Archive for May, 2006
ArtiFacts: Recent News in the Field of Archaeology
Current News in the World of Archaeology
Nautical Archaeology: EgyptologyA Roman city is found submerged off of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea.Bronze vases, pottery, and buildings that include a Roman castle were found that date back to the Roman period of Egypt.
ABC News
ArchaeoastronomyAn observatory in the Peruvian Andes is, perhaps, the oldest in the Americas. Built [...]
One hemlock tea to go, and will there be fries with that, your Majesty?
Test digs at the site for new homes and apartments in Birmingham have revealed to British archaeologists what may be the grave of an ancient warrior queen, Boadicea. Tacitus tells us that Boadicea ended her life by poison following a great defeat that ended the lives of “little less than eighty thousand of the Britons” [...]
The 35th Skeptics Circle at Skeptico
The 35th Skeptics’ Circle is up at Skeptico (the real one) and it’s featuring a creationist “guest blogger!” If you don’t already know, Skeptico has a copy-cat on Blogger that is using his name and making pseudo-skeptical posts on various blogs. Be sure to head over to the creationist-skeptico (the fake one) and congratulate him [...]
The Tangled Bank 54!!
The Tangled Bank #54 is up at Science & Politics! My favorite entry so far is on the Dracorex hogwartsia in Harry Potter Meets Paleontology, an entry by “Hedwig the Owl” aka “GrrlScientist.” Check it out! I’ll be reading the rest after I get off work tonight!
Homo floresiensis: New Species or Modern Human?
One of the more fascinating debates in anthropology right now is the explanation of LB1, a.k.a. “the Hobbit,” –the proposed new hominid species Homo floresiensis. Found in 2003 in the Liang Bua Cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia.
There’s been some recent buzz in the journal Science as, first; Falk et al (2005) [...]
The 40th edition of the Carnival of the Godless
The 40th edition of the Carnival of the Godless is up at Science & Politics and coturnix deserves the “chained to the computer” award! I don’t know how the guy keeps generating so much material all the time, much less how he’s able to manage multiple carnivals in a single day!
Congrats, Bora! I’ll spend a [...]
Health Facts and Fears: pseudoscience from a pseudo-skeptic?
Most skeptics have no real agenda beyond truth. Sure, they’re often passionate about their doubts of UFOs, Uri Geller, Kevin Trudeau, Don Lemmon (hello Orac!), cold fusion and the like, but the bottom line is always the truth. A true skeptic won’t say “there’s no such thing as alien spacecraft” or “cold fusion is impossible.” [...]
The 34th Skeptics Circle at The Second Sight
The 34th Skeptic’s Circle is posted at The Second Sight. If you’re naturally skeptical, don’t take my word for it, head on over and see for yourself: EoR has it going on!
Embellishments of memory: the unreliable nature of eyewitness testimony
ABSTRACT: In recent news: UFO study finds no sign of aliens. But there will be no shortage of people who subscribe to the notion that UFOs are aliens from other worlds. Indeed, there are many pseudoscientific claims that stem from the fallible nature of people to accurately recall or interpret what they observed when party [...]
Bosnian Pseudo-archaeologist pulls wool over media eyes…
Bosnian Pseudo-archaeologist pulls wool over media eyes…
…and perhaps even my own, to some extent. I commented recently on the “Bosnian Pyramid” story with, perhaps, more optimism than skepticism a few days ago. But at least I was in good company. It seems that major media outlets were willing to print headlines like, “Scientists begin dig [...]
