Archaeology Archive
July 20, 2008
East is East and West is West
Here is an abstract of a paper presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Florida Academy of Sciences: Tin trade failure in ancient Mesopotamia: The reason why the Late Bronze Age civilizations of Eastern Mediterranean fell. S. SAMEI. Department...Read all of "East is East and West is West "
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:58 PM
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July 13, 2008
An Eye On Οφθαλμοι
Jim West calls our attention to an Οφθαλμος found at the Yvne-Yam antiquities site next to Palmachim beach, south of Tel-Aviv. These ship eyes are abnormally interesting. I found a rather recent, 2006, MA thesis by Troy Nowak on the...Read all of "An Eye On Οφθαλμοι"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:49 PM
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February 24, 2008
BAR, Controversy and Quote Mining
During a period of nearly thirty-five years Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) and the Journal of Biblical Literature (JBL) sustained my interests in the ancient near east and in the Hebrew Bible. I read nearly every article in both. On a...Read all of "BAR, Controversy and Quote Mining"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:01 AM
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February 13, 2008
Four Stone Hearth Is Up, Number 34 This Time
The 34th edition of Four Stone Hearth is up at Our Cultural World. The Linguistic Anthropology section is very strong in this edition with several posts of abnormal interest....Read all of "Four Stone Hearth Is Up, Number 34 This Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:16 PM
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February 7, 2008
A Queen and A Goddess at Ebla
Back in October of last year, I noted a report of new discoveries from Ebla. Among those discoveries were two statues of women. At the time, I complained that there weren't even pictures of the statues in the report. Well,...Read all of "A Queen and A Goddess at Ebla"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:15 PM
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February 5, 2008
Continue to Follow the Money
The other day I quoted Peter van der Veen on the influence of financial donators on the way archeological evidence is sometimes interpreted. Actually, van der Veen's remarks were quite restrained. The remarks of Raphael Greenberg in the recent edition...Read all of "Continue to Follow the Money"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:49 PM
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February 4, 2008
He's Back
Well, Christopher O’Brien will be back on Wednesday. Christopher's Northstate Science is one of those blogs from which I learn something of abnormal interest in nearly every post. And I've been missing his insights in anthropology, archaeology, evolution, the culture...Posted by Duane Smith at 7:43 PM
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January 31, 2008
The ŠLMT Seal and How We Learn
At blogging speed this is a little late. I think Chris at Higgaion was the first to bring it to the attention of the blogging community. Eilat Mazar, who discovered the subject seal, first read it tmḥ. Peter van der...Read all of "The ŠLMT Seal and How We Learn"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:11 AM
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January 30, 2008
Four Stone Hearth 33 Is Up
Four Stone Hearth 33 is up at Greg Laden's Blog. Perhaps readers of Abnormal Interests will find "Conspiracy Theories as Historical Just so Stories" at Archaeoporn of special interests. Thaddeus Nelson deals with the Simcha Jacobovici's work on the Talpiot...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth 33 Is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:42 PM
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January 24, 2008
Looting Does Matter
In the light of today's news about Federal agents raiding the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pasadena's Pacific Asia Museum, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, I thought it might be...Read all of "Looting Does Matter"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:14 PM
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January 23, 2008
Follow the Money
There has been quite a discussion on the Ancient Near East (ANE-2) list server of the ancient seal I mentioned the other day. I won't go into all the ins and outs of that discussion here. One thing that Peter...Read all of "Follow the Money"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:39 PM
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January 19, 2008
Of Snails, Archaeology, and Climate
I always read what Aydin Örstan at Snail's Tales suggests. Well, maybe not always, but I do read his suggestions when his abnormal interests seem to align with my abnormal interests. Yesterday he directed his readers to the Archaeo+Malacology Group...Read all of "Of Snails, Archaeology, and Climate"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:22 PM
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January 9, 2008
Found Again: the Garden of Eden
Claude Mariottini sure got this one right. I don't always agree with Claude but the man knows a Nigerian scam when he sees one. Sunday's Macau Daily Times has a report on the Ikom Monoliths in Nigeria. The report starts...Read all of "Found Again: the Garden of Eden"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:57 PM
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January 2, 2008
The Silver Screen Edition of Four Stone Hearth and Blogs I Did Not Know About
Four Stone Hearth #31 is up at Walking the Berkshires. One of the things I enjoy most about carnivals is that I get to learn about blogs that weren't previously on my radar. For example, with the publication of the...Read all of "The Silver Screen Edition of Four Stone Hearth and Blogs I Did Not Know About"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:57 PM
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December 20, 2007
The 30th Installment of Four Stone Hearth Is Up
The GreenBelt has the 30th Installment of Four Stone Hearth up and running. I always enjoy this anthropology carnival. While there are many items that readers of Abnormal Interests will enjoy, I think Alun's thoughts about deep history may be...Read all of "The 30th Installment of Four Stone Hearth Is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:35 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
December 13, 2007
Top Ten Discoveries of 2007
Afarensis directs us to Archaeology Magazine's top ten (or is it top nineteen) discoveries of 2007. The Nebo-Sarsekim Cuneiform Tablet is second on the list. But it wasn't really discovered in 2007. Only what it said was revealed this year....Read all of "Top Ten Discoveries of 2007"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:52 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
The Archaeology of Blogging
Bill Caraher has an abnormally interesting post on "Blogging Archaeology" over at the new Ancient World Bloggers Group. Give it a look. This post is the second in a series called "Blogging Archaeology or the Archaeology of Blogging: Metablogging the...Read all of "The Archaeology of Blogging"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:36 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
December 9, 2007
The Wadi Qelt
Yesterday Todd Bolen at Bible Places wrote about an article by Sami Backleh. Backleh, a biologist, reported on his birding outing in and around the Wadi Qelt. The article is abnormally interesting. So are Todd's pictures of the Wadi Qelt....Posted by Duane Smith at 8:20 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Fun With a Hieroglyph Editor
I've been wasting my time with a new toy, the JSesh hieroglyph editor, written by S. Rosmorduc. Nearly everyone who thinks about the Near East bumps up against hieroglyphic Egyptian from time to time. It just can't (and shouldn't) be...Read all of "Fun With a Hieroglyph Editor"
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December 6, 2007
A Couple of Blogs of Interest ("and More")
Ancient World Bloggers Group is a new meta-blog. This group blog has the following mission: A space where we can communicate notices of real world bloggers meetings; a space to arrange and coordinate themed blogfests; a space to review the...Read all of "A Couple of Blogs of Interest ("and More")"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:58 PM
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December 5, 2007
Where the Real Action Is
Afarensis made me write this post. These are exciting times for that subset of Syro-Palestinian archaeology that on occasion informs our understanding of the Hebrew Bible and on very rare occasion is informed by the Hebrew Bible. The excitement is...Read all of "Where the Real Action Is"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:56 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 7, 2007
I Resemble That Remark
I take my title from an old and not very funny parody that goes back at least to the Three Stooges. It could even be older. Anyway, Eric Cline writes in a solicited comment (be sure to scroll down to...Read all of "I Resemble That Remark"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:46 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 5, 2007
The World’s Oldest Inscription?
I'm always skeptical of these kinds on claims. Iran Press TV is reporting the discovery of an inscribed brick at Jiroft, near the Halil Roud historical site. Besides the picture below and a few comments from Yousof Majid Zadeh, head...Read all of "The World’s Oldest Inscription?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:14 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
October 28, 2007
Should I Feel Sad About This?
This month's Biblical Archaeology Review has an interview with Father Justin, the only Monk of American origin at Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai. He is also the librarian for the monastery. When asked about the number people visiting the...Read all of "Should I Feel Sad About This?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:20 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
October 24, 2007
Four Stone Hearth #26 is Up
Four Stone Hearth #26 is up at Primate Diaries. Give it a look. In addition to the great content, the presentation is extremely attractive, well organized with attractive graphics. Also, take a look at Christopher O'Brien's new post on Eric...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth #26 is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:30 AM
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October 22, 2007
Iron Age IIB Potsherds from the Temple Mount
Over the weekend there was a bit of a to do over the discover on the Haram-esh-Sharif, the Temple Mound, of potsherds from the first temple period. Here is what the Israel Antiquities Authority said of the find, During a...Read all of "Iron Age IIB Potsherds from the Temple Mount"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:54 PM
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October 17, 2007
The Sy Gitin Festschrift
I was glad to hear about the forthcoming festschrift for Sy Gitin. The list of contributors is impressive and several of the papers could well be important. I worked as an area supervisor under Sy at Gezer. And while our...Read all of "The Sy Gitin Festschrift"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:29 PM
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October 12, 2007
CSI: Tebtunis
The ancient town of Tebtunis is about seventy-five miles south of Cairo and is famous for the papyri that archaeologists are still finding there. Archaeology has an update. Among the recent finds are 300 cards that seem to be tools...Posted by Duane Smith at 8:39 AM
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October 10, 2007
Queen Jezebel's Seal?
Jim West has the story and so does Haaretz. Jim's post also has a picture. Let's wait until we see Marjo Korpel's actual article before we get too excited. But it does should interesting. Update, October 11, 2007: Back in...Read all of "Queen Jezebel's Seal?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:39 PM
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October 5, 2007
More From Ebla (Please!)
This is the kind of announcement that leaves me hungry. Italian renowned Archaeologist Paulo Mattieh on Thursday shed light on the most important archaeological discoveries that the Italian expedition team at the ancient site of Ebla Kingdom had discovered. "Statues...Read all of "More From Ebla (Please!)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:53 PM
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