Posts Tagged ‘archaeology’

Religious Artifact or Toy?


06 Sep

You all know I love archaeology, and find what they do fascinating. However, sometimes I cannot help but wonder what of ours future societies might find and what conclusions they will draw.

For example, in Israel, they recently found two small stone figurines at an excavation for a highway. They appear to be animal in nature, and since in the time period they are dated to (9,000-9,500 years ago), people were hunter gatherers, the assumption is that they were religious or luck symbols, to help ensure a successful hunt.

What if they were really just some kid’s toys, like Legos?

Archaeological Botany


19 Feb

Imagine this- you’re a botanist working at a major research university when one day you get a call from the archeology department. “Hi, we’ve found what we’re pretty certain was a garden over 2,500 years ago. Do you think you could tell us what kind of plants lived her?”

I think that call has to come first, because how are archeologists going to recognize that there’s pollen captured in plaster? As a pollen expert, how often do you get a chance to work on a project like this?

Do we need a new field of study for botany- archeological botany?

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