#debunking stereotypes

[zsoltzsemba]

Skin Color Doesn’t Matter! https://wp.me/p84YjG-54t #racism #skincolour #indonesian #bule #whiteningcream #orangbule #buleindonesia #zsoltzsemba #hearsay

Stop the Hearsay Nonsense

[twycrowmasker]

NO!!! WE DEMONS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN HUMAN SOULS!!!

Really, guys. What are we even supposed to do with these things?

Hope you guys do not believe we eat them, too. . . This is nonsense.

[twycrowmasker]

Not even if they paid me would I have the lack of self-respect to interrupt prayers and be lassoed like an ox.

I am a respectable demon!

[ochipi]

Debunking archaeology stereotypes #3

Myth: we travel the whole world for our job.

Reality: if even most of us were that lucky. When you study archeo in university, you get to choose a subject for your masters thesis. But usually you do that about something that is close to you or easily accessible to you. Because of course you want your success rate to be as high a possible.

That makes it for a European or Asian archaeologist very hard to specialize in pre-Colombian cultures, just as an example. Of course after university, you can specialize in anything you want in anything from all over the world, which is usually done by going to the place of origin, speaking the local language and working in that field for quit some time.

Than why are not all archaeologists moving all across the world? Well, it ain’t cheap. That’s I think one of the most important reasons people don’t travel for their education to the other end of the world. It’s expensive enough at home already.

And although the Terracotta Army, the pyramids of Gizeh and Teotihuacan are super duper interesting, there’s only so much to be done every time the sites are researched. You don’t need 1000s of archaeologists all the time. We dream of doing new and exiting things too!

And some of us just really like our local history. The knowledge you get from knowing where you come from is beautiful, powerful and important. We like looking around and finding the little remnants of long lost times still resisting in our modern life. That’s much more exiting.

Also: where does this idea come from? Most likely this is from the age of curiosity cabinets to connoisseurs/antiquarians. Or roughly the late 17th century to the early 20th century. Between that age we lost interest in what is near and dear to us because all of a sudden we have these big ships that allow us to travel to the far ends of the world. And by the late 19th to early 20th century, the world once again became much more accessible. A lot of ancient, enclosed empires fell, for example Greece opening up again to the European West, we decided colonialism was a good idea, the discovery of Tutankhamen’s grave and so on, which enabled collectors to go to new places and just take what they liked.

They did study the objects because of course you need to brag about it to your friends (where the term connoisseur and antiquarian comes from as you wanted special things that are more impressive to what your friends collect). Also young rich lads were encouraged to travel all the ancient sites with the idea of eduction in mind, but in reality just to show how rich the family is and how much things you can take back with you and start their own collections. It was called the Great Tour.

But archaeology as a methodological science was only really invented by rich people in England who had way too much time and money and decided to see what was hidden under their lawns [enter Sutton Hoo and Basil Brown in 1938].

Because we found so much truly interesting things outside of Europe in such a short timespan just speaks to peoples fantasy. Also enter Indiana Jones who revived this idea in 1981.

[ochipi]

Debunking archaeology stereotypes #2

Myth: you can recognize an archaeologist by its trowel.

Reality: well we do use trowels a lot because they are super useful to us but you’ll be surprised to hear how little tools we use that are actually made for archaeology.

First, what do we use a trowel actually for? Basically to move soil. The shape is narrower and pointier than a construction trowel because we don’t lift anything with it. We just scrape thin layers. Marking something with the point is optional.

For everything else? Steel brushes for walls, wooden clay sculpture tools for skeletons, plastic baby spoons for skeletons, shovel depends on company. Cheap paintbrushes. Buckets are usually reused mayonnaise or paint buckets to store soil. Spoons for wood.

To conclude, yes archaeological trowels are for archaeologists. But half your kitchen is too.

[lili2809]

Thank you for alexia skam france, I feel represented

[milkstrology]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFwlh4DdOQo)

CANCER NOT A CRYBABY? SAGITTARIUS NOT FLIGHTY? GEMINI NOT TWO FACED? 

[createharmonytogether-blog--blog]

[FEB 12] Last year, the Boston Herald got in trouble for publishing a cartoon of the White House fence-jumper recommending watermelon-flavored toothpaste to Obama. While hosting the National Book Awards, author Daniel Handler joked about how Jacqueline Woodson (winner of literature award for “Brown Girl Dreaming”) was allergic to watermelon. Since slavery, cartoons & minstrels of blacks eating watermelon was a staple of racism's diet; [it] became a defaming symbol of blacks interested only in watermelon. According to The Department of Agriculture, blacks actually eat less watermelon than others. Nowadays, a said/heard comment about blacks/watermelon is perceived more in jest than foul. Yet, it's more than food; it’s [still] a historically, racial stereotype rooted in Blacks’ history.

Kevin Dua WM'09, friend, colleague, human being