Posts

March 06, 2013

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11:35 AM | Why Is It Better For An Interpretation To Be New Than To Be Correct?

In my career (such as it is), I keep running into a hurdle having to do with the great value placed in the arts/humanities on the novelty of interpretations. Time and again, reviewers will say that my work tackles interesting questions in a methodologically competent manner using solid data – but that my interpretations (humanities…

March 05, 2013

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6:41 PM | Presenting Anthropology - Weeks 7&8 (Audio Projects)

Last week in class, we discussed audio media and anthropology -- how anthropologists are (or, generally, are not) employing audio to communicate their findings or interesting tidbits about the field. To start, I asked the students to talk about how, when, and why they listen to the radio and podcasts. Most everyone had experience listening to NPR in their cars, as well as audiobooks. There was a surprising lack of people who routinely listened to podcasts, but I wondered if that is […]

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6:10 PM | Gnarly Mummy Head Reveals Medieval Science

A skullcap and brain of a man from the 1200s shows how much more advanced medieval medicine was than thought.

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9:21 AM | Antiquarian Jaunt in Northern Wales

Here’s a guest entry from my friend Professor Howard Williams of the University of Chester. He was my charming guide on an antiquarian road trip Sunday. I met Martin at his luxurious guest accommodation on the main campus of the University of Chester and we got into my trusty VW. We left Chester, heading around…

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3:32 AM | Bones - Season 8, Episode 17 (Review)

The Survivor in the Soap Episode Summary Saroyan and Viziri are planning to knock off for a romantic dinner together when an FBI agent brings in a barrel found at a hazardous waste disposal facility. When he cracks the lid, a skeletonized arm comes into view. Booth and Brennan, who are at home having dinner and arguing about where to take a vacation, get the call and come in to work on the body in the barrel. From the distance between the lunate and the third distal phalanx, […]

March 03, 2013

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3:19 PM | One woman's trash...

My mother-in-law is currently in Yangon, Burma (formerly known as Rangoon, Myanmar), travelling the world through UVa's Semester at Sea this spring. She posted this picture of trash on the street: Look a bit more closely, and you can see... There are numerous sets of dental impressions. Apparently she stumbled across the dental school's cast-offs. (Get it, cast-offs?) I hope she picked some up for me. Curious as to the prevalence of shovel-shaped incisors in […]

March 02, 2013

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7:07 AM | Archaeology Is Not A Strong Brand

My Linnaeus University colleague and trätobroder (debate adversary) of many years, Cornelius Holtorf, published a book in 2007 under the title Archaeology is a Brand. That is certainly a possible way of looking at it. But preparing a talk on internet archaeology, I made a little discovery. Look at what this brand appears to be…

February 28, 2013

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6:30 PM | Roman Bioarchaeology Carnival XXVI

New Finds Graeco-Roman Tombs from Alexandria (via Ahram Online) 14 Feb - Collection of Graeco-Roman Tombs Uncovered in Alexandria (Ahram Online). These tombs may be the ones described by Strabo when he visited Alexandria in 30 BC, but they likely were for the general populace rather than the rich. Unfortunately, it seems no skeletons or grave goods remain. 20 Feb - Treasure-Filled Warrior's Grave Found in Russia (LiveScience). On the periphery of the Roman world, a […]

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6:17 PM | The Meaning of Liff at 30

There’s a radio show online celebrating 30 years of The Meaning of Liff a dictionary of words that don’t exist, but should. The words are all place names that have been press-ganged into doing some proper work in the English language. As a responsible person I’m not linking to this website that lists many of the [...]

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3:10 PM | Have Archaeologists Found Cleopatra’s Half-Sister?

Finding the bones of celebrity skeletons is a popular pursuit among some archaeologists, and has been for centuries. The remains of King Arthur were written to have been recovered in 1190 at Glastonbury Abbey, and were given a more appropriate tomb in 1278 by Edward I. In the mid-17th century, the tomb of a Merovingian … Continue reading »

February 27, 2013

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5:30 PM | Ancient Shoes Turn Up in Egypt Temple

The shoes were stuffed into a jar 2,000 years ago, never to be found -- until now.

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4:04 AM | Bones - Season 8, Episode 17 (Review)

The Fact in the Fiction Episode Summary A former investment banker-turned-farmer stumbles across a dead body while aerating his field to grow kale. The bones are heavily scavenged by coyotes, based on the three-cornered puncture marks, but presence of Nicrophorous americanus and its larvae give Hodgins time of death of 5 days ago. Flattened anterior and posterior aspects of the femoral neck lead Brennan to suggest the victim was an Hispanic male. At the diner, Brennan is […]

February 26, 2013

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12:00 PM | Pearly Whites and Golden Spoons: Teeth and Status

In Western cultures, teeth can be a clear indication of status. Often the lower classes have poorer health care and decreased access to proper dental care. While orthodontic treatment is becoming more affordable, having crooked teeth was a potential indicator of lower status. Further, dental whitening and other processes to improve their can be costly … Continue reading »

Dawson, H. & Brown, K. (2013). Exploring the relationship between dental wear and status in late medieval subadults from England, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 150 (3) 433-441. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22221

Cucina, A. & Tiesler, V. (2003). Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss in the Northern Peten area, Mexico: A biocultural perspective on social status differences among the Classic Maya, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 122 (1) 1-10. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.10267

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9:45 AM | For once an anti-GM campaigner might cheer a Monsanto win

I’ve blogged about my confusion over the Bowman vs. Monsanto case at AoB Blog. There’s a whole argument over GMOs are bad or not, or if that’s even the right question. But if they are, does that mean the anti-GM position is always anti-Monsanto? On this occasion I argue a Monsanto win would do more [...]

February 24, 2013

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9:33 PM | Presenting Anthropology - Weeks 7&8 (Readings)

Audio Challenge Margaret Mead takes to the radio Anthropologists have not specifically embraced audio media through the years. We have a picture of ethnographers tape-recording (and now digitally recording) their interlocuters, but past presentations of these data were often made in print rather than attempting to incorporate the glorious variation in intonation, cadence, and meaning of language around the world. Jane Goodall stands as an exception; her pant-hooting at nearly every […]

February 23, 2013

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4:50 PM | In the UK we’ll soon hear that ‘cod’ fish fingers are up to 100% sea…

In the UK we’ll soon hear that ‘cod’ fish fingers are up to 100% seahorse. Reshared post from +Sean Treacy These are not the fish you’re looking for. One-third of seafood mislabeled, study finds Fraud common in seafood labeling. Sushi houses the worst offenders, study finds. View this post on Google+

February 22, 2013

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11:00 AM | Warrior Burials

Interpreting burial status is a difficult thing, however some burials are clearly different from their peers. Often the warrior designation is given to adult males burials found with large amounts of weaponry and exotic goods. This doesn’t necessarily indicate a warrior status or that they themselves fought in battle. In some cultures there are obvious … Continue reading »

February 21, 2013

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2:30 PM | Treasure-Filled Warrior's Grave Found in Russia

No summary available for this post.

February 20, 2013

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1:52 PM | Thoughts on Persuasion

A talk so good I went out and bought the book. Given I was in a foul mood at this point in the event, that was a big success for the speaker. I’m not sure how much I can use this; I’m not interested in making sales. It is interesting to know about thought to [...]

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9:41 AM | Going into space? If you can’t wear a blue shirt then make sure you have a red…

Going into space? If you can’t wear a blue shirt then make sure you have a red one. Significance magazine has analysed the casualties in Star Trek:TOS. Everyone knows that wearing a red shirt on the USS Enterprise is like wearing a giant shoot me sign. But what everyone knows might be wrong. Matthew Barsalou [...]

February 19, 2013

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8:51 PM | Presenting Anthropology - Weeks 5&6 (Discussion)

For the last two weeks, we've been talking about presenting anthropological information in print, both in terms of news media and in terms of posters/brochures/flyers/etc. I probably shouldn't hold off on blogging about our discussion until the end of the unit, though, as now I can't seem to find my notes from last week... We talked a great deal last week about dealing with the media and about how we might approach different audiences. That is, an audience of colleagues at a […]

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3:24 PM | A new dark sky reserve

There’s another dark sky reserve in the UK. The practical effect is that the council will be taking light pollution seriously in order to keep the status. If you’d like to see what a dark sky looks like AstroCamp is there in May: http://astrocamp.org.uk/ I’m pleased about this news as I’m hoping that it’ll mean the [...]

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12:00 PM | Symbolic Skull Scrapings: Trephination in Hungary

As discussed in an earlier post explaining the various types of this cranial modification, trephination occurs all around the world in a variety of time periods. Trephination is the removal of pieces of cranial bones from a living individual without penetrating into the soft tissue. Throughout history it has been done using a variety of tools, … Continue reading »

Bereczki, Z., Molnár, E., Marcsik, A. & Pálfi, G. (2013). Rare Types of Trephination from Hungary Shed New Light on Possible Cross-cultural Connections in the Carpathian Basin, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, DOI: 10.1002/oa.2304

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3:30 AM | Bones - Season 8, Episode 16 (Review)

The Friend in Need Episode Summary A homeless man brings a locked suitcase to a pawn shop, trying to sell it. As he pries open the lock, he reveals the contents: a giant mass of blood, bone, and decomposing human flesh. The suitcase is transported to the Jeffersonian, where Brennan immediately identifies the victim as male based on the 90-degree gonion (sic) angle (where the mandibular body intersects with the ascending ramus, Brennan says, like no one on the team has ever taken […]

February 18, 2013

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8:42 PM | Re-Used Picture Stone Paper On-Line

My paper on the re-use of Late Iron Age picture stones during that same period (mainly in late male graves) has been published in English and Swedish parallel versions of Gotländskt Arkiv 2012. That’s the annual of the Gotland County Museum. Have a look! Questions and comments are most welcome.

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7:05 PM | Equid Consumption in the Palaeolithic

A few weeks ago I began writing about horse burgers with the intention of discussing prehistoric eating habits in Britain. I, however, got sidetracked and ended up with a rather philosophical piece on how equid meat appears to represent British…Read more ›

Holmes, J., Atkinson, T., Fiona Darbyshire, D., Horne, D., Joordens, J., Roberts, M., Sinka, K. & Whittaker, J. (2010). Middle Pleistocene climate and hydrological environment at the Boxgrove hominin site (West Sussex, UK) from ostracod records, Quaternary Science Reviews, 29 (13-14) 1515-1527. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.024

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3:10 PM | I thought it was an advert for snake oil but

It’s hard to know how to respond to this. I visited their website but my monitor emitted a whole load of radiation in the 400-700nm range. Google+: View post on Google+

February 16, 2013

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1:08 PM | Recent Archaeomags

Current Archaeology #276 (March) has a feature on excavations for a new container port that’s being built at Stanford Wharf near the mouth of the Thames. The Iron Age and Roman Period archaeology proved quite lovely, with waterlogged salt-making sites, remains of a boat house, loads of pottery, even waste from garum fish-sauce making. But…

February 15, 2013

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9:30 PM | Deal or no Deal?

There’s a crimewave in southern England. Deal Town Council have been been recklessly using the coat of Arms granted to Deal Borough Council in 1968. As heraldry aficionados will know, Deal Town Council covers a slightly different area than Deal Borough Council. Therefore there’s been a stretch of almost 40 years of law-breaking since the [...]

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10:30 AM | Geyser Cam Finds Bubble Traps

A camera custom-built to withstand heat and steam revealed that Russia's Kamchatka geysers aren't fed by long, narrow tubes, as once thought.

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