Thursday, August 12, 2004

Money for Neanderthals EU funds European tele-archaeology project

The European Commission intends to improve access to Europe's cultural heritage by providing 2,650,000 euro to a new Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) project aimed at bringing together all existing European expertise in the field of Neanderthal research

The European Commission intends to improve access to Europe s cultural heritage by providing 2,650,000 euro to a new Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) project aimed at bringing together all existing European expertise in the field of Neanderthal research.


Huh? Surveyor helps archaeologists map their fossil finds

Jerry Nave steps behind a yellow surveyor's field tripod. Steven Wallace is in a large earthen pit at his feet, holding a smaller instrument.

Just across the way from the mapping and surveying professor is another tripod. Sitting on a small knoll, it is winking at Nave's instrument. The pit Wallace is in is roughly 4 feet by 4 feet and maybe 4 feet deep.

A rhinoceros bone that could be 4.5 million years old is being carefully uncovered.

Together with the two tripods and an onboard computer that resembles a bristling calculator, Nave is mapping the five acres of what is now known as the Gray Fossil Site, located 10 miles west of Johnson City.


We rather hesitated to post this as it seems badly written and not particularly well-researched anyhow. First, "archaeologists" don't study 4.5-million year old fauna. Second, archaeologists tend to be pretty good at mapping their finds, with or without fancy-schmancy total stations. So anyway, make up your own mind.

Give us some, too! Fort Smith Directors, Archaeologists At Odds Over Lake

Some Fort Smith city directors said Tuesday that they are frustrated about spending another $2 million on archaeological work before Lake Fort Smith is expanded.

The additional money, to be voted on next week, would bring total cultural mitigation costs up to $6 million. The total project is estimated to cost $180 million.

Archaeologists told city directors at a study session Tuesday that the site being excavated is larger and richer than they had expected.

The money would be used to excavate the Copperhead site -- one of seven being studied. Researchers believe that artifacts discovered between habitations in the upland Ozarks and the Arkansas River Valley date back to A.D. 600-900.


Note: We could use that money to dig up some stuff in Egypt and it would make far better reading.

That's the whole article, by the way.

Some of us are far more controlled than others ARCHAEOLOGY: Digger David unearths an ancient skull

HUMAN remains have been found for the first time at a Bronze Age site in Peterborough – by a student.

The piece of a skull, which could date from 1300 BC, was uncovered by 17-year-old David Hardingham, a pupil at Stamford School, in Gresley Drive, who is on work experience at Flag Fen.

The bone was found in a layer of peat which makes up an old shore line at the once waterside site.

. . .

"At the time I had no idea that it was such an important discovery, but I could tell that the other archaeologists were pleased because they were all getting rather excited."


Well, good show, David.

More on the Anglo-Saxon princess Anglo-Saxon Princess to Show her Face Again

The face of a 1,500-year-old Anglo-Saxon princess is to go on display to the public, it was confirmed today.

The woman’s face was forensically reconstructed after her crushed skull was found in a Saxon burial site in the Cotswolds.

Her body was discovered with 212 others at a dig site in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, in 1985.

Archaeologists have described the cemetery as one of the most important Anglo-Saxon sites in the Thames Valley.


We realize we have posted a similar story in the very recent past, but really, there is no excuse for not posting more pictures of Keira Knightley. . .errr, we mean, an artists' conception of what the princess may have looked like:



More Olympics Ancient Olympians Followed "Atkins" Diet, Scholar Says

The 2004 Athens Olympic Games begin on Friday. Over the course of the 18-day event, 24,000 athletes, coaches, and officials will wolf down almost every food imaginable, from Brazilian fish stew to Asian stir-fried vegetables. Most competitors will follow highly specialized diets and consume sports drinks, gels, and energy bars to boost their performance.

The modern Olympics have radically changed from their debut in 776 B.C., when the cook Koroibos won the only sporting event: a footrace. But even then, ancient athletes were concerned with what they ate—and some even followed a meat-heavy, Atkins-style diet.

Now food historians are studying ancient Greek and Roman texts to learn about the diet of the first Olympians—and about the roots of Mediterranean cuisine.