African Diaspora Newsletter Out
Friday September 30, 2005
September's African Diaspora Archaeology newsletter has just been posted online:
African Diaspora Archaeology Network, Newsletter, September 2005
Maya Site Q Identified
Friday September 30, 2005
In the 1960s, a flood of looted Classic Maya (AD 250-900) stone panels appeared in museums around the world, from a site no archaeologist knew about. The mysterious source of ... Read More
Petition: Scientific Support For Darwinism
Thursday September 29, 2005
Inspired by the Discovery Institute's petition "A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism", R. Joe Brandon of Shovelbums has begun a petition supporting the teaching of Darwinism and stating that Intelligent Design ... Read More
Literature Review: Top Places to Conduct Background Research
Thursday September 29, 2005
Literature review is an essential part of background research, conducted by an archaeologist prior to beginning archaeological studies in a region or on an archaeological site.
27,000 year old twin burials found
Wednesday September 28, 2005
Breaking news from Yahoo and the New Scientist reports that a burial of twin infants dated to at least 27,000 years ago have been found at a site in Austria. ... Read More
Archaeology Quiz: Nasca Lines
Wednesday September 28, 2005
Hmm. The Nasca Lines: does that have anything to do with stock car racing?
Mary Rose Dive Blog
Tuesday September 27, 2005
The Mary Rose Archaeological Services is conducting what will likely be the last set of dives on the wrecksite Henry VIII's battle ship the Mary Rose, sunk off Portsmouth, England ... Read More
A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá
Tuesday September 27, 2005
The Maya site of Chichén Itzá (chee-CHEN eeet-ZA)
Totally Toltec temple at Chichén ItzáPhoto Credit: Jim Gateley
is one of the most important and well-known archaeological sites in the New World; ... Read More
Bibliographies in Archaeology by Topic
Tuesday September 27, 2005
A bunch of new brief bibliographies have been added to these pages in the last few weeks, including Casas Grandes, horticulture, Monte Alban, Monte Verde, Moundville, Natufian, palynology, remote sensing, ... Read More
600 Barrels of Incan Loot
Monday September 26, 2005
According to a news story in the Guardian today, 10 billion US$ worth of gold artifacts stolen from the Inca during the early 18th century has been found, ... Read More
Career Paths in Archaeology
Monday September 26, 2005
There are several ways to choose archaeology as a career, in addition to teaching classes at a university. Other options can be found working at a cultural resource management firm, ... Read More
Creationist Museum
Sunday September 25, 2005
The Washington Post today is reporting that a new museum dedicated to the Biblical creation is under construction in Cincinnati. Well, in a general sort of, fuzzy not-quite kind of ... Read More
Picking a Topic for an Research Paper
Sunday September 25, 2005
Your professor has assigned you a research paper to write on an archaeological culture or site; but you don't know what in the world to write on? Here's some tips ... Read More
The Last Imaginary Place
Saturday September 24, 2005
Robert McGhee’s The Last Imaginary Place is either about the courageous nature of the western mind, or about its sheer lunacy in exploring the dangerous beauty of the arctic regions ... Read More
Biographical Sketches
Friday September 23, 2005
A nice crop of biographies this week:
Richard Wetherill,
Edward Mott Davis [1918-1998],
Fred Wendorf [b. 1925],
Calvin Bampfylde Wells [1908-1978],
Franz Weidenreich [1873-1948],
Josiah Wedgewood [1730-1792],
Waldo Rudolph Wedel [1908-1996],
Karl Weber [d. 1764],
Alan John Bayard Wace ... Read More
Wadi Raba Culture
Thursday September 22, 2005
The Wadi Raba culture is the name given to the neolithic culture of the Levant, dated to the 5th millennium BC.
Inca Mummies Display Creates Controversy
Thursday September 22, 2005
The Washington Post reported Tuesday 9/20 that a proposed exhibit of three 500 year old Inca mummies of sacrified children is creating some amount of controversy. The Museum of High ... Read More
Equinox at Loughcrew
Thursday September 22, 2005
If you're going to celebrate the change of seasons at the autumnal equinox, there is no better place to do it than the megalithic site of Loughcrew Cairn T, near ... Read More
Archaeology Quiz: Pompeii
Thursday September 22, 2005
This week's trivia quiz is on one of the earliest excavated archaeological sites in the world: Pompeii.
Waterford (Ireland)
Wednesday September 21, 2005
The modern city of Waterford, located in Ireland, was settled by the Viking Sitricus in 853 AD, or so tradition says.
The Science of Survival
Wednesday September 21, 2005
In a Chicago Tribune editorial dated September 18, archaeologists Gary Feinman and Christopher Fisher report how past civilizations such as the Vikings in Greenland and the Maya in Guatemala failed ... Read More
Emperor Qin's Terracotta Army
Wednesday September 21, 2005
The exquisite terracotta army of the first Qin Dynasty ruler Shihuangdi represents the emperor’s ability to control the resources of the newly unified China, and his attempt to recreate and ... Read More
Wasserburg (Germany)
Tuesday September 20, 2005
Wasserburg is one of the best preserved urnfield settlement sites in Europe, located in Federseemoor, in the Baden-Wurtemberg region of southwestern Germany.
Cahokia Atlatl Contest
Tuesday September 20, 2005
The Missouri Atlatl Association will hold its annual contest and demonstration at Cahokia Mounds Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25, from 10 am to 4 pm each day. ... Read More
Viru Valley Project
Monday September 19, 2005
he Virú Valley was the location of one of the earliest (if not the earliest) settlement pattern studies.
AIA Forums: Hurricane Katrina
Monday September 19, 2005
The Archaeological Institute of America has set up a forum for information on archaeologists and others displaced by Katrina:
AIA Forums - Hurricane Katrina Forum
Gold Rush Mystery Ship
Monday September 19, 2005
Construction for a new San Francisco condominium was halted recently, when works discovered a 19th century sailing ship buried in the alluvium. Richard Everett, a curator at the San Francisco ... Read More
New Glossary Entries
Monday September 19, 2005
A few new glossary entries in the Archaeology Dictionary take us to the UK, Serbia, South Africa, and the US Ohio Valley:
Western Stemmed Tradition,
Wessex (United Kingdom).
Wayland's Smithy (United Kingdom),
Vinca (Serbia),
Makapansgat ... Read More
Lycian League Parliament Building Identified
Monday September 19, 2005
Ruins of the Lycian League parliament building, the classical Greek political structure on which the US Congress was based in part, have been identified at Patara, Turkey. The classical ... Read More
Antonio Johnston Waring, Jr. [1915-1964]
Sunday September 18, 2005
American archaeologist Antonio Waring Jr. is probably most closely associated with the development of the trait list for the "Southern Cult".
What is Archaeology? A Compilation of Pithy Quotes
Sunday September 18, 2005
What is Archaeology? The study of archaeology has been defined in a number of silly and serious ways. Here's a collection of pithy quotes from archaeologists and non-archaeologists.
Alan John Bayard Wace [1879-1957]
Saturday September 17, 2005
English archaeologist Alan J.B. Wace conducted archaeological work throughout the classical Mediterranean
Archaeology 101
Saturday September 17, 2005
What is archaeology and why do we do it? The course Archaeology 101 will investigate the methods of archaeology, ethics of archaeology, and the results of archaeology. Sharpen up that ... Read More
Charles Warren [1840-1927]
Friday September 16, 2005
Charles Warren was an English archaeologist who is undoubtedly famous (or infamous, I suppose), for having conducted clandestine excavations in Jerusalem
Indigenous Archaeology
Friday September 16, 2005
One of the more exciting trends in archaeology today is the growing active participation of indigenous people in the federal bureaucracy of protecting cultural resources. In this email interview, archaeologists ... Read More
ACHP Requests Input on NAGPRA
Friday September 16, 2005
I've been asked to send along this request from the United States Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) for members of the public to respond to proposed changes in its ... Read More
Vuelta Limon (Mexico)
Thursday September 15, 2005
The archaeological site of Vuelta Limón is located about 20 kilometers from the Pacific coast of the state of Chiapas, on the banks of the Rio Cacaluta.
Archaeology of Antioch, Part I
Thursday September 15, 2005
University of Aarhus grad student Troels Myrup Kristensen begins a series describing the archaeological investigations of Antioch.
Towards an Archaeology of Iconoclasm » The Archaeology of Antioch Part I
Googling Roman Ruins?
Thursday September 15, 2005
James Martin's blog Wandering Italy reports on Luca Mori's discovery of Roman ruins using Google maps:
Wandering Italy Blog: Roman Ruins Discovered Using Google Maps
Lascaux Cave: Marvel on the World Wide Web
Thursday September 15, 2005
The world wide web site of Lascaux Cave is an innovative invention of the French government, both conserving one of the world's most treasured art galleries and permitting untold visitors ... Read More
Ernest Volk [1845-1919]
Wednesday September 14, 2005
German born archaeologist Ernest Volk was an avid collector and amateur scientist, who was associated with C.C. Abbott and the Trenton Gravels.
Wari Empire
Tuesday September 13, 2005
The Wari or Huari Empire was a sophisticated civilization established in the central Andes of Peru during the Middle Horizon (between about AD 750 and 1000).
Wessex Archaeology Podcast
Tuesday September 13, 2005
Today, podcasting starts of excavations on Cranborne Chase in Dorset, England, where the Wessex Archaeology team led by Martin Green will be running a Practical Archaeology Course.
Wessex Archaeology Events ... Read More
Evolution/Schmevolution
Tuesday September 13, 2005
Fake news anchor Jon Stewart began a four-part series on the depressingly controversial topic of evolution, on his Comedy Central fake news show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. As ... Read More
Vindolandia (UK)
Tuesday September 13, 2005
Vindolandia is the name of a Roman fortress, constructed at the behest of Agricola in AD 79 after the conquest of northern Britain
Vinca (Serbia)
Monday September 12, 2005
Vinča is the name of a large tell, located on the Danube River in the Balat Plain about 15 kilometers downstream from Belgrade in what is now Serbia.
Vergina (Greece)
Monday September 12, 2005
The modern city of Vergina is the location of the ancient capital of the Macedonians, callted Aigai.
Fauresmith Industries
Monday September 12, 2005
Fauresmith industries in the name archaeologists have given to a stone tool manufacturing technique dated to 75,000 to 100,000 years before the present.
Alfred Russel Wallace [1823-1913]
Monday September 12, 2005
English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace is probably most remembered as the scientist who wrote Charles Darwin about his own ideas on natural selection, forcing Darwin to publish On the Origin ... Read More
Trivia Quiz: Lascaux Cave
Sunday September 11, 2005
Lascaux Cave, let me guess--it's a cave? What else do you know about the Lascaux Cave? Try this trivia quiz and discover...
Elisabeth Vrba
Sunday September 11, 2005
South African paleontologist Elisabeth Vrba is best known for her theory concerning the process of evolution called the Turnover Pulse Hypothesis.
Emile and Paul Vouga
Saturday September 10, 2005
The Swiss archaeologists Emile and Paul Vouga were father and son, who separately investigated the Iron Age site of La Tène.
Barbara Voorhies
Saturday September 10, 2005
American archaeologist Barbara Voorhies is best known for her work on the shell mound archaic of coastal Mexico
1733 Spanish Galleon Trail
Saturday September 10, 2005
From the Florida Office of Historical and Cultural Programs, a website dedicated to the Spanish galleons wrecked off the Florida keys in the 18th century.
The Fall of Rome
Saturday September 10, 2005
Oxford U Press is blogging excerpts from Bryan Ward-Perkins' new book "The Fall of Rome".
OUPblog: The Fall of Rome
Evon Zartman Vogt Jr. [1918-2004]
Saturday September 10, 2005
American archaeologist and anthropologist Evon Z. Vogt, Jr. is probably best known for his ethnographic work at Zinacantan in Chiapas state, Mexico.
Quote 53: Woolley on the effects of CRM
Friday September 9, 2005
Today's DQ is from one of the classic archaeologists of the early 20th century, Leonard Woolley, decrying the effects of the commercialization of archaeology.
Feddersen Wierde (Germany)
Friday September 9, 2005
An Iron Age Saxon settlement, Feddersen Wierde is located on the marshy coastland of northern Germany.
Federmesser Culture
Friday September 9, 2005
The Federmesser Culture is the name of a Scandinavian Late Mesolithic group (circa 12,500-9000 BC)
Gordion (Turkey)
Friday September 9, 2005
The archaeological site of Gordion is located in central Turkey, about 100 kilometers west of the modern town of Ankara.
African Diaspora Archaeology Network
Friday September 9, 2005
From Christopher Fennel at the University of Chicago, a website dedicated to the archaeological study of the African diaspora.
Stephen J. Gould on creationism.
Thursday September 8, 2005
Stephen Jay Gould was a brilliant explainer of science to the public. In a Skeptical Inquirer of 1987/1988, he took a whack at creationism.
New Orleans Lost and Found: A Tradition of Rebirth
Thursday September 8, 2005
What does it mean to miss New Orleans? Archaeologist and part-time resident of New Orleans Shannon Lee Dawdy documents the cycle of destruction and rebirth of the Crescent City, and ... Read More
Wadi Feinan (Jordan)
Thursday September 8, 2005
Wadi Feinan is the name of a wadi, or dry valley, in Jordan, where a number of important Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites are located
Phillips on new world variations.
Wednesday September 7, 2005
DQ for today is one of the most famous--and the most frequently misquoted and misattributed--quotations in archaeology. I looked it up, just to make sure!
Tel Tsaf (Israel)
Wednesday September 7, 2005
The archaeological site of Tel Tsaf is a Middle Chalcolithic site located near Beth-Shean in the Jordan Valley of Israel
Students Enrolled
Wednesday September 7, 2005
Schools across the nation are absorbing students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, the largest student resettlement in American history, according to historians.
Across Nation, Storm Victims Crowd Schools - New York ... Read More
Vis (Russia)
Wednesday September 7, 2005
The Vis sites are two peat bogs in the Vychegda basin of Russia, in which have been found the remains of worked wooden objects, including wooden skis and sledge runners.
Oxford University Press Book Blog
Wednesday September 7, 2005
In what might be a very sharp marketing tool, OUP has created a new weblog to describe its recent and upcoming publications.
La Tene (Switzerland)
Wednesday September 7, 2005
The archaeological site of La Tène is located on the edge of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland; it is the type site for the Iron Age (450-50 BC) culture for which it ... Read More
Sellar and Yeatman on what history is
Tuesday September 6, 2005
Today's Daily Quote is from Sellar and Yeatman's 1930 book, 1066 and all that.
Visigoths
Tuesday September 6, 2005
The Visigoths were one of the Germanic kingdoms (such as Ostrogoths and Franks), who eventually spelled the end of the Roman empire.
Viracochapampa (Peru)
Tuesday September 6, 2005
Viracochapampa is the name of a Huari empire outpost that was begun on a main Andean roadway, but never finished.
Breaking Ground: Women in Old World Archaeology
Tuesday September 6, 2005
This collection of biographies of women archaeologists was put together by Martha Sharp Joukowsky and Barbara Lesko at Brown University.
Geoglyphs
Tuesday September 6, 2005
A geoglyph is a work of rock art that was made from moving or arranging stones on a landscape.
Nicholas and Bannister on Copyrighting the Past
Monday September 5, 2005
For the Daily Quote for today, a snippet from Nicholas and Bannister, "Copyrighting the Past?", Current Anthropology 2004.
Universities Make Space for Katrina Student Survivors
Monday September 5, 2005
Many North American universities are opening their doors to students and faculty displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Here's a list of those schools which have openings or are offering assistance to ... Read More
After Hurricane Katrina: Finding A School
Monday September 5, 2005
Rob Kennedy, our guide to private schools, has information and ideas on how to find replacement K-20 schools, public and private, who are opening their doors to those affected by ... Read More
Virginia Commonwealth
Monday September 5, 2005
Virginia's Secretary of Education Peter Blake has urged all Virginia higher education institutions to take whatever steps are necessary to make entry to Virginia colleges and universities as simple as ... Read More
Arizona State U
Monday September 5, 2005
ASU is reaching out to students who were planning to attend school in the hurricane impact area, including Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans and close to three dozen other ... Read More
Middle Tennessee State University
Monday September 5, 2005
MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Tozer, 615-898-5131
Dr. Bob Glenn, 615-898-2440
MURFREESBORO--Middle Tennessee State University will respond
immediately to Governor Bredesen's call for ... Read More
University of Texas at Arlington
Monday September 5, 2005
Undergraduate students living in shelters have already begun the process of being enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington. Students are being accepted on a case by case basis: ... Read More
University of Illinois
Monday September 5, 2005
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has set up a contact at the Office of Admissions and Records at 217/333-0302 for late admissions. For financial aid assistance, please refer callers ... Read More
Bowdoin University
Monday September 5, 2005
In response to the destruction and desperation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Bowdoin College will contribute $30,000 to three historically African-American colleges facing substantial recovery and reconstruction costs in Louisiana and ... Read More
University of South Florida
Monday September 5, 2005
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 19:41:38 -0400
From: Lori Collins
Subject: Re: University of South Florida
University of South Florida is doing similar and has established ... Read More
Monmouth University
Monday September 5, 2005
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 19:07:45 -0400
From: Richard Veit
Subject: Re: Monmouth University
Monmouth University is also accepting students who have been displaced from Gulf ... Read More
Boston University accepting Tulane Students
Monday September 5, 2005
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 14:36:29 -0400
From: "Mary C. Beaudry"
Subject: Boston University accepting Tulane students: NO TUITION
Boston University announced last week that ... Read More
Michigan Tech Invites Displaced Scholars
Monday September 5, 2005
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 10:05:44 -0500
From: Timothy Scarlett
Subject: MTU Accepting Students
Michigan Technological University is also going to accept students displaced by university ... Read More
Venus Figurines
Monday September 5, 2005
Venus figurines are the name given to a nearly universal type of art, appearing first in the Upper Paleolithic period between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago.
Hochschild on True Science
Sunday September 4, 2005
DQ for the day is from political philospher Jennifer Hochschild, a non-archaeologist, from her essay "On the social science wars" which appeared in Daedalus in 2004.
Farnham Castle Keep (United Kingdom)
Sunday September 4, 2005
Farnham Castle Keep is a Norman castle in Surrey, England, built by Bishop Henry de Blois in 1138 AD.
Katrina & Me
Sunday September 4, 2005
About's guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Julia Houston, who works at Tulane University, provides a compelling narrative of her personal escape from New Orleans before the worst natural disaster ... Read More
Jobs and Unemployment Resources for Gulf Coast Residents
Sunday September 4, 2005
About's guide to Job Searching, Alison Doyle, has collected a mass of resources for employment of persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Penn to Offer Studentships
Sunday September 4, 2005
The University of Pennsylvania has joined the growing number of universities offering positions to displaced students and faculty.
Date: Fri, 2 Sep ... Read More
LSU Dept of Geog and Anthropology responds to Katrina
Sunday September 4, 2005
Brian Kenny sent this along today:
AAA Date: Sep 4, 2005 7:09 AM Subject: LSU Dept of Geog and Anthropology responds to Katrina
LSU Dept of Geography and Anthropology ... Read More
Cattle Herding
Sunday September 4, 2005
Although evidence for hunting wild forms of cattle exists at archaeological sites dated to our earliest days on the planet, herding cattle was first accomplished in Western Asia by about ... Read More
George Clapp Vaillant [1901-1945]
Sunday September 4, 2005
American archaeologist George C. Vaillant worked in central America, primarily on Aztec and Maya sites.
Columbia to offer Faculty and Student Slots
Saturday September 3, 2005
Columbia University is also offering spaces (a few hundred) for
students from closed universities. They will be admitted as visiting
students for the fall. Columbia will provide faculty from closed
universities with ... Read More
Harvard Opens its Doors to Katrina's Student Survivors
Saturday September 3, 2005
The dean of the faculty of arts and sciences at Harvard has offered assistance to its students in Louisiana, and also offered 50 visiting studentships (tuition-free) for the fall semester ... Read More
Katrina and Culture
Saturday September 3, 2005
The unfolding awfulness of Katrina also has a cultural component, and although it seems a little callous to worry about the cultural losses to the city when so many people ... Read More
William Calvin on the Mind's Big Bang
Friday September 2, 2005
DQ for today is from William Calvin's 2004 article in Natural History called the Fate of the Soul.
Missing New Orleans: The Cultural Costs of Katrina
Friday September 2, 2005
The cultural costs of Hurricane Katrina have yet to be accounted for; but the loss of New Orleans to North America is a dear one.
About - Hurricane Katrina
Friday September 2, 2005
Complete coverage on the impact of Hurricane Katrina, from the guides of About.com
Villanova Culture
Friday September 2, 2005
The Villanova Culture is the name given to the early Iron Age predessors of the great Etruscan civilization
Vikings
Friday September 2, 2005
Most of the archaeological investigations undertaken on the Viking Age have been focused on the two hundred years or so the Vikings spent raiding Europe.
Bahrani on the Iraqi National Museum: Archaeology quotation
Thursday September 1, 2005
The Daily Quote for the day is from Zainab Bahrani's 2004 essay in Natural History called "Lawless in Mespotamia."
Vijayanagara (India)
Thursday September 1, 2005
Vijayanagara ("Victory City") was the capital city of the medieval Hindu empire of southern India of Vijayanagara.
The Battle for Archaeology
Thursday September 1, 2005
This article in the August 29, 2005 issue of Salon magazine describes the online battle between scientists and creationists/new agers over the very soul of archaeology.
Salon.com News | Archaeology ... Read More
Ribe (Denmark)
Thursday September 1, 2005
The town of Ribe is said to be the oldest city in Denmark, founded in AD 825 between AD 704-710 by Vikings.
Thanks, Gudrun!