Archaeology Blog Project

Guest Post: An Archaeologist, an Anthropologist and an Anarchist Walk into a Bar… by Stuart Rathbone Source: https://thesebonesofmine.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/guest-post-an-archaeologist-an-anthropologist-and-an-anarchist-walk-into-a-bar-by-stuart-rathbone/ There are many different ways of classifying societies based for instance on levels of technology, on economic organisation, on the size of their area of influence and so on.  A very fundamental scheme is to divide societies into those that are organised hierarchically and those which are organised anarchically, i.e. without a hierarchic class or power structure.  Anarchic organisation has long been recognised but it took a surprisingly long time for anthropologists and archaeologists to develop a convincing understanding of them.  The ‘segmented lineage systems’ that were the focus of research by the likes of Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard’s and Meyer Fortes between the 1930’s and 1950’s represent early attempts to understand how complex societies could exist without obvious hierarchical power structures (Evans-Pritchard 1940; Fortes 1945).  Reading these accounts it becomes clear that a major problem was the frequent presence of defined leaders within societies that were not organised hierarchically........... Read More at https://thesebonesofmine.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/guest-post-an-archaeologist-an-anthropologist-and-an-anarchist-walk-into-a-bar-by-stuart-rathbone/

‘Megafloods’ Spurred Collapse of Ancient City of Cahokia, New Study Finds Source: http://westerndigs.org/megafloods-spurred-collapse-of-ancient-city-of-cahokia-new-study-finds/ It’s been attributed to war, crop failures, political strife, and even an epic fire. But new research in the heart of one of North America’s most influential prehistoric cultures suggests that its demise may have been brought about, at least in part, by disastrous “megafloods.” An artist’s rendering depicts Cahokia’s city center at its prime (Painting by L. K. Townsend/Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site) The new findings come from a team of archaeologists and earth scientists who have been studying the land surrounding the ancient metropolis of Cahokia in what’s now southern.......... Read More at http://westerndigs.org/megafloods-spurred-collapse-of-ancient-city-of-cahokia-new-study-finds/

Frequency Seriation Source: http://www.evobeach.com/2015/05/frequency-seriation.html Over the past year or so, Mark Madsen have been working on a research related the measurement of cultural transmission using frequency seriation methods. This work builds, obviously, on stuff we started back in 1997.  Our primary goal has been to explore the link between the processes that produce the archaeological record (cultural transmission structure combined with assemblage accumulation and sampling) and the patterns that frequency seriation exploits for generating chronology.  To do this effectively, we had to implement frequency seriation methods in a way that (1) matched the requirements.......... Read More at http://www.evobeach.com/2015/05/frequency-seriation.html

a small find for May Day Source: http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=19595 Today is the 1st May, which is historically the May Day festival and, since 1890, International Workers’ Day. ‘… The origin of our present holiday lies in the fight for an eight-hour working day, in which cause the leaders of the socialist Second International called for an international day of protest to be held at the beginning of May 1890. They did so just as the American Federation of Labour was planning its own demonstration on the same date. The UK protest actually took place on a Sunday, and in London alone attracted 300,000 protesters to Hyde Park … Initially, May.......... Read More at http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=19595

Places of burial Source: http://oldstuffinhotplaces.com/2015/04/03/places-of-burial/ Another unnecessarily picturesque spot in which ancient Egyptians buried their dead people I’m out in Middle Egypt and back to looking for dead people to disturb. I had a weary time getting to Cairo via three delayed flights and an unplanned visit to Geneva, which looked very nice from what I could see as I ran through the airport. I also suffered the most invasive and thorough pat-down I’ve ever experienced (and I’ve had some crackers) from an expressionless German security woman in Frankfurt. They lost my bags, natürlich. Thanks Lufthansa, you’re on a roll. We’ve started excavation.......... Read More at http://oldstuffinhotplaces.com/2015/04/03/places-of-burial/

a remarkable find from Brightlingsea Source: http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=19296 On Wednesday (1st April), the Trust completed our archaeological excavation at Moverons Quarry in Brightlingsea. This has been a long-running project, and it has produced a great deal of very interesting evidence. In September 2014, we also made a remarkable find on the site. Now we have finished our fieldwork there, we would like to share the find with you. It is a bronze Roman figurine, about four inches high, of an upright bird with a human head. Trust archaeologist Ben Holloway made the discovery, in the top part of the fill of a field-boundary ditch. We excavated Roman pottery and imbrex.......... Read More at http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=19296

There’s Something in the Air: The Story Behind My Photo in National Geographic Online Source: https://kinkellasarchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/theres-something-in-the-air-the-story-behind-my-photo-in-national-geographic-online/ I had a true bucket list experience recently when I learned that my research would be featured in the January 29th, 2015 post of National Geographic Online, and that a photo of me would be included in the article.  The article is by Dan Vergano, and entitled “At Newly Discovered Water Temple, Maya Offered Sacrifices to End Drought.”  It describes the underwater archaeology work that Lisa Lucero and I have done at an ancient Maya site at the Cara Blanca Pools, Belize.  Specifically, it talks about last summer (2014), when Lisa and her students excavated Structure 1 at Pool 1 (the “Water.......... Read More at https://kinkellasarchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/theres-something-in-the-air-the-story-behind-my-photo-in-national-geographic-online/

The Lady of Guadeloupe: a Miocene Homo sapiens? Source: https://badarchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/the-lady-of-guadeloupe-a-miocene-homo-sapiens/ Here’s an unusual case, from the letters page of the Daily Echo of Bournemouth (Dorset, UK). It’s got nothing to do with that Lady of Guadalupe or even this Lady of Guadalupe (different spelling and different places), which probably fall into the category Bad Relics (or, at least, Bad Art). No, this is to do with a skeleton discovered on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1812. Now, I don’t have the time to go trawling English provincial newspapers for stories about Bad Archaeology—although I have every reason to believe that they are a.......... Read More at https://badarchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/the-lady-of-guadeloupe-a-miocene-homo-sapiens/

End-of-Season: The pyramid burial chamber Source: http://elkurrukush.blogspot.com/2015/03/between-hectic-work-at-endof-season-and.html Between the hectic work at the end of the season and the terrible internet connection, I wasn’t able to post about our final results for the season. So in the next few days, I’ll write about where things stand and our plans for next season.Our most dramatic result was in the burial chamber of the pyramid. After two years of work, and about 250 tons of sand removed by hand, we came down on a big granite slab, about 10 feet (3.3 meters) long that was aligned between the door and the “stele niche” in the back of the burial chamber. Granite slab when first cleaned (Jaffar Madani of El.......... Read More at http://elkurrukush.blogspot.com/2015/03/between-hectic-work-at-endof-season-and.html

The Date of the Destruction of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount Source: http://www.ritmeyer.com/2015/01/09/the-date-of-the-destruction-of-the-western-wall-of-the-temple-mount/ In our previous post, we attempted to marshall the archaeological evidence that shows that Shimon Gibson’s suggestion that the Western Wall of the Temple Mount was destroyed by an earthquake in 363AD is incorrect. In response, one of our readers, Richard Stadler, asked the following questions: I am trying to picture this in my mind’s eye. If the earthquake of 363 CE caused the huge stones to fall, and if the Roman bath house was constructed before 363, when you dug down through the layers to reach the Roman bath house, you would have found the bath house pulverized by the stones, right?.......... Read More at http://www.ritmeyer.com/2015/01/09/the-date-of-the-destruction-of-the-western-wall-of-the-temple-mount/

Spring Equinox Henge Sampler or, Good News—People are Still Strange! Source: http://clonehenge.com/2015/03/19/spring-equinox-henge-sampler-or-good-news-people-are-still-strange/ Hello, friends! Yes, it’s Vernal Equinox already and we haven’t posted on this blog since New Year’s. Go ahead, tell us how YOU’VE done everything YOU should have done since then. What’s that? We’re listening, but we can’t hear you? Okay, then. At any rate, our absence here does not mean that nothing has been happening in the glamourous world of Stonehenge replicas. Au contraire! (See? Glamourous!) On Twitter and Facebook, many Stonehenge replicas, new and old, have been posted and admired. We thought we would post.......... Read More at http://clonehenge.com/2015/03/19/spring-equinox-henge-sampler-or-good-news-people-are-still-strange/

Mapping pottery Source: http://englaid.com/2015/01/09/mapping-pottery/ Following on from suggestions (primarily by Prof. Barry Cunliffe) at our Academic Advisory Board meeting last year, we started thinking about how we might map aceramic (or minimally ceramic-using) zones through our time period. Due their general commonness and generally diagnostic nature, ceramic finds are probably the most commonly used method for dating archaeological contexts and, thus, by extension sites as a whole. As such, in areas where ceramic objects were little used, it becomes more difficult (and probably more expensive) to date sites. This, in turn, is likely to result in sites in aceramic.......... Read More at http://englaid.com/2015/01/09/mapping-pottery/

Adventures in the Ancient Lost City of the Rodents Source: https://aswtproject.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/adventures-in-the-ancient-lost-city-of-the-rodents/ Hey y’all, I’m writing today about burrows – but I’m talking packrats not pack animals. If you don’t remember me, my name is Larsen, and I am a recent graduate of Texas State, and this is the first long-term archaeological project I have worked on. One of the things that surprised me when I first started excavating out here is the large number of burrows we encounter. The burrows range from small and winding to large and cavernous. In some places it feels more like we are exploring some vast ancient underground city.......... Read More at https://aswtproject.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/adventures-in-the-ancient-lost-city-of-the-rodents/

First sign of the equinox Source: https://unknownswilly.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/first-sign-of-the-equinox/ Last year, on October 2, on a very early visit to the monument, I found to my great surprise that the beam of sunlight still crossed the entire inside of the monument, 11 days after the date of the equinox. In effort to establish the duration of the alignment, when does the first beam of light reaches through the gate and when does it retreat, I indented to start this spring at the beginning of March but heavy winds, hail and showers, morning after morning, did not allow for such an observation. Today, March 13, saw the first usable sunrise with unclouded blue skies although the view was fairly.......... Read More at https://unknownswilly.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/first-sign-of-the-equinox/

fascinating medieval finds from historic Thaxted Source: http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=18798 In January 2015, the Trust conducted an archaeological evaluation on a large site in the centre of the medieval town of Thaxted in Essex. This week, we completed a preliminary report on the evaluation, ahead of our return to the site to conduct an excavation. During the evaluation, we collected fragments of 15th- to 16th-century pottery, fragments of medieval glazed floor-tiles, and an unusually large assemblage of fragments of bone-working waste. We also uncovered an unusually large ditch on the site. Thaxted is considered to be of major historical importance, as it includes historic buildings.......... Read More at http://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=18798

PART I: A Personal Review of the Challenge the Past // Diversify the Future Conference Source: http://blog.taracopplestone.co.uk/part-i-a-personal-review-of-the-challenge-the-past-diversify-the-future-conference/ Exhausted. Enthralled. Excited. Three words which neatly summarise how I am feeling having just returned from four deeply inspiring days at the “Challenge the Past // Diversify the Future” (@ctp2015) conference. In this not-quite-as-short-as-anticipated blog post I will try to detail some of my personal experiences of the event and elucidate on why I think the people, panels and talks given were so exceptionally enthralling and exciting. Sitting here now my head (and email-inbox) are spinning with new ways to think about the how, why and what of heritage video-games and possibly more.......... Read More at http://blog.taracopplestone.co.uk/part-i-a-personal-review-of-the-challenge-the-past-diversify-the-future-conference/

March Moon – Through the eye of a needle in the blink of one Source: https://unknownswilly.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/march-moon-through-the-eye-of-a-needle-in-the-blink-of-one/ March almost became the first month in which no observation of the lunar alignment could be made since I started last October. Winter is dragging its heels and during the very small window of opportunity I only caught once for less then a minute a glimpse of the moon from behind layers of clouds. Although aware of the very strict time limitations to see any manifestation of the alignment, no matter how partial, it became clear on March 8, three days after the full moon (March 5), how firm these restrictions really were. So far I was able to observe the light entering up to two days before the full.......... Read More at https://unknownswilly.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/march-moon-through-the-eye-of-a-needle-in-the-blink-of-one/