The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Dialogue
Saturday December 31, 2005
From the Oxford University Press blog, a dialogue between Bryan Ward-Perkins and Peter Heather on their opposing ideas about what caused the fall of the Roman empire, and why each ... Read More
The Olmec Civilization and the Use of Bitumen
Friday December 30, 2005
Geoarchaeological research by Carl Wendt and Shan-Tan Lu has identified origin sources of bitumen used by the great Olmec civilization of the tropical lowlands of central America, 3000 years ago. ... Read More
Sourcing in Archaeology
Thursday December 29, 2005
One common avenue of archaeological research is called sourcing, in which an archaeologist attempts to identify the location where a particular resource occurs naturally. This definition of sourcing in archaeology ... Read More
Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan
Wednesday December 28, 2005
The always inventive Harappa site boasts a new website dedicated to the Indus Valley civilization site of Mohenjo-Daro. As always, with loads of high-quality photographs taken over the past thirty ... Read More
Archaeology Digs in Canada: Fish Creek Provincial Park
Wednesday December 28, 2005
15 May–30 June, 2006. University of Calgary. During the term, students will work at a variety of local sites learning the theory and practice of archaeological field research. One ... Read More
Magic in Ancient Egypt: TAC
Tuesday December 27, 2005
The latest video from The Archaeology Channel:
The influence of the supernatural often is overlooked or underestimated by 21st-Century archaeological interpretations. In the case of ancient Egypt, the key ... Read More
Benjamin Franklin's Mastodon Tooth: Artifact Spotlight
Monday December 26, 2005
A tooth from the ancient extinct elephant known as a mastodon was recovered from beneath the floor of a building that at one time belonged to Benjamin Franklin, one of ... Read More
Top Archaeology News Stories for 2005
Saturday December 24, 2005
From the identification of a new species of human to the cracking of the Inca writing system, 2005 has been one exciting year in archaeology.
Marion True Trial Update
Thursday December 22, 2005
From the Cronaca blog, David Nishimura reports on the latest courtroom shenanigans in the Marion True/Getty Museum case.
Cronaca: Marion True trial update
Review - Murder in the Forum - Rosemary Rowe
Thursday December 22, 2005
About's Ancient History guide N.S. Gilll reviews this third volume of Rosemary Rowe's historical mystery series, featuring Libertus, a Celtic freedman. She reports there are many twists and turns in ... Read More
EXARC
Wednesday December 21, 2005
EXARC (European Exchange on Archaeological Research and Communication) is an organization based to unite people doing similar research goals in open air museums and experimental archaeology. Several English language projects ... Read More
Intelligent Design Rejected
Tuesday December 20, 2005
CNN is reporting that the Dover Area School Board lost their case to have Intelligent Design taught in biology classes in Pennsyvlania:
CNN.com - Court rejects 'intelligent design' in science ... Read More
Susanne Osthoff Released
Tuesday December 20, 2005
According to David Connolly of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource page, archaeologist Susanne Osthoff has been released by her captors in Iraq:
British Archaeological Jobs Resource
Susanne Osthoff released BBC ... Read More
The Transformation of the American Prairie
Tuesday December 20, 2005
The ecology of the American prairie was radically changed by the introduction of the brick and tile industry; an introduction that has had a great impact on archaeological sites and ... Read More
African Diaspora Newsletter
Sunday December 18, 2005
In December's African American Archaeology Newsletter of the African Diaspora Network, are featured articles and essays by Mary McCorvie, Paul Shackel, Ywone Edwards-Ingram, Sara Bon-Harper, Kristina Shuler and others, news ... Read More
The Battle for Hamoukar - Evidence for Warfare in Ancient Mesopotamia
Saturday December 17, 2005
The on-going joint excavations at the Mesopotamian site of Hamoukar in Syria by the Oriental Institute and the Syrian Department of Antiquities have discovered evidence of a large organized battle ... Read More
Ode to the Skim Shovel
Friday December 16, 2005
Ode to the Skim Shovel is an archaeology field song, contributed by two former denizens of the shovel, Tim Meade and John Peterson.
Why Do Conquering Civilizations Rebuild in the Same Place?
Thursday December 15, 2005
After one civilization conquers another's land, why did they often rebuild in the same exact place, over the top of the ruins of the previous buildings? A few guesses might ... Read More
Homo Erectus Colonization in Europe
Wednesday December 14, 2005
Geoarchaeologists working on the coast of the North Sea of Britain near the town of Pakefield in Suffolk, England have discovered artifacts suggesting that Homo erectus arrived in what is ... Read More
Sureyya's Journey: Learning About Archaeology
Tuesday December 13, 2005
22-year old Sureyya Kose has decided to chuck her career as an IT sysop for the exciting world of archaeology. In this second posting in the series Sureyya's Journey, Sureyya ... Read More
Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia
Monday December 12, 2005
The new book Forgotten Empire: The world of Ancient Persia, edited by John Curtis and Nigel Tallis, combines a detailed introduction to the Persian Empire with a lavishly illustrated catalog ... Read More
Terrorist in the Art Gallery
Sunday December 11, 2005
Archaeologist Matthew Bogdanos reports that there is proof that illicit trade in antiquities--known as looting--is supporting terrorist activities, in this OpEd piece December 10th:
The Terrorist in the Art Gallery ... Read More
Anglo-Georgian Expedition to Nokalakevi
Sunday December 11, 2005
The village and citadel of Nokalakevi is located on the Colchian Plain in Georgia, and has occupations dated between the Late Bronze Age through the Medieval period. Excavations at Nokalakevi ... Read More
Inagina, Last House of Iron
Saturday December 10, 2005
The idea of smelting iron--that is, processing the raw metal to remove impurities and make it suitable for manufacturing metal objects--generally conjures images of an enormous wooden and concrete building, ... Read More
18th Century New York City
Thursday December 8, 2005
Archaeologists have identified a leftover wall buried 10 feet beneath Battery Park in New York City, that was built in the mid-1700s. The wall was part of one of the ... Read More
Contest: Archaeology Anomalies
Thursday December 8, 2005
Archaeology Anomalies includes the results of a contest at Worth1000, in which contestants submit photos of a created archaeological hoax created with Photoshop(TM). The entries are hilarious! Part of About's ... Read More
Irish Insight
Wednesday December 7, 2005
An online journal of Irish studies, often includes several articles on the archaeology of Ireland. Their mission is to report on Irish heritage and culture both past and present, covering ... Read More
Foreigners in Early Medieval Europe
Wednesday December 7, 2005
This multi-lingual collection of webpages is a javascript database of information about foreigners' graves identified in the Early Medieval period in Europe (AD 400-800). Several articles on cultural groups are ... Read More
Neutron Activation
Wednesday December 7, 2005
Neutron activation is a method used to quantify the chemical components in glass or pottery objects, to provide clues to where and how an object was manufactured. This page describing ... Read More
Winter Celebrations: Celebrating the Shortest Day
Tuesday December 6, 2005
Celebrating the Solstice, when winter brings us the shortest day of the year, is something we as humans do all over the planet. Here's a selection of how we all ... Read More
The Cache at Deir el-Bahri - Hatshepsut's Palace in Egypt
Monday December 5, 2005
Queen Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahri (also spelled Deir el Bahari) is one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt, built by the architects of Queen Hatshepsut, a pharaoh of the New ... Read More
Recent Books in Archaeology
Monday December 5, 2005
The general science book market has developed numerous excellent sources of information about the study of archaeology. Here is a collection of recent reviews of science books that give the ... Read More
Hawai'i Sinkhole to the Past
Sunday December 4, 2005
Geological data from a sinkhole cave on the island of Kauai in Hawai'i contains evidence of environmental change wrought by the human colonization of the island. Apparently there are no ... Read More
Narmer Palette: Early Period Ancient Egypt
Saturday December 3, 2005
The Narmer Palette is an early Period Egyptian civilization artifact, showing the conquest of Upper and Lower Egypt by the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes or Narmer. An important part of ... Read More
Arrowheads and Projectile Points: The Tools of a Prehistoric Hunter
Friday December 2, 2005
Arrowheads are the most identifiable archaeological artifact in the world. Whether they've personally collected them from nearby farmlands, seen them in museum displays or just watched them being shot ... Read More
Aztec Culture: The Aztec Capital City of Tenochtitlan
Friday December 2, 2005
The Aztec culture site called Tenochtitlan was located in a very peculiar place today, in a marsh in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains--a place now called Mexico ... Read More
Recent Archaeology Jobs
Thursday December 1, 2005
Jobs listed in About Indeed since 11/27:
Archaeologist, Phoenix
Archaeologist, Metairie, Louisiana
Archaeologist, New Orleans, Louisiana
Archaeologist, Vernal, Utah
Associate Publisher, Archaeology magazine
Archaeologist, Salt Lake City, Utah
Samhain Sunrise
Thursday December 1, 2005
Photographs from Knowth.com at the Megalithic passage tomb of Tara in Ireland were taken at the Samhain, the cross quarter of the astronomical year, half way between the autumnal equinox ... Read More