is to summon the spirits that inhabit these sacred drinks-also after a death, and lastly to give friends notice of an attack by enemies. In the latter case the signalling consists of a series of short and fast beats at a time which is at first forte or fortissimo and there-after gradually diminishes. When the friends in the other houses hear these beats they say: Pakinmawae, ‘they are killing’. Hence this whole mode of signaling is called Pakinmawae. As soon as the inhabitants of a house get knowledge of or suspect the presence of enemies, and also during the attack, if there is time for it, they try by beating the tundúi to summon their friends for rescue, and the singalling may sometimes cause the enemy, fearing the arrival of help, to give up his evil intention and take flight.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 264§REF§ They did not use professional couriers or postal services." }, { "id": 31, "polity": { "id": 197, "name": "ec_shuar_2", "long_name": "Shuar - Ecuadorian", "start_year": 1831, "end_year": 1931 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Shuar communities transmitted messages through ceremonial and war drums: 'A few words must be said about the túndui, the wireless telephone of the Aguarunas. It consists of a hollowed-out tree trunk, about 100-120 cm. long and of a thickness of 30-35 cm. At each end there is a handle, one of which is used to grab it, the other as a support on the ground, so that the instrument is free to vibrate. On top of the drum there are four holes in one direction. Originally, these holes may have been used to hollow out the trunk, in the end they help with the resonance. (See Illustration number 4.) They beat the instrument with a short stick which is wound with vegetarian wool at one end. The sound differs depending on whether the drum is hit from the side or at the top. The messages are conveyed, in the manner of our Morse system, by a combination of these two sound possibilities. If the air is quiet, one is able to hear the túndui at a distance of several kilometers. The message is transmitted from one place to the other by a process of interception and further transmission.' §REF§Brüning, Hans H. 1928. “Travelling In The Aguaruna Region”, 74§REF§ '“As we sat on the banks of the Upano, listening to the words of wisdom that fell from Kuashu's lips, we heard the distant beat of a drum resounding harshly over the forest. It was not the low musical note, full and vibrant, but a peculiarly hard, penetrating noise, resembling the rapid blows of an axe on some fallen tree-trunk. The signal drum or tundai of the Jivaros is just a log of hard wood, carefully hollowed out by hand and slung between a couple of poles for support. It is beaten with a club and the sound emitted has remarkable carrying qualities. If anything of moment ever occurs in the locality, the news is spread from house to house through the medium of the tundai. It also plays a prominent part on all festive occasions.' §REF§Dyott, George Miller 1926. “On The Trail Of The Unknown In The Wilds Of Ecuador And The Amazon\", 173§REF§ 'First, the tunduí is beaten at the feasts when the narcotics nate´ma or maikoa are ceremonially consumed. In this case the drumming is in very slow time' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 111p§REF§ 'Secondly, the Jibaros beat the tunduí at the feasts (nambeŕa) where the ordinary manioc-beer (nihamańchi) or the beer made of the fruit of the chontaruŕu palm is ceremonially consumed.' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 111p§REF§ 'In both these cases the spirits (iguańchi), and not human beings, are summoned by means of the tunduí. But thirdly, the Indians use the signal drum to summon their human friends in two events, namely, when a death has taken place in a house and when enemies are [112] making an attack upon it. Since a death is always set down by the Jibaros to the secret machinations of some enemy sorcerer, the situation in the two events is essentially the same. The beating of the drum is a cry for help, or a notification that a crime has been committed. In this third case, i.e. when the drum is beaten for the purpose of giving friends notice of danger, the signalling consists of a series of short, fast strokes in a tone which, in each series, is at first forte or fortissimo and thereafter gradually diminishes. This is repeated several times. This particular mode of signalling is called Pakinmawae.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru\", 111p§REF§ '“The big signal drum of the Jibaros, called tundúi, also plays a part in the wars, although originally it seems to have been a purely religious instrument. At times when there is fear of an attack of enemies it is placed outside the house on the hill, and the beats may then be heard at a distance of several miles. The drum tundúi is beaten when the Jibaros drink the narcotics maikoa and natéma-in which case the object is to summon the spirits that inhabit these sacred drinks-also after a death, and lastly to give friends notice of an attack by enemies. In the latter case the signalling consists of a series of short and fast beats at a time which is at first forte or fortissimo and there-after gradually diminishes. When the friends in the other houses hear these beats they say: Pakinmawae, ‘they are killing’. Hence this whole mode of signaling is called Pakinmawae. As soon as the inhabitants of a house get knowledge of or suspect the presence of enemies, and also during the attack, if there is time for it, they try by beating the tundúi to summon their friends for rescue, and the singalling may sometimes cause the enemy, fearing the arrival of help, to give up his evil intention and take flight.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 264§REF§ They did not use professional couriers or postal services." }, { "id": 32, "polity": { "id": 367, "name": "eg_ayyubid_sultanate", "long_name": "Ayyubid Sultanate", "start_year": 1171, "end_year": 1250 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " These included messenger swimmers.§REF§(Asbridge 2012) Asbridge, T. 2012. The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land. Simon and Schuster.§REF§" }, { "id": 33, "polity": { "id": 510, "name": "eg_badarian", "long_name": "Badarian", "start_year": -4400, "end_year": -3800 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 34, "polity": { "id": 514, "name": "eg_dynasty_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty I", "start_year": -3100, "end_year": -2900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Juan Carlos Moreno García, Invaders or just herders? Libyans in Egypt in the third and second millennia BCE, 8)§REF§" }, { "id": 35, "polity": { "id": 515, "name": "eg_dynasty_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty II", "start_year": -2900, "end_year": -2687 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Juan Carlos Moreno García, Invaders or just herders? Libyans in Egypt in the third and second millennia BCE, 8)§REF§" }, { "id": 36, "polity": { "id": 205, "name": "eg_inter_occupation", "long_name": "Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period", "start_year": -404, "end_year": -342 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 37, "polity": { "id": 232, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I", "start_year": 1260, "end_year": 1348 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 38, "polity": { "id": 239, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_3", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III", "start_year": 1412, "end_year": 1517 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 39, "polity": { "id": 236, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II", "start_year": 1348, "end_year": 1412 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 40, "polity": { "id": 519, "name": "eg_middle_k", "long_name": "Egypt - Middle Kingdom", "start_year": -2016, "end_year": -1700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Official dispatches from border fortresses survive on papyrus, discovered at Thebes.§REF§(Quirke 2001)§REF§" }, { "id": 41, "polity": { "id": 511, "name": "eg_naqada_1", "long_name": "Naqada I", "start_year": -3800, "end_year": -3550 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 42, "polity": { "id": 512, "name": "eg_naqada_2", "long_name": "Naqada II", "start_year": -3550, "end_year": -3300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Altogether, those artifacts and architecture indicate the beginning of bureaucracy apparatus on the quite developed if not centralized level. Not all scientists, however, agree that existence of full-time, centralized bureaucracy is without any doubt. They rather talk about a “simple form of administration.”§REF§Wengrow, D. 2006. The Archaeology of Early Egypt. Social Transformation of North-East Africa, 10,000 to 2650 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pg:264.§REF§ Messengers would be part of a simple form of administration." }, { "id": 43, "polity": { "id": 513, "name": "eg_naqada_3", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty 0", "start_year": -3300, "end_year": -3100 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " simply bureaucracy would likely have used messengers." }, { "id": 44, "polity": { "id": 199, "name": "eg_new_k_2", "long_name": "Egypt - New Kingdom Ramesside Period", "start_year": -1293, "end_year": -1070 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"Messengers.\" §REF§(Spalinger 2013, 408)§REF§ Mounted messengers.§REF§(Healey 1992)§REF§ (Thut III - Am II period). \"Inscription from the tomb of Vizier Rh-mi-r'\" states the duties of the vizier. \"It is he who dispatches every messenger of the pr-nswt sent to the mayors and the settlement-leaders; is he who dispatches everyone who will circulate all messages of the pr-nswt.\"§REF§(Pagliari 2012, 726) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.§REF§" }, { "id": 45, "polity": { "id": 198, "name": "eg_new_k_1", "long_name": "Egypt - New Kingdom Thutmosid Period", "start_year": -1550, "end_year": -1293 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"Messengers.\" §REF§(Spalinger 2013, 408)§REF§ Mounted messengers.§REF§(Healey 1992)§REF§ (Thut III - Am II period). \"Inscription from the tomb of Vizier Rh-mi-r'\" states the duties of the vizier. \"It is he who dispatches every messenger of the pr-nswt sent to the mayors and the settlement-leaders; is he who dispatches everyone who will circulate all messages of the pr-nswt.\"§REF§(Pagliari 2012, 726) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.§REF§" }, { "id": 46, "polity": { "id": 516, "name": "eg_old_k_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Classic Old Kingdom", "start_year": -2650, "end_year": -2350 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 47, "polity": { "id": 517, "name": "eg_old_k_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Late Old Kingdom", "start_year": -2350, "end_year": -2150 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 48, "polity": { "id": 109, "name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_1", "long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom I", "start_year": -305, "end_year": -217 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Manning 2015, Personal Communication)§REF§" }, { "id": 49, "polity": { "id": 207, "name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_2", "long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom II", "start_year": -217, "end_year": -30 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Manning 2015, Personal Communication)§REF§" }, { "id": 50, "polity": { "id": 518, "name": "eg_regions", "long_name": "Egypt - Period of the Regions", "start_year": -2150, "end_year": -2016 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Centralized Theban state and high officials likely to have communicated using individuals to carry personal messages." } ] }