Whirlwind Archaeology
Monday July 31, 2006
A couple of decades ago, I found myself working on a site in Mexico, despite the fact that my Spanish was dreadful, my experience limited, and my youth painfully clear. ... Read More
Archaeology Quotations: Advice and Wit about the Past
Sunday July 30, 2006
If you let a pack of dogs loose in a museum, they'll probably tamper with the fossils. (Bob and Ray, 1959)
Those were the great days of excavating... anything to which ... Read More
Atlas of Medieval Towns in England and Wales
Friday July 28, 2006
Researchers at Queen's University of Belfast have put together maps and information on 13 towns in Wales and England, all built during the reign of Edward I (ruled AD 1272-1307). ... Read More
Who Owns the Past? What the heck does that mean?
Thursday July 27, 2006
I recently received an email from reader Mark M., who asked "Who owns the past? What is the Indigenous perspective? What is the archaeologists' perspective?" I started to give ... Read More
Clovis and Pre-Clovis Bibliography
Tuesday July 25, 2006
Just a little gift to those of you out there slaving away looking for references on the peopling of the New World, a bibliography, newly updated:
Clovis and Pre-Clovis: A Bibliography ... Read More
The Pyramid Complexes of the Giza Plateau
Tuesday July 25, 2006
No one would ever accuse me of being an Egyptologist (unless you call having a crush on Flinders-Petrie counts), so when faithful reader G wrote to chide me that the ... Read More
Ecotourism and Archaeology
Sunday July 23, 2006
Ecotourism---the practice of "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people", according to the International Ecotourism Society---is fast becoming an important form ... Read More
Underwater Blogger Responds
Saturday July 22, 2006
This morning I received a nice email from Kurt Knoerl, about my adding his blog to my blogroll. His email pointed out to me that the blog is only part ... Read More
The Underwater Blogger
Friday July 21, 2006
I just ran across this blog from the Museum of Underwater Archaeology at the University of Rhode Island, which will be posting on events, exhibitions and excavations by the museum. ... Read More
Archaeology Dig 2006: HM Fireship Firebrand (United Kingdom)
Friday July 21, 2006
Bristol University's underwater field school will be the examination and recording of the wreck of the Fireship Firebrand. Firebrand was launched at Limehouse in 1694 and served in the Caribbean ... Read More
The Gault Site: Clovis in Texas
Thursday July 20, 2006
One of the most promising Paleoindian sites excavated to date is the Gault site, located in central Texas, which has recovered over 600,000 Clovis-aged (ca. 11,500-11,000 BP) artifacts accounting for ... Read More
A Study Guide to the Aztec Civilization
Wednesday July 19, 2006
The Aztec civilization was the last great precolumbian civilization on the American continents. This study guide includes a capsule description of the important elements of Aztec society, a timeline and ... Read More
The Marshalltown Ballcourt Mystery
Tuesday July 18, 2006
A pedestrian archaeological survey (also called field walking) is usually conducted only after the archaeologist has completed an exhaustive background study of the history of the area, talked to the ... Read More
Vikings in Wisconsin???
Monday July 17, 2006
Although rumors of an ancient horse skeleton buried in a Native American burial mound in northern Wisconsin have persisted among amateur archaeologists for decades, inciting the not-remotely-possible suggestion that Vikings ... Read More
Canadian Archaeology
Sunday July 16, 2006
Updates (long awaited, I'll admit) to the World Atlas of Archaeology are in progress. Here's Canada:
Canada
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Yukon Territories
Archaeo-Cam: The Chester Amphitheatre Project
Saturday July 15, 2006
The live camera on this website tracks the excavation progress (Tuesdays through Saturdays) at the Chester Amphitheatre, a Roman theater in Chester, England. In addition to onsite tours and ... Read More
Archaeoastronomy: An Interview with David Dearborn
Saturday July 15, 2006
Why were people of the past so interested in the stars? And how does a modern day scientist determine that a building was constructed for that purpose? In this interview, ... Read More
How to Sharpen Your Trowel
Thursday July 13, 2006
The archaeological trowel is such an essential part of the archaeologist's tool kit, that only the right kind will do. The right kind of trowel is not just your average, ... Read More
Hot Archaeology: July in the Midwest
Wednesday July 12, 2006
When you first consider going into archaeology, you hear a lot of loose talk about the romance of the science. But I always tell people they should go experience it ... Read More
Guide to Graduate Schools in Archaeology
Tuesday July 11, 2006
Newly revised and updated, the Guide to Graduate Schools in Archaeology includes all (or as many as I could find) of the universities in the world that provide advanced degrees ... Read More
Fourknocks Megalithic Passage Tomb (etc.)
Monday July 10, 2006
Fourknocks is a Megalithic passage tomb in the Brugh na Bóinne (the Boyne Valley) of Ireland, where the other huge rock passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth are also ... Read More
Tips on Safety for the Archaeologist
Sunday July 9, 2006
Since many of us spend a lot of time in the field every summer, it is important to consider that archaeologists share the field with insects and animals, have frequent ... Read More
Archaeology's Interactive Digs: Sagalassos, Turkey
Saturday July 8, 2006
The latest in Archaeology Magazine's Interactive Digs begins next month at Sagalassos, a site in Turkey with occupations beginning with Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC through the ... Read More
Field Tech Life: Can You Make a Living?
Friday July 7, 2006
The first job anybody who wants to become an archaeologist gets is as a field technician---a hired digger on an archaeological expedition. College student and aspiring archaeologist Michael L wrote ... Read More
Archaeology Online Updates
Friday July 7, 2006
Recent additions to Archaeology magazine on line include:
An Interview with Frank McManamon, discussing his career and the American Antiquities Act, which turned 100 this year
Tragedy on the Araxes, about ... Read More
Three Bibliographies for the Kennewick Man Puzzle
Thursday July 6, 2006
In the process of cleaning up, updating, and generally making nice with my old Kennewick Man series, I've discovered these three old bibliographies, long in need of refurbishing. To be ... Read More
Smoke Pfeiffer's Deluxe Directory of Archaeological Societies
Wednesday July 5, 2006
In 1995, USFS archaeologist Michael A. "Smoke" Pfeiffer began compiling an exhaustive list of archaeological societies and associations. It was then and is now an enormous opus called Smoke Pfeiffer's ... Read More
Israel Archaeology
Tuesday July 4, 2006
Another update to the World Archaeology on the Web is this one of Israel. I found lots of great websites on the internet about Israeli archaeology, and some of them ... Read More
Why Don't We Say Cro-Magnon Anymore?
Monday July 3, 2006
Reader Gary S writes: "I was just looking at your definition for Cro-Magnon. Why is this a now-outmoded word? If these hominids were living alongside Neanderthals, what do ... Read More
Archaeology Dig 2006: Barcombe Roman Villa
Sunday July 2, 2006
The University of Sussex's Centre for Continuing Education are running a number of practical archaeology courses this summer, including excavation training, planning and section drawing, surveying, photography, and on-site conservation. ... Read More
Short Courses 2006: Birkbeck College
Sunday July 2, 2006
Birkbeck College runs a number of summer training excavations this year in conjunction with Syon Park and the Museum of London Archaeology Service, at Syon Park, Brentford, in the London ... Read More