The Virtual Coliseum
Friday April 30, 2004
You're the top! You're the Coliseum! Find out just exactly why Cole Porter picked this site as one of his "tops", by visiting this new Discovery Channel virtual tour of ... Read More
Blombos Cave: What it Means to be Human
Thursday April 29, 2004
Great strides in understanding the development of modern human beings are being taken at the very southern tip of Africa these days.
Destination: Towton Battlefield
Wednesday April 28, 2004
The bloodiest battle ever fought in England was part of the War of the Roses, on Palm Sunday, in the year 1461. Carried on between the Yorkist King Edward IV, ... Read More
Get to the Point: A Lighter View of Lithics
Tuesday April 27, 2004
Lithic artifacts--stone tools such as arrow heads--are very important to archaeological science. But my goodness! what a lot of myths there are concerning them.
Quote 113: Why Lewis Binford Will Never Be a Quote of the Week
Monday April 26, 2004
A quote from Paula Sabloff's interview with archaeologist Lewis Binford clarifies why Binford's prose is often too dense to get through on the first reading.
The Ancient City of Copán: Out of the Mists of Honduras
Sunday April 25, 2004
Over a century of archaeological research at Copan has resulted in a vast wealth of information about the Maya of Honduras.
Jerusalem: The Disputed City
Saturday April 24, 2004
Archaeological and historical evidence of Jerusalem, the ancient city of David, reflects its ancient past.
Tenochtitlan: Island Capital of Mexico
Friday April 23, 2004
Capital city of the Aztec nation, Tenochtitlan is located in a very peculiar place today--a place now called Mexico City.
Real World Archaeology
Thursday April 22, 2004
In the development/preservation dance, preservation means more than selecting the best architecture or archaeological site to the man who owns the farm that's not quite worth saving.
Studying Archaeology in High School
Wednesday April 21, 2004
You don't have to wait until college to start getting ready for a career in archaeology. Here are some Tips for the would-be archaeologist for back-to-school.
Feddersen Wierde: Iron Age Settlement
Tuesday April 20, 2004
Quintessential of all the Iron Age Saxon settlements, Feddersen Wierde is located on the marshy coastland of northern Germany. It was first occupied around the first century BC and continued ... Read More
Opal Phytoliths in Archaeology
Monday April 19, 2004
The analysis of opal phytoliths has become, over the past thirty years or so, a workhorse of archaeological science. Phytolith analysis is an example of how inventive researchers in archaeology ... Read More
Ethnicity: Why Archaeology is a Semi-Soft Science
Sunday April 18, 2004
Ethnicity is one of those concepts that was tailor-made to doom archaeology as a "soft" science. The concept of ethnicity is strictly a cultural construct: there is simply no physical--no ... Read More
Late Prehistoric Architecture of North Portugal
Saturday April 17, 2004
An intriguing new project from Vítor and Susana O. Jorge, among others, on the architecture of late prehistoric cultures and what the use of space might have meant.
Jabal Hamrat Fidan Project, Jordan
Friday April 16, 2004
June 28 – August 6, 2004. University of California, San Diego. The JHF project is the first 'deep time' study of Ore Procurement, Early Metallurgy, Production and Social Change from ... Read More
A Little Place for Your Stuff: Ceramics in Archaeology
Thursday April 15, 2004
Ceramic pottery is one of the distinctive forms of artifact produced by prehistoric peoples. Both utilitarian and artwork, pottery will always be a subject for serious study by the archaeologist.
Quote 47: Barbara Bocek on Rampant Rodents
Wednesday April 14, 2004
From her classic article on the measured effects of burrowing animals on archaeological sites, Barbara Bocek describes her results in painful detail.
AnYang: Bronze Age Capital in China
Tuesday April 13, 2004
Three seasons of excavations at the ancient Chinese city of AnYang have produced a wealth of information at this Bronze Age capital of the Shang Dynasty.
Quote 125: Blackstone on What Good Friends Archaeologists Are
Monday April 12, 2004
A quote from Cherokee-Creek mezzo-soprano opera singer Tsianina Blackstone just what an insensitive clod an archaeologist can be, if he's a good friend of yours.
Arqueo Costa Rica
Sunday April 11, 2004
The beginnings of a clearing house for information on Costa Rican archaeology, currently including several articles by Michael Snarskis, and promising to include more resources in the future.
Quote 195: Praetzellis on Having Too Much Fun
Saturday April 10, 2004
This quote is from Adrian Praetzellis' book Dug to Death, in which he (in the guise of character Hannah Green) describes why fieldwork is just too much fun.
Historical Archaeology in West Oakland
Friday April 9, 2004
From the Anthropological Studies Center at Sonoma State University, the working drafts of the Cypress Freeway CRM Reports, a cultural resource management report on archaeology of 20 blocks in the ... Read More
Quote 73: Brace et al on the Chimerical Concept of Race
Thursday April 8, 2004
From an article on the scientific exploration of death in ancient Egyptian mummies, C. Loring Brace and a host of co-authors comments on how weird the concept of "race" really ... Read More
Slack Jawed Humans and Evolution
Wednesday April 7, 2004
Sorry--couldn't resist. This story in New Scientist suggests our big brains are the result of a genetic mutation that loosened our primate ancestors' jaw muscles
New Scientist
Quote 76: Bonnichsen and Steele on New World Entrada
Tuesday April 6, 2004
A quote from archaeologists Rob Bonnichsen and Gentry Steele explains why one of the most interesting pieces of the American archaeology puzzle is who were the first Americans and when ... Read More
Colonial House
Monday April 5, 2004
PBS is doing another one of those 'You-Are-There' series where poor schlub modern guys attempt to live in the past. This one is set in the American New England in ... Read More
Quote 182: Bob and Ray on Museum Management
Sunday April 4, 2004
From the outrageously silly humor of radio comedians Bob (hang from your thumbs) Elliot and Ray (write if you get work) Goulding, a salient tip on how to keep a ... Read More
Bella Coola Valley (British Columbia, Canada)
Saturday April 3, 2004
July 5 - August 27, 2004. University of Northern British Columbia and Nuxalk Nation. This is a 15 credit (full term) field school that integrates archaeological and traditional knowledge.
Bishopstone (Sussex UK)
Friday April 2, 2004
August 9-September 18, 2004. Sussex Archaeological Society. In 2004 we hope to fully uncover the Late Anglo-Saxon foundations for a series of earthfast timber buildings and structures. We also ... Read More
Quote 177: Brace on Standardized Testing
Thursday April 1, 2004
Anthropologist C. Loring Brace explains why standardized tests are a bad idea