Mounds in Illinois Damaged

This sucks! From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Authorities in southern Illinois are asking for the public’s help in finding the people who are damaging and may be looting some prehistoric Native American burial mounds. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency says someone last month dug several small holes in a portion of Kincaid Mounds State Historic [...]

Vero Beach: An Update

Back in June of 2009 I wrote a post about a bone with a mammoth or mastodon etched on it (you can find a video on the find here). I don’t have anything new to report on that find, but there are some interesting developments concerning Vero Beach.

Bloody Archaeology!

There are a couple if interesting stories this week. Both concern blood and archaeology.The first concerns Otzi the Iceman – a 5300 year old mummy found in the Alps. Researcher used atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to identify red blood cells from samples taken from wounds on Otzi’s right hand and left shoulder. The [...]

Cool Archaeological Stories!

I stumbled across a couple of cool archaeological stories today.

Impact Theory: The Theory That Would Not Die

The impact theory rears its head again! From Science Dailey: Conducting a wide range of exhaustive tests, the researchers conclusively identified a family of nanodiamonds, including the impact form of nanodiamonds called lonsdaleite, which is unique to cosmic impact. The researchers also found spherules that had collided at high velocities with other spherules during the [...]

Southwestern Archaeology Items of Interest

For those interested in Southwestern archaeology I have stumbled across a couple of interesting links. First, there is a you tube channel devoted to Hohokam archaeology. Second, a new blog, by Steve Lekson, called The Southwest in the World is excerpting material from a book in progress. From the about section: The Southwest in the [...]

Another Take on Blair Mountain

I have written several posts on the subject of Blair Mountain. Middle Savagery provides an interesting look at the subject. I also urge you to support The Friends of Blair Mountain and help prevent this hsitoric area from being strip-mined.

Sutton Hoo Photographs Rediscovered!

This is a really cool story! From the linked to article: Like the original ship burial, this remarkable find has laid unseen and forgotten for a long time. Tucked away in a dusty storeroom were a couple of fairly nondescript cardboard boxes. Inside these unprepossessing packages were a photographic treasure trove which sheds new light [...]

Blair Mountain Update

About a month ago I mentioned that the National Park Service had made a horrible decision to delist Blair Mountain from the National Register of Historic Places. They are now being sued:

Shame on the National Park Service: Will Blair Mountain Be Strip-Mined?

The National Park Service has made a horrible decision on Blair Mountain. The mountain was the scene of a battle between coal miners, coal companies and the government. The L. A. Times describes the National Park Service’s horrible decision on Blair Mountain:

Road Trip: Mastadon State Park and Graham Cave State Park

Yesterday I went to Mastadon State Park (in Imperial, MO). I have been there before and mainly went because I needed to replenish my stock of sabertooth tiger and mastadon earrings. I also picked up a nifty sabertooth tiger key chain. On the other hand, I have never been to Graham Cave – which is [...]

Dating Monumental Architecture In Polynesia

PhysOrg.Com mentions a research article in PNAS that looks at new dates for 22 temples on the island of Mo’orea.

Teh Rawk Returns!

Remembr dis and dis? Well, teh Rawk saga continuez! In dis episode basement kittehs ebil minions suffr defeat an has 2 giv teh Rawk back to Kentucky!

First There Was The Bible Code, Now There Is Plato’s Code

I’m not sure what to make of this especially because it is the first I have heard about a code in Plato’s work.

The Donner Party and Cannibalism: The Research Continues

I haven’t forgot about Australopithecus sediba – I just got carried away on the osteology and am rewriting the post. In the meantime I wanted to mention some research on a subject that I have written about previously namely, cannibalism and the Donner Party.