The trial of Ahmed Al Faqi al-Mahdi, known as Abu Tourab opened today August 22nd at the International Criminal Court (ICC). This trial is important because the ICC prosecutor is only charging Mahdi with the destruction of cultural property, which gives the case significance as it opens the door to helping to prosecute others who have … Read more
Have you ever been in the field and either known, or suspected, you were exposed to poison ivy or poison sumac? If you have, and act promptly, you can prevent or minimize your bodies reaction to the exposure to the urushiol oils that cause the inflammation on your skin. Dr. Jim Brauker has a great video that summarizes how … Read more
If you are planning on using a GPS in California in this area on June 7, 9, 21,. 23, 28, 30th be advised that there will be a “GPS Disturbance Test” that on these days that could mess up your accuracy. The FAA Notice to Airmen is below. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION FLIGHT ADVISORY … Read more
Every archivist and anyone who has ever taken a digital image, filled out a spreadsheet, logged a GPS location has the same flickering fear in the back of their mind – “what happens if this data is wiped out?”. I lay awake some night fretting about this on the global scale. We are at the … Read more
SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When originally launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America’s Great Lakes, and to this day she remains the largest to have sunk there. The Edmund Fitzgerald had … Read more
Thanks to the internet, the wisdom of Presidential candidate Ben Carson has been preserved and will heretofore save archaeologists, and egyptologists in particular, the hassle of having to wonder about what those crazy pyramids in Egypt were for. As Carson told the 1998 graduating class of Andrews University: “My own personal theory is that Joseph … Read more
#ColumbusDay #IndigenousPeoplesDay #October12th Bartolomé de las Casas, who served with Columbus but later became an advocate for Indigineous rights described how Columbus and his men treated these people in The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account: “They attacked the towns and spared neither the children nor the aged nor pregnant women nor women in … Read more
From Thursday October 1st to Wednesday October 7th any institution of higher learning may post an academic teaching position for free. From October 8th-31st any institution may pay a flat fee of $100 and post as many individual ads for positions open in their system. NOTE: This does not apply to any institution position that … Read more
Nicholas Reeves from the School of Anthropology, University of Arizona got to give the interview quote ever archaeologist wants to give in their life: “To be honest, I feel numb,” Nicholas Reeves, the archaeologist who first proposed the existence of the hidden rooms, said in his Luxor hotel room, after inspecting the tomb. “This … Read more
A big honkin’ gate recently excavated in Israel by Aren Maeir, of Bar-Ilan University in Israelmay very likely marks the entrance to Gath. The home of Goliath of David vs Goliath fame described in the bible. At it’s time occupation it might have been the largest city in the region. More from LiveScience:
Rexdale Henry, 53, a member of the Choctaw tribe and a lifelong community activist was found dead in his cell on July 14th. Rexdale, who coached stickball and was a candidate for the Choctaw Tribal Council from Bogue Chitto was arrested for failure to pay a fine. “Rexdale W. Henry, 53, long-time Native American civil-rights activist and beloved leader … Read more
VIA NPR Marking Historic Moment, South Carolina Removes Confederate Flag JULY 10, 2015 8:32 AM ET EYDER PERALTA Twitter Jaluladin Abdul-Hamib shouts “Take It Down” on the grounds of the South Carolina State House back in June. Win McNamee/Getty Images During an emotional ceremony and amid popular cheers, the Confederate battle flag was brought down from … Read more
Great news for anyone with Irish Catholic ancestors who is into genealogy. The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has announced today a website dedicated to presenting over 390,000 microfilm images dating from the 1740’s to the 1880’s covering 1,091 parishes throughout Ireland. These are primarily baptismal and marriage records and can be accessed at the Catholic Parish … Read more
From Slate: Usually, when we say “American slavery” or the “American slave trade,” we mean the American colonies or, later, the United States. But as we discussed in Episode 2 of Slate’s History of American Slavery Academy, relative to the entire slave trade, North America was a bit player. From the trade’s beginning in the … Read more
Fossilized human footprints believed to be of an adult male, adult female and a child and estimated to be more than 13,000 years old were discovered on Canada’s Calvert Island, which is located on B.C.’s central coast and is accessible only by boat, float plane or archaeologists who are really looking to get away from … Read more
Do you still use Film Photography in Archaeology? (update) Posted on June 25, 2015 | Leave a comment Five years ago I posted a poll regarding digital vs film photography in archaeology. I’m finally publishing a lot of my writing about photography (I know, I know!) and I’d like an update on this poll. If your browser is messing up the … Read more
Devil’s Den Corpses at Devil’s Den after the battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, 1863. Today, it is a tourist attraction. ‘Photographers would come along with their wagons and set up on the battlefield. They’d drag bodies to different places and pose them. It was a very new medium, so everything was fair game.’ Angela … Read more
Last time I talked to Vince Gaffney was at an SAA conference late at night hours before his flight when I gave him some Melatonin to try to fight the jet lag on his was back across the pond. Always an energetic bloke it is great to see him and his team continuing to push … Read more
So Wyoming, that great bastion of civil liberties, recently passed a new piece of legislation that appears to prevent anyone from documenting “resource” data from public lands that are being leased for grazing, etc… that are outside of city or incorporated boundaries. The Wyoming chapter of the Sierra Club told Think Progress that the obtuse language of … Read more
Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs district is getting an aviation themed bar after a classic film series: Indiana Jones called the Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar (Jock was Indy’s pilot) The bar will be opening this fall located between The Boathouse and Paradiso 37. Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar will seat 150 guests and feature … Read more
I received a link from the Society for American Archaeology today. It was for a survey for why I did not renew my membership for 2015. I had to be honest and tell them that I just could not afford it unless it is a year I can afford to attend a meeting. I have … Read more
ShovelBums 16th Anniversary ShovelBums just turned 16 Years this week. 16 Years? 16 Years?!?! ~6,000 days. Nearly 17,000 active members. ~32,000+ positions filled. WTF? Seriously? Tens of thousands of sites located, documented, tested, excavated. So many sites lost to history. Millions of artifacts and features cataloged. Ungodly numbers of GPS … Read more
Dr. Mamdouh El Damaty announced the discovery of the remains of the eastern gate of Tharw fortres in Sinai which served as the Egyptian army headquarters in the New Kingdom. The discovery was made by the Egyptian team working at Tell Habwa in the east bank of the Suez Canal. The discovery also … Read more
ShovelBums 16th Anniversary ShovelBums just turned 16 Years this week. 16 Years? 16 Years?!?! ~6,000 days. Nearly 17,000 active members. ~32,000+ positions filled. WTF? Seriously? Tens of thousands of sites located, documented, tested, excavated. So many sites lost to history. Millions of artifacts and features cataloged. Ungodly numbers of GPS points logged. … Read more
Society for American ArchaeologyApril 28, 2015 Dear SAA member, Last year a provision was added to the House version of the annual defense authorization bill (NDAA) that would have amended the National Historic Preservation Act to allow any federal land-managing agency to remove National Register-listed properties under its control from the Register, for reasons of … Read more
You gotta love the internet. My cousin visited an active archaeology excavation in Downtown San Luis Obispo on Friday and posted the pictures over the weekend. I knew a company had posted on ShovelBums for work there a couple of months ago so I was guessing it was them. I threw the pic up on facebook … Read more
SAVE IOWA HISTORY! Restore Funding for the State Historical Society of Iowa Libraries and Archives. Keep physical records of Iowa history accessible to all. Reorganization plans for the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) endanger the preservation of Iowa history contained in diaries, letters, photographs, maps, oral histories and other materials housed at the … Read more
This blog was adapted from an original post by Steven James Walker that he wrote about an article that appeared on i09 (and other sites) about the “earliest” d2 die. http://io9.com/5958203/is-this-the-oldest-d20-on-earth. My thoughts? They didn’t need the die because they were living Dungeons and Dragons in real time!. Steven James Walker writes: So this thing about a 3rd … Read more
Ben Brotemarkle, FOR FLORIDA TODAY Many Florida towns were built around Seminole War forts. Some, such as Fort Pierce, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers, retain their fort names. Fort Shackleford was constructed in 1855 during the Third Seminole War. Archaeologists continue to search for its exact location. Archaeologist Dr. Annette Snapp is operations … Read more