#theleveragedphd

It's #MicrowearMonday ! Okay so that's probably not a thing, but what is a thing is my newsletter, which is released on the last day of every month and which you can subscribe to through the link in my bio! . As has been shown in the past, platforms such as Instagram can decide to vanish without warning, and if they do, how can you keep in contact with the wonderful communities that you've become a part of through the app? Hopefully most of you can remember my handle so will be able to find my website, but I wanted to ensure that people who don't want to be dependent on social media can still be part of the Archaeologist's Teacup community. So at the start of this year I decided to start a newsletter. . This morning I've been working on one of my favourite newsletter sections: Monthly Microwear. Every month I give you an image and invite you to say what you think you can see in it. The next month I provide the answers, and give you the next challenge in a new image. Unless you've got a lot of experience in microwear analysis, I'm not expecting you to get in bang on first time, but my hope is that you can practice a bit over the months and maybe start recognising some of the more typical traces. In addition to monthly microwear, I also provide an update of my current projects, and links to great external resources including upcoming events, recent publications, and fun projects. . You can subscribe through the link in my bio (you can unsubscribe at any time) and also do feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions on how to improve. Happy reading! . #archaeology #PhD #phdlife #theleveragedphd #academicsofinstagram #archaeologistsofinstagram #archaeologist #scicomm #sciencecommunicator #prehistory #microwear #microscopy #tealeaves #newsletter #subscribe https://www.instagram.com/p/CbWxLjjKriX/?utm_medium=tumblr

Trying to catch up on some archeology reading this #WorkspaceWednesday . These two books both focus in some way on something very close to my heart - the accessible dissemination of archaeological knowledge. . I've said it before many times in this account, but I'm happy to say it again because it's still not considered "standard": Archeologists and other scientists have to make sure that their research is relevant to present (and future) society. In order to make sure that we are accountable to society, we have to be open and share what we are doing and why it is valid and important with those outside our field. And in order for us to do this affectively, we have to share our work in a way that is understandable and accessible to non-specialists. . Storytelling is one of the most accessible ways to convey any kind of information, but there is this lingering assumption that this approach is not scientifically valid. Hardened academics will argue that if something is too easy to understand, it probably isn't proper research. The first book here provides examples that prove that we don't have to write in indicipherable jargon in order to be considered as valid researchers. . The second book suggests going one step further and looking at how archaeology is represented in popular culture, and aligning ourselves with that so that we can then influence how the general public view archaeology. By influencing the publically understood archaeology "brand", archeologists can ensure that the correct information is being relayed and (more importantly) understood. . As I get closer to the last year of my PhD, I wonder more and more how to present my final thesis. So far, I've aimed to share my work in a publically accessible way even when writing academic articles. But I still have three more papers to write and I need to think carefully about how to publish and present them... Has anyone presented their final thesis in a format that was outside the academic norm? . #phd #phdlife #theleveragedphd #scicomm #archaeology #archaeologist #archaeologylife #reading #outreach #accessibility #academia #academicsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CT2DMxsKw6z/?utm_medium=tumblr

Look what arrived today! A very exciting delivery from @sidestonepress which includes the first paper published as part of my PhD. . Now that it's been published (and it's open access so available from the Sidestone website!), I can share a bit more about what I was researching. I was looking at the bone, ivory, and antler tools from three different Tuniit Culture (app. 800BC-1300AD) sites located in the Foxe Basin. There were two northern sites, and one southern site approximately 800km apart. What's interesting is that Tuniit didn't have dog-pulled sleds, and then didn't have large sea-going vessels, but in spite of this the tools found at these northern and southern sites are topologically identical. That was always one of the main points made about Tuniit objects: they show a "remarkable level of uniformity". . Now to me, this seemed very unlikely, so I wanted to see whether, even if the tools looked identical, they might have been made or used in different ways at the different sites. So, I used microwear analysis to look at a range of harpoon heads and needles from all three sites, and saw that indeed there did seem to be differences in manufacture and use between the two northern sites versus the southern site. I don't have space to go into a full discussion here, bit it was a very interesting result! . If you'd like to find out more, I can send you the PDF, or it's also available on the Sidestone website. . One thing I was very happy about was that @sidestonepress let me add an abstract in Inuktitut (the local Inuit language of the region I was studying) as my foot foreign language abstract. Great for increasing accessibility to Inuit readers! . #phd #phdlife #academicsofinstagram #theleveragedphd #archaeology #archaeologylife #archaeologist #bonetools #antler #bone #ivory #microwear #microwearanalysis https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkQbDxqaZP/?utm_medium=tumblr

What is real? . One of the main points that I hear when discussing social media outreach with friends and colleagues is "I don't know how you do it though - I would feel really uncomfortable sharing so much of my personal life on such a public platform". This always confuses me, because I don't share my personal life here. My general rule is that I share here what I would be comfortable to chat to someone about at a conference. Of course, some topics might stray more towards the personal, but I share those things here because I think that they are important themes and want to normalise the sharing of them. I also like to share crafty protects that we do around the house, but these to me are more ideas to share with fellow crafters than insights into my personal life. . I think that it's important to connect and engage with followers through these kinds of platforms, which is why I'm perhaps a bit more open in my posts than other researchers might be comfortable with. I want to show that I'm a person, not just an institution. However, I don't share here any of my personal fears or hopes, or details about my family, or anything else that I wouldn't be happy to share with a casual acquaintance. Does this make my posts any less real and authentic? I hope not, because I am still passionate about everything that I share here, and I hope that comes across. Just because it's not the whole picture of my life doesn't mean that I find these snippets that I share here any less important. . Anyway, apologies for the rambling post. I mainly wanted to explain why I might be a bit more absent on here for the next while. My due date is fast approaching (only days to go!) and although I will hopefully be back to sharing fun facts and crafty creations as soon as possible, this to me is a very personal time and something that I will not be sharing in detail through Stone Age Monkey posts. Perhaps later I might refer back to it - after all motherhood and childbirth is an important part of the human story - but for now don't worry if you don't see any activity from me for a while! . #theleveragedphd #phdlife #scicomm #academicsofinstagram #Archaeologist #outreach #personallife https://www.instagram.com/p/CSPH9WPKOkh/?utm_medium=tumblr

I wasn’t planning to post anything today but considering things, I thought it would be fun to share a little #TechnologyTuesday . For those of you who have only recently started following me - I’m currently doing an archaeology PhD. My main research output of this PhD is five peer-reviewed scientific papers, which will be all bundled up at the end into a hopefully interesting volume on microwear analysis of organic Dorset artefacts from the Canadian Arctic. Two of these papers are in the process of being published, and I'm currently doing the first stages of analysis for the third one. . This first stages is usually fun, because you can get creative with the data. Especially in this paper, where I'm looking for patterns in the way that carved figurines were made and used in the past. But, it's all very well to say "look for patterns", but in practice this is much harder than it sounds! I've been struggling for a week or two now with how exactly to approach my data. Yesterday, the hubby looked over my shoulder and said "why don't you just write a program that identifies patterns?" . Long story short - he wrote a small program for me, which means I now have Matlab installed on my computer and can do all kinds of crazy things with my data! Admittedly, if I had to explain it I would probably just answer with the expression you see here. But this just shows how essential it is to have input and ideas from those outside your area. Without this collaboration, I would still be floundering in my dataset. With it, I can at least organise things a bit easier and work things out for myself as I go. . This is actually also related to an idea in archaeological theory, known as "network interaction". Too often we assumed that crafters in the past worked in isolation, but was this the case? Imagine it in prehistory: someone struggling with creating a hole and someone else looks over their shoulder and says "why don't you just make a bow drill?" Overly simplistic perhaps, but collaboration in ideas is the key here. . #phd #phdlife #theleveragedphd #collaboration #technology #ideas #matlab #academicsofinstagram #Archaeology #archaeologylife #archaeologist #workingfromhome #homeo https://www.instagram.com/p/CGketI4HgU3/?igshid=164p9pg2vtwn2

I wasn’t planning to post anything today but considering things, I thought it would be fun to share a little #TechnologyTuesday . For those of you who have only recently started following me - I’m currently doing an archaeology PhD. My main research output of this PhD is five peer-reviewed scientific papers, which will be all bundled up at the end into a hopefully interesting volume on microwear analysis of organic Dorset artefacts from the Canadian Arctic. Two of these papers are in the process of being published, and I'm currently doing the first stages of analysis for the third one. . This first stages is usually fun, because you can get creative with the data. Especially in this paper, where I'm looking for patterns in the way that carved figurines were made and used in the past. But, it's all very well to say "look for patterns", but in practice this is much harder than it sounds! I've been struggling for a week or two now with how exactly to approach my data. Yesterday, the hubby looked over my shoulder and said "why don't you just write a program that identifies patterns?" . Long story short - he wrote a small program for me, which means I now have Matlab installed on my computer and can do all kinds of crazy things with my data! Admittedly, if I had to explain it I would probably just answer with the expression you see here. But this just shows how essential it is to have input and ideas from those outside your area. Without this collaboration, I would still be floundering in my dataset. With it, I can at least organise things a bit easier and work things out for myself as I go. . This is actually also related to an idea in archaeological theory, known as "network interaction". Too often we assumed that crafters in the past worked in isolation, but was this the case? Imagine it in prehistory: someone struggling with creating a hole and someone else looks over their shoulder and says "why don't you just make a bow drill?" Overly simplistic perhaps, but collaboration in ideas is the key here. . #phd #phdlife #theleveragedphd #collaboration #technology #ideas #matlab #academicsofinstagram #Archaeology #archaeologylife #archaeologist #workingfromhome #homeoffice https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkYDiwHCzW/?igshid=1vlbi6542pc8g

When you realise you've been so engrossed in the 2000-year-old worn steps at the Pompei Odeon that you forgot to reattach your facemask #2020problems . I mentioned last week that I would be changing the way that I post to this account in the future. For the last two years, I have posted nearly every day, thanks to inspiring challenges. This has been fun, and I've really enjoyed being able to share my PhD journey with you all. However, it has started to get a bit much. I'm now halfway through the PhD so am at the classic "midway dip" in motivation. As I work harder at motivating myself in my PhD work, I'm struggling to come up with interesting daily content for this account. I therefore need to change my approach. . Since stopping my little jewellery business, I have never aimed to get more followers or advertise myself - I just want to share my love of crafts and archaeology and create a community of like-minded people who engage in discussions and share their experiences. I have made some amazing connections on here because of that! . I've therefore been looking at what people seem to like seeing here, but mainly what I enjoy posting: . 1. I love sharing my creative projects with you, and those of the resident woodcarver, so will definitely keep posting about them. Be prepared for more random crafting projects coming your way! . 2. I strongly believe in open access to academic research, so will be sharing insights into my own research project as much as possible too. It's also just such a cool project! . 3. I really loved doing the background research for my recent Pompeii series. Unfortunately I probably won't be visiting any other sites any time soon, but I can search through my photos and see what other awesome archaeological insights I can share with you. . 4. Other series like the A-Z one were also fun to do, so I'll see if I can come up with more of them. . Thanks for being such wonderful followers - I'm looking forward to engaging with you even more in the future 😊 . #theleveragedphd #PhD #phdlife #archaeologist #archaeology #academicsofinstagram #newapproach #archaeologylife #crafty #craftersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CGXBHAIn4Wr/?igshid=y2grp2uqbooi

A very very short #ThrowbackThursday to yesterday 😁 when I managed to sew nearly half of a sealskin mitten with an ivory needle! It's amazing material - so strong - so you can push it with ease through the leather. I was using an antler needle in my previous piece, and it eat definitely a lot less forgiving. . One of my favourite parts of experimental archaeology is how much insight it gives into the activity itself. Not just from a scientific standpoint of accumulating physical data, but also the more experiential side of things. For example, working out the different ways to use needles made from different materials, because while ivory is strong enough that you can really push and twist, antler requires a bit more care and persuasion. And the only way to really understand this, is to experience it for yourself. . I think this is the most I've ever enjoyed doing data collection! . #phd #phdlife #theleveragedphd #archaeology #archaeologylife #archaeologist #experimentalarchaeology #needle #boneneedle #needlework #leather #ivory #sewing https://www.instagram.com/p/CE9Q17oA76X/?igshid=hgp4pxgybi6v