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On Seals, the Dogs of the Sea
The other day, a group of archaeologists (myself included) stood around trays of assorted animal bones from a recent surface collection. It was just a cursory glance at the assemblage, but of course the mind immediately starts identifying bones that jump out at you. “That’s a dog mandible…that’s a cow tooth…that’s bird, for sure…and that’s…a…
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On Getting Through Bad Days, or How I Almost Set My Flat On Fire
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about mental health in academia. I didn’t really expect to write another post in a similar vein so soon, but I had a bad day today. As always, if this sort of content makes you feel uncomfortable, please skip! I don’t mind. I occasionally get hit…
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On Fish, the Bane of All Archaeologists’ Lives
Well, not all archaeologists… Here’s the thing about fish bones: they can, and will most likely, be small and fragile in your assemblages. How small and fragile? So small, if you sneeze you might blow a couple hundred of them off your finds tray. So fragile, you might snap a few with a tweezer. So…
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On Mental Health, or How To Breathe During Your PhD
Important note before I start: this post is going to talk about about personal issues and mental health issues, so if you’re not comfortable reading about this, please skip! Don’t worry – I won’t be offended. I’ve been feeling a bit stressed out and anxious lately so I figured this was a good time as…
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On Getting Started in the Field: An Origin Story
After getting asked about hidden treasures and dinosaurs, the next most common question is, “So how did you even decide to become an archaeologist?” It’s pretty simple, really. After I first saw the Indiana Jones films as a kid, I immediately went into my backyard and dug a 1 foot deep hole. I then proceeded…
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On Birds, or Why Light Bones Freak Me Out
Maybe this is a real “duh” moment for me, but the first time I picked up a bird bone (and a rather large one at that), I was genuinely freaked out by how light their bones are! Thinking back, of course, it seems a bit obvious why bird that fly would need relatively lighter bones,…
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On Zooarchaeology, or Looking at Dead Animals All the Time
When you’re an archaeologist, you become very aware of how little the general public knows about what archaeologists do. Fair enough, of course…most people conjure up the image of Harrison Ford (at his peak handsomeness) when they think of archaeologists. It’s not uncommon to get the same sort of questions at the annual family gathering:…
Animal Archaeology
All things archaeology…but mostly dead animals.