Back in 2012 there was a roiling debate amongst those who believed that the conclusion of the 13th Baktun of the Maya long count calendar represented a significant event. The question was, did this momentous moment signal apocalypse or instead a moment of rebirth. While popular media outlets (and Hollywood) focused on the apocalyptic interpretations, … Continue reading The Birth of a New Era
Today, I have a different type of lost city to talk about, the lost city of Iximaya! This legendary city is said to have been home to a vibrant Maya population that was never conquered by the Spanish. Deep in the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula, these Maya natives continued their lives, unchanged by the … Continue reading The Lost City of Iximaya
If you have been hearing about Gobkeli Tepe, constellations, and comets in the news lately, check out what the archaeologists from the site have to say!
Recently a paper published by two researchers of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering has made headlines, suggesting that the Göbekli Tepe enclosures actually were space observatories and that some of the reliefs depict a catastrophic cosmic event (the original publication in Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 17(1), 2017 is accessible online here [external link]).
A selection of the carved reliefs found on many of Göbekli Tepe’s T-shaped pillars is linked to and interpreted as depiction of actual stellar constellations. In particular Pillar 43, which is indeed an outstanding (but actually not exceptional) example of the site’s rich and complex iconography, is interpreted as record of a meteor shower and collision – with quite serious consequences for life on earth 13,000 – 12,000 years ago (this whole ‘Younger Dryas Impact’ hypothesis [external link] actually is disputed itself [external link], so making Göbekli Tepe a ‘smoking gun’ in this argument…
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Today Archaeological Oddities turns one week old! Such a milestone! Thank you to all of you who have stopped by, checked out the site, and read my posts. On this momentous anniversary, I would like to take stock of what I see to be the purpose of this blog, and just what it is I’ve … Continue reading Archaeology, Oddities, and Tropes
Every good super hero needs a secret identity! Superman can explain his presence at major events as reporter Clark Kent, Wonder Woman can avoid attention passing as mild mannered Diana Prince, and of course Batman can explain away virtually anything as millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. The function of a secret identity is not only to … Continue reading The Secret Identity of Hawkman
The first (annual?) Public Archaeology Twitter Conference is coming up on Friday, April 28th, and yours truly will be there Tweeting about the Lore of Lost Cities! The conference has been organized by Lorna Richardson (@lornarichardson) and will feature Professor Shawn Graham (@electricarchaeo) and Dr. Colleen Morgan (@clmorgan) as key note "speakers." More than 50 … Continue reading Public Archaeology Twitter Conference, 2017
Archaeology enjoys a place of some prominence in popular media. Major news outlets often pick up and run stories about recent archaeological discoveries, perhaps as light hearted asides between more serious stories, but nonetheless these stories form the core of what most popular audiences see as serious archaeological research. Media outlets, however, have developed an … Continue reading The Danger of Lost City Tropes
Pop culture today is heavily influenced by gaming. Increasingly that term refers specifically to video games, but for some of us it still holds broader connotations of board games and ultimately table top role playing games. Regardless of your preferred gaming medium, it turns out that archaeology is a frequent and popular theme throughout the … Continue reading So you want to be a hero?
When Europeans first arrived in the New World it was a profoundly strange moment. As far as the people of Europe were concerned they had a good understanding of world history both from the Bible and the variety of Classical Greek and Roman histories that had survived the ages. Encountering new continents chock full of people … Continue reading European Distortions of Mesoamerica
Archaeologists don't do dinosaurs! Right? Except there was that one time when Charles Di Peso was called down to Mexico to investigate the "Acambaro Figurines," which just so happened to feature humans riding dinosaurs! Hold your breath, because coming up next month, yours truly will seek to answer that age old question ... "Did man … Continue reading Archaeologists and … Dinosaurs?
Archaeological Oddities 