Dig Girl

Games need not be board-ing

2011-12-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

What can I say? With a full-time job (that I am extremely grateful for), publications to write, and other commitments, it has been darn near impossible to find time to blog. I barely find time to Tweet relevant archaeology stories, but I am finding that venue at least a bit easier than the full micro-narratives one comes to expect from blogs. Life is all about prioritizing our time and well, the

Academic publishing

2011-08-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

I recently read an amazing post by Savage Minds that discusses a subject I am quite passionate (opinionated?) about: academic publishing. Now before you stop reading, here is how it applies to archaeology and you, my non-academic audience. Archaeologists, especially those on the tenure-track at universities, live by the mantra "publish or perish." Peer-reviewed articles and books are

News Wrap-Up

2011-08-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

It has been ages and ages since I posted here. My apologies! Here is a quick rundown of what is happening in Near Eastern Archaeology and related fields these days: The Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East is a handy online guide for identifying ancient gods and demons using visual sources (User note: the database is currently only in Swiss German) A 2,800-year-old stone

Return of antiquities

2011-05-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Do you agree that antiquities from the Middle East currently residing in European and American museums should be returned to their "countries of origin?" My question spawns from a New York Times article on Wednesday and the recent surge in restitution cases in the last few years. The most outspoken country has, of course, been Egypt, but Italy and Greece have also been actively seeking the return

Citizen scientists

2011-04-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the Washington Post ran a little story about the use of public outreach in scientific endeavors. Granted, their example of Albert Lin, "explorer" and research scientist at UCSD, searching for Genghis Khan's tomb sounds neither archaeological nor scientific, but bear with me: Through a Web site called Field Expedition Mongolia, which Lin and his colleagues developed jointly with

Poetry corner

2011-04-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Since my poetry has been described as "dark" and "angst-filled," I will spare you and instead post a lovely archaeological poem by Jay G. Williams published in the Dig-it-al version of Near Eastern Archaeology magazine (March 2011). The magazine is published by the American Schools of Oriental Research, whose annual conference is in San Francisco this year. So excited! I especially like this

Blogging Archaeology, Week 4

2011-03-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

For this final week of the Blogging Archaeology carnival (see previous weeks here, here, and here), Colleen at Middle Savagery has asked us to consider the curation of our web-based interactions over the past month: For our last question, I would like to ask you to consider the act of publication for this blog carnival. How could we best capture the interplay, the multimedia experience of

New exhibition in Kabul

2011-03-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Last week a new exhibition opened at the National Museum in Kabul, Afghanistan (see Voice of America article here). This marks the first major exhibition in a very long time at the museum and a turning point for the future of the institution. Plans for a new museum building are in the works, so stay tuned for more exciting things! Check out this video from the exhibition opening (courtesy of VoA

Blogging Archaeology, Week 3

2011-03-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

I am very honored to be the catalyst for this week's Blogging Archaeology question from Colleen over at Middle Savagery. Last week I ended my post with a quandary: if an archaeology blogger writes and no one reacts, are we really changing opinions or moving the field forward? To this Colleen has added more: how do you attract readership? Without too much in the way of SEO chatter, who is your

Blogging Archaeology, Week 2

2011-03-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Last week, my colleague Colleen over at Middle Savagery started a blogging carnival of sorts to complement her SAA workshop on the role of short form writing (i.e., blogging) in archaeology. There was a wealth of pointed and insightful discussion that followed; an exciting indication that the role of blogging in archaeological discourse is one of interest to practitioners, both those who agree it

Blogging Archaeology

2011-03-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Fellow Cal Bear and archaeologist Middle Savagery is leading a round table on "Blogging Archaeology" at the upcoming Society for American Archaeology annual conference in Sacramento, CA. For those of us not able to attend, she has kindly offered to bring her fellow archaeo-bloggers into the discussion by posing questions on her blog every week for the next month and asking people to respond. It

Success in archaeology

2011-02-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

I recently finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. In a nutshell, Gladwell argues that success in our Western society has less to do with IQ and hard work (though these two elements add a great deal), and more to do with your cultural legacy and opportunities. How timely then that I just read an old Archaeological Institute of America interview with well-known

Roman Town and other archaeological video game adventures

2011-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Last month there was an interview with Suzi Wilczynski in the local Maryland Gazette. Suzi, who lives in Chevy Chase, is the founder of Dig-It Games, a company that "promotes learning through active discovery and the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills in young learners." The company's inaugural game is Roman Town, described as an interactive educational game set in

LEGO Antikythera Mechanism

2010-12-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

I have posted before about the Antikythera mechanism, a 2,000-year-old computer of sorts that was used to predict eclipses. Apparently a working model of the device has been created...completely out of LEGO. Nerdy and completely awesome, I give you a highly dramatic video about its creation and use. This is dedicated to all my engineering friends and family:

Video-mania

2010-12-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

A few videos have come across my desk(top) that include the oldest story ever told and the search for the mines of Solomon (or at least his Edomite neighbors). The first video is produced by Annenberg Media as part of their "Invitation to World Literature" series. While definitely cheesy at parts and some imagery is incorrect (i.e., the blue gateway shown is the Ishtar Gate from Babylon, not

The world's heritage?

2010-12-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I ranted a bit about the building collapse at Pompeii, asking "who is to blame?" and "what is to be done?" While I advocated local grassroots movements for site upkeep and maintenance, Mary Beard at The Telegraph thinks the world is responsible: "The only possible long-term solution for major world heritage sites such as this (or Stonehenge or Machu Picchu) must be some kind of

"Archaeologists with Computers"

2010-11-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

I am an archaeologist and my husband is a game developer/animated film producer. I love it when our fields collide (at 1:20): But really, who should be more insulted here: the archaeologists or the game developers?? Or maybe, just maybe, she is making a critical observation that archaeologists, like game developers, envision and create our own perceived realities that are then consumed by the

Crumbling Pompeii

2010-11-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

It still amazes me how (seemingly) little attention is paid to the architectural preservation of Pompeii, arguably one of the most popular tourist sites in Italy and perhaps the world. Last Saturday this observation was made tangible by the collapse of one of the buildings: the "House of the Gladiator" along the famous ancient city's main thoroughfare. As the Huff Post reports: "The office of

Looting the Holy Land

2010-10-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Great video produced by AlJazeera (thanks for the tip, Yo and Mo) about looting of cultural heritage in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. I wonder, is there a similar Israeli-produced video to give perspectives from the other side? Filmmakers: Mariam Shahin and George Azar Synopsis: Since 1967 countless artifacts have been unearthed and removed from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Many are

Mosaic at the Met

2010-10-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Rather "old" news, but I'm a bit behind these days for good reason: new job and big move. Thankfully I will be moving closer to this new exhibition at the Met featuring a beautiful mosaic from Lod. As reported in the Wall Street Journal: "In 1996, workers in Lod, Israel, were preparing to expand a road when they found something that turned out to be an artistic and archeological treasure: a Roman

Speak the words

2010-10-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Another great day in outreach efforts! The Daily Mail is reporting Assyriologists at Cambridge (that's people who study languages of the ancient Near East like Akkadian and Babylonian) have recently recorded and posted a small selection of Babylonian poems and epics on the university website. According to the article and website, Dr. Martin Worthington is the brainchild of this project that seeks

Mummies and privacy

2010-09-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

A recent article in New Scientist online edition got my mind swirling about a number of issues I have contemplated over the years: why are people fascinated with mummies? is it ethical to display mummies (essentially dead people) in museums? should archaeologists even excavated burials? if the soul leaves the body at death, why should anyone care what happens to the body after? under these

Cataloging history

2010-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

A recent story in The National underscores a number of major issues in Egyptian archaeology and archaeological museums in particular - the largest being the need for cataloging. Take for example the Egyptian Museum in Cairo that over the years has witnessed the theft of artifacts from its storage basement. In some cases (as the article relates) it took a few days to notice the objects were

Updates from Azeroth

2010-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Back in June I mentioned how the new WoW expansion Cataclysm will have archaeology as one of the new character professions. Today my WoW-playing husband alerted me to the fact an update was posted on the World of Warcraft blog that outlines the details of what archaeologists in Azeroth will be up to. There is also a video (see below) showing an archaeologist in action, i.e. surveying and

"He gave his life for tourism"

2010-09-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

According to my husband, I dropped the ball with my Fake Tut post a week or so ago. As he rightly points out, I should have included this real (and classic) fake Tut: Happy Friday everyone!