Archaeology
Stolen & Looted: $5-6 Billion in Stolen Artifacts?
This is part of an on-going series dealing with the theft, sale, and trade of artifacts and archaeological finds that are abruptly removed from their contexts, destroying valuable data that can be gleaned and sold to the highest bidder for profit at the expense of ever improving our understanding of cultural heritage and history.
S. Heather [...]
A Classic Paper: Archaeology as Anthropology
This is an entry submitted for The Giant’s Shoulders blog carnival, the “Classic Papers” category.
Binford, Lewis R. (1962) Archaeology as Anthropology American Antiquity, 28 (2), pp. 217-225
Lewis Binford is considered by many to be one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century. During his teaching stint at the University of Chicago (1961 [...]
Stolen and Looted: an interesting article
These damages aren’t done by people walking along and spotting arrowheads. These are people who are actively digging and looking for artifacts with an intent to remove cultural resources from lands shared by us all. These people are thieves…
An Abnormal Interest in Gilgamesh
You gotta love Gilgamesh! He was two-thirds god and one-third human, so his threats weren’t to be taken lightly!
The Serpent Mound
We really don’t know for sure what most ancient, pre-literate cultures used many of their monumental constructions for. We’re reasonably sure about things like the pyramids of Egypt and the temples of Greece, but these examples of architecture were constructed during periods in which there was writing, so their builders discussed the significance of monumental [...]
Big Flower that Looks at Sun God
It’s been held that the sunflower was originally domesticated in eastern North America then introduced to Mexico -the sunflower is a major seed crop in the world when it comes to obtaining oils. But recent evidence suggests very strongly that it may have been the other way around.
Shells of sunflower seeds (called achenes) were found [...]
Looting antiquities and hurt feelings and an appeal to Memorial Day
As many of you are aware, A Hot Cup of Joe is a blog that originated at Blogspot. In fact, the original blog is still there. I even continue to get hits and comments even though my last post was announcing the move to Wordpress.
Some of the comments are interesting and I think each and [...]
Recent News In Mesoamerican Archaeology
The King Has Left The Building
Apparently Maya elites and royalty weren’t the only ones building temples and pyramids. And the mystery of the blue pigment used in Maya pottery and murals has been solved.
Mayanists, archaeologists that specialize in the study of Maya culture in Mesoamerica, have long believed that temples were built by and for [...]
On the Lighter Side: Archaeology Today
Monty Python style!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc9WLMCygTU]
Flaming Star!
The Story of One Man’s Search For Vengeance in the Raw and Violent World of International Archaeology
Archaeologica Americana
North American history and archaeology isn’t as glamorous and monumental as Egyptian, Greek, Roman, or even European with its henges, barrows, and castles. We’re a young country and the predominant cultures (like the Algonquin, the Hopewell, etc.) of the North American Continent left little in the way of durable material remains. No marble friezes or [...]
