Archaeology

  • Archaeology,  General,  History

    Prof Bob Brier Seminar on Ancient Egypt

    On Saturday I attended Prof. Bob Brier’s talk at the Smithsonian Ripley Center ( A Smithsonian Resident Associates talk): Temples, Monuments, and Tombs: Exploring Egypt’s Ancient Treasures This was a great day of archaeology lectures! I had planned to take the Metro into Washington, D.C., but was running late (shocker!), so drove in. No spots on Jefferson Ave in front of the S. Dillon Ripley Center (sometimes I get lucky), so I parked at a meter at the end of the Mall (on 7th). That was actually convenient, as you can use an app on your phone to pay the meter, so I just renewed my spot every 2 hours…

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  • Archaeology,  Books,  General

    All you ever wanted to know about Roman Toilets

    I have to admit that from an engineering standpoint I have been interested in finding out how toilets worked in ancient Rome. However, not so interested that I actually did any research past a quick search on google. Then I received an email from the American Journal of Archaeology, and took a look at the online book reviews. This one stood out: Roman Toilets: Their Archaeology and Cultural History Gemma C.M. Jansen, Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, and Eric M. Moormann, eds. Reviewed by Eric Poehler …What emerges from a full reading of Roman Toilets is the clearest and most detailed picture to date of the Roman experience of urinating and defecating…

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  • Archaeology,  Art,  History

    Symposium: Dawn of the Andean Civilization

    Last Saturday I attended a very interesting all-day seminar in Washington, DC. The Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC has an annual symposium at the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Naval Heritage Center. At right is the design on the symposium T-shirt. It is a feline character (I’m going to assume a jaguar) from an adobe mural at Huaca Partida, Nepeña Valley, Peru (something like > 1500 years ago). Neat. This location is very convenient; right at the Archives Metro stop on the Green line. This year’s topic was “The Dawn of the Andean Civilization. The link above goes to the symposium website; here is a synopsis: Chavín de Huántar, the massive ceremonial…

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  • Archaeology,  Books,  History

    Maya Calendar for September 25, 2010

    Last Saturday I went to an all-day symposium, “Under Cover of Darkness: The Meaning of Night in Ancient Mesoamerica” sponsored by the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. While there, Professor Mark Van Stone was signing copies of his book, “2012: Science & Prophecy of the Ancient Maya. What was really neat is that he signed my copy by writing the current date in Maya glyphs. Really neat!

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  • Archaeology,  Art,  Entertainment,  Family,  History,  Kids,  Science

    Natural History Museum

    Preston, Dylan and I went to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History yesterday. Preston just loved the Insect Zoo. No way was Dylan going to hold a bug, but it was hard to keep Preston away. He also held a big beetle, but I couldn’t get a picture as I had to help keep Preston from squishing it. Click any picture below for larger slideshow… The new Ocean Hall is quite good. Even Dylan was impressed by the giant jellyfish (seen in foreground). Full-size right whale hangs from the ceiling, and videos of ocean scenes line the walls. Lots of informative exhibits about the ocean. A lot more pictures…

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