Open Context in Near Eastern Archaeology
Thursday October 30, 2008
In an interesting set of articles in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology, several scholars discuss the ramifications of the open context movement in archaeology, in particular data sharing. If ... Read More
3500 Years of Chocolate
Wednesday October 29, 2008
A recent article in Mexicon describes preliminary results of a mass spectrometry investigation of plant residues inside of several bowls dating to the Olmec and Mokaya. The bowls date to ... Read More
The Antikythera Mechanism on TAC and About.com
Tuesday October 28, 2008
A new video featured on The Archaeology Channel this week is on the recent studies of the Antikythera Mechanism, a fascinating device from a 1st century BC shipwreck discovered off ... Read More
Howard Winters and Civilization
Monday October 27, 2008
For reasons I can't fully explain, except that it is, after all, a wonderful quotation, a quote from archaeologist Howard Winters that his student Anne Marie Cantwell passed along at ... Read More
Pompeii Streets
Sunday October 26, 2008
Anyone who has been a reader of these pages for very long knows I have a thing about ancient roads. I can't really explain it, except to say that it ... Read More
FAQ: Is archaeology worth it?
Tuesday October 21, 2008
Faithful reader msgordon posted this question on the bulletin board:
I'm not sure if a career in Archeology is simply unrealistic at this point, or if my efforts would be ... Read More
More on Cactus Hill
Thursday October 16, 2008
The TAC video about Cactus Hill had some photographs of the artifacts--some pretty cool looking blades in fact--and it reminded me that I had never seen any professional academic research ... Read More
TAC: Cactus Hill
Wednesday October 15, 2008
The Archaeology Channel has a new video up this week from the Prince William Network on Cactus Hill and other PreClovis sites in the northeastern United States. About a half-hour ... Read More
Utah Pottery Project - Fieldwork in Focus 2009
Tuesday October 14, 2008
This week's fieldwork in focus comes from Michigan Tech's Tim Scarlett, director of the Utah Pottery Project. Michigan Tech's field school will be held between May 11 to June 26, ... Read More
Sea Shells
Monday October 13, 2008
Sea shells--the exoskeletons of freshwater and saltwater molluscs--are frankly, of some amount of fascination to archaeologists. We like them best when they are found in great heaps, or middens, the ... Read More
Shrines
Saturday October 11, 2008
I love a good shrine, don't you? Here are some archaeological studies of shrines.
What is a 'shrine' anyway?
Yazilikaya, Hittite shrine in Turkey
Minoan Peak Sanctuaries
Hofstadir, Vikings in Iceland
Inca Ceque System
Inca ... Read More
Quotation: Cicero on Children
Thursday October 9, 2008
Faithful Reader Malcolm Davidson sends along this quotation to add to our pile:
Photogravure from the marble bust in the Prado Gallery at Madrid, at about 60 years of age. ... Read More
Crystal Head Vodka
Tuesday October 7, 2008
I can't decide whether to laugh or cry, but here is the best use for a crystal skull I've seen to date---as a bottle for selling vodka.
Mitchell Hedges ... Read More
And the Ig-Nobel Prize for Archaeology goes to...
Sunday October 5, 2008
Every year, that ridiculously unimportant journal, The Annals of Improbable Research (or AIR), awards Ig-Nobel prizes, in a ceremony held on the grounds of (where else?) Harvard University. This year, ... Read More
Native American Archaeology
Friday October 3, 2008
Native American Archaeology isn't the only archaeology of North America. There is the historic period, generally referring to that period after Columbus landed about 500 years ago, and, of course, ... Read More