Learn Archaeology

A collection of resources and musings related to learning about archeology through online courses.

[learnarchaeology]

[learnarchaeology]

Hair and bone samples procured from the remains of Tycho Brahe were analysed by several analytical techniques. In segmented hair samples, concentrations of Fe, As, Ag and Au at the tips exceeded values...

[learnarchaeology]

Assessing visibility and geomorphological biases in regional field surveys: The case of Roman Aesernia

Archaeological field survey data can be biased by many factors, such as ground visibility conditions (e.g. vegetation, plowing) and geomorphological processes (erosion, deposition). Both visibility and...

[learnarchaeology]

Geochemical Methods for Sourcing Lava Paving Stones from the Roman Roads of Central Italy

This paper documents the results of in situ analysis of 306 lava paving stones and 74 possible source rocks using pXRF. Data were collected from sites both in the city of Rome—on major roads beyond the...

Open Access (free) article

[learnarchaeology]

Anxious Politics in Postcolonial Europe

Click on the article title to read more.

Open Access article

[learnarchaeology]

Digital Terrain Analysis Reveals New Insights into the Topographic Context of Australian Aboriginal Stone Arrangements

Satellite‐derived surface elevation models are an important resource for landscape archaeological studies. Digital elevation data is useful for classifying land features, characterizing terrain morphology,...

[learnarchaeology]

Great earthquakes and the fall of the Sanxingdui and Jinsha civilizations in central China

The Bronze Age Sanxingdui civilization, which first developed in the Sichuan Basin of central China, flourished ca. 2200–1500 B.C. and ended suddenly in ca. 1200 B.C. Subsequently, the Jinsha civilization...

Free article!

[learnclimate]

The Impact of Climate Change on an Archaeological Site in the Arctic

Climate change may accelerate the degradation of archaeological sites in the Arctic and lead to a loss of important historical information. This study assesses the current preservation conditions and the...

[learnarchaeology]

Fantastic beasts and the currency that depicts them

For thousands of years, humanity has been fascinated by the allure of fantastical beasts and mythical creatures—so much so that many depictions of these unknown animals have been featured on coins and banknotes around the world, and their portraits have stood the test of time.

[learnarchaeology]

A Tale of 800 Year Old Seeds Brought Back To Life - David Avocado Wolfe

There’s a viral story that has been making its way around the web about ancient seeds that were found on an archaeological dig. It was said that during a dig on First Nations land in Wisconsin, archeologists found a small clay pot with seeds inside of it that dated back 800 years. The seeds were then given …

As always, the real story is more powerful than the misinformation. I hope some day I get to try that squash, and I hope more ancient vegetables find their way back into our diets!

[learnarchaeology]

Ancient Naval Base for Epic Greek Battle Found

Greek archaeologists have found the ancient military harbor of Salamis, from which the largest and most decisive naval battle ever fought in antiquity was launched.

[archaeologicalnews]

New project to identify Jack the Ripper's last known victim

Members of the University of Leicester team who undertook genealogical and demographic research in relation to the discovery of the mortal remains of King Richard III have now been involved in a new project to identify the last known victim of Jack the Ripper - Mary Jane Kelly.

The researchers were commissioned by author Patricia Cornwell, renowned for her meticulous research, to examine the feasibility of finding the exact burial location and the likely condition and survival of her remains. This was done as a precursor to possible DNA analysis in a case surrounding her true identity following contact with Wynne Weston-Davies who believes that Mary Jane Kelly was actually his great aunt, Elizabeth Weston Davies.

Now, in a new report, ‘The Mary Jane Kelly Project’, the research team has revealed the likelihood of locating and identifying the last known victim of Britain’s most infamous serial killer known as 'Jack the Ripper’, who is thought to have killed at least five young women in the Whitechapel area of London between August and November 1888. Read more.

[learnarchaeology]

I always love hearing about the University of Leicester projects! I spent a semester there, so I have a soft spot. 

[ancientorigins]

Expert in Chinese Petroglyphs Supports Theory Ancient Chinese Made It to America

Petroglyphs found across North America have suggested that ancient Chinese explorers made contact with Native Americans. Yaoliang Song, a professor at the East China Normal University in Shanghai who has studied petroglyphs as a visiting scholar at Harvard University, recently announced that he supports the interpretation that the petroglyphs are of ancient Chinese origin.

Read more…

[learnarchaeology]

I love how every day we learn more and more about our ancient past, how history is continually re-revealed! 

[learnarchaeology]

Causewayed enclosures, also known as ‘causewayed camps’ or ‘interrupted-ditch enclosures’, are of great importance in European and British prehistory. They represent the earliest known examples of the enclosure of open space. They date to the early Neolithic (4,000 BC – 3,300 BC), which also saw the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals, the manufacture of pottery, the first mining of flint and quarrying of other forms of stone for the production of axes, and the construction of longhouses and ceremonial or ritual monuments including cursus monuments and long barrows.

(Photo source: http://www.visit-stonehenge.com/2015/01/causewayed-enclosure.html)

[learnarchaeology]

Back in the days when archaeology was a developing discipline, it was – like so many things – dominated by men. Or so you would think if you only looked at Wikipedia’s archaeology page. In fact, some of the discipline’s most significant early developments were forged by women. These are just a handful of some of the boldest, most kickass women from the early days of archaeology who were determined to push things forward in new and important ways.

For International Women’s Day, some bad ass female archaeologists!

[learnarchaeology]

The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (IJNA) has created a FREE virtual issue. It contains an introduction by Dr Julian Whitewright as well as eight articles that relate closely to the content of the course.

A companion issue to the University of Southampton MOOC Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds: Maritime Archaeology. 

Articles include:

Drowned and deserted: a submerged prehistoric landscape in the Solent, England

Locating the Harbour: Myos Hormos/Quseir al-Qadim: A Roman and Islamic Port on the Red Sea Cost of Egypt

Mapping of the Buried Yarmouth Roads Wreck, Isle of Wight, UK, using a Chirp Sub-Bottom Profiler

The Uluburun shipwreck: an overview

The Mediterranean lateen sail of late-antiquity

From Rescue to Research: Medieval Ship Finds in St Peter Port, Guernsey

The Sydney Cove shipwreck project

Questions for Maritime Archaeological Heritage Management

[learnarchaeology]

(via The Vikings who settled Greenland a millennium ago thrived for four centuries)