ARCHEOLOG

2010-03-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

Follow me also on Twitter : http://twitter.com/archaeolog

2010-01-30T07:19:00.002-05:00

Large petroglyph in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada

A little digging around suggests this boulder was discovered in 1923 in the Lone Cabin Creek area of the middle Fraser River, just south of the Gang Ranch. It was moved to Stanley Park in 1926.

2009-05-18T20:13:00.002-04:00

Ivory Venus Figurine From The Swabian Jura Rewrites Prehistory

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2009) — The 2008 excavations at Hohle Fels Cave in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany recovered a female figurine carved from mammoth ivory from the basal Aurignacian deposit.

This figurine, which is the earliest depiction of a human, and one of the oldest known examples of figurative art worldwide, was made at least 35,000 years ago. This discovery radically changes our views of the context and meaning of the earliest Paleolithic art.

For more information

2008-12-13T10:43:00.001-05:00

Just in time for the shopping season

A store that operated in the 1800s has been unearthed at what is now Boyds Corner northeast of Middletown. According to transportation department officials, store owner John Boyd, who emigrated from Ireland to Delaware in 1791, bought the site from his father-in-law, Thomas Read, in 1812.

The officials are not sure when he built and began operating the store, but an 1849 map identifies his shop at that location.

In addition to the child's marble, items that workers have uncovered include a suspender buckle, gun flints, a wrought-iron nail, a sleigh bell, shards from a stoneware milk pan, broken pieces of ceramic pottery and a kettle hook.

2008-06-27T09:56:00.000-04:00

Prehistoric human skull found at Isle of Man Airport

A PREHISTORIC human skull dating back 5,000 years together with remains relating to a Neolithic house have been discovered during works on the runway extension project at Ronaldsway. Experts from Oxford Archaeology called in to carry out the excavation have described the finds as being of 'national and possibly European significance'.

More of this -

2008-06-21T10:28:00.000-04:00

Ancient Fort Opens New Chapter In First Nations' History

A fortified village that pre-dates European arrival in Western Canada and is the only one of its kind discovered on the Canadian plains is yielding intriguing evidence of an unknown First Nations group settling on the prairies and is rekindling new ties between the Siksika Nation (Blackfoot) and aboriginal groups in the United States.

More of this -

2008-04-13T10:58:00.000-04:00

Ancient open-air theatres across Greece are crumbling due to neglect

Ancient open-air theatres across Greece are crumbling due to neglect and need swift government intervention to rescue them.

Greece, where Classical drama was born in the 5th century BC, boasts scores of theatres that form a key part of the country's classical cultural heritage. But while about 30 are in a state to host cultural events, 76 are in need of urgent repair.

The 6th century BC Dionysus theatre

2008-03-24T17:10:00.000-04:00

Ancient reptile rises from Alberta oil sands

The fossil was discovered by machine operators Greg Fisher and Lorne Cundal in 1994 during routine mining operations at Syncrude’s Base Mine, about 35 kilometres north of Fort McMurray near the Athabasca River. Amazingly, the specimen was serendipitously exposed by one of Syncrude’s 100-ton electric shovels approximately 60 metres below ground surface. It is complete except for its left forelimb and shoulder blade. It was transported to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where it was prepared for research observations and exhibit and studied by Druckenmiller and Russell.

Nichollsia borealis is one of the most complete and best preserved North American plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous Period and lived approximately 112-million years ago. Although not classified as dinosaurs, plesiosaurs lived in the seas at the same time that dinosaurs roamed the land throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (205 million – 65 million years ago). They were a diverse group of carnivorous aquatic reptiles that reached lengths of over 12 metres. Fossil remains of dozens of plesiosaurs have been recovered around the world since the early 1800s and are among the first fossil vertebrates to be scientifically described. Nichollsia is also very significant because it fills a 40-million-year gap in the plesiosaur fossil record and greatly increases the understanding of the ancient seaway that once split North America in two and whose shores abounded with dinosaurs.

Nichollsia borealis is currently on display in the Discoveries Gallery at the Royal Tyrrell Museum

2008-03-22T21:07:00.000-04:00

Paharpur site temple

Archaeologists have found another ancient brick-built structure with floor and artefacts under the basement of the main temple at world heritage site Paharpur.
The structure was found in the northeast corner of more than 1,200 years old main temple "Somapura Maha Vihara", which is locally known as Paharpur Monastery.

More infos. news

2008-02-04T20:38:00.000-05:00

It's not often I link music, but this one is Great !

Caribou by British Sea Power

Archeolog

2008-01-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

Neanderthal conjunctions

This morning's story is from a Canadian. Evidence from studies of deep-sea sediments indicate that temperatures in Europe dropped by nearly 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the period when Neanderthals were flourishing. Eugene Morin of Trent University in Peterborough, Canada, studied the effects of this temperature decline by examining bones and other artifacts from a Neanderthal site at Saint-Cesaire in southwestern France. As temperatures declined, the proportion of reindeer in their diet increased to 87% from 35%. But reliance on reindeer is risky because their populations fluctuate widely. A decline in their numbers would lead to famine and population decline, according to Morin.

Can we get the two researchers together? Possibly the combination of a drop in temperature, a drop in food supply and lack of implements to make warmer clothes are persuasive reasons for the demise of the Neanderthals. Or there is other evidences for the disappearance of Neandertals ?

2007-12-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

Marvel at winter solstice sunrise in Newgrange

Eventually, Brú na Bóinne (usually referred to as "the Bend of the Boyne") became an archaeological park, then a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1995. The visitor centre, a symphony of spirals and mounds in wood, glass, stone and concrete, opened 10 years ago on the south side of the river.

Newgrange

A small suspension bridge was thrown across the muscular brown waters, where those who originally settled Newgrange some 5,000 years ago would have speared salmon, and a minibus terminus built, from which visitors are ferried to the tomb or its larger sister at Knowth. In the year 2000, a lottery system was introduced for solstice places; this year, there were 28,000 applications.

More of this: Newgrange, Meath, IE

2007-10-29T08:57:00.000-04:00

Layers of mystery -
Archaeologists look to the earth for Minoan fate

SHREWSBURY— They created extraordinary artifacts for hundreds of years, revealing an aesthetic sensibility that influences Western civilization to this day. Then they simply disappeared.

Scholars are seeking answers to one of the great mysteries of the ancient world: What happened to the Minoans of Crete, who controlled a thriving Mediterranean trade network from around 2,200-1,450 BC?

By Judy Powell Correspondent

2007-10-11T18:11:00.000-04:00

Post-dig pace to quicken

The National Constitution Center and Independence National Historical Park are close to a new agreement to complete the archaeological work precipitated by excavation on the center's building site more than six years ago.

Widely viewed as the most significant dig in Philadelphia's history, excavation of the center's Independence Mall site in 2000 and 2001 yielded a million artifacts and exposed a largely pristine pre-19th-century neighborhood, including an unusual concentration of households composed of free black families.

Artifacts, like this earthenware, uncovered at the Constitution Center site, is processed at a public archaeology lab.

More on this at:
The National Constitution Center and Independence National Historical Park

2007-08-09T12:34:00.000-04:00

Fossils in Kenya Challenge Linear Evolution

Two fossils found in Kenya have shaken the human family tree, possibly rearranging major branches thought to be in a straight ancestral line to Homo sapiens.
Skull

In their report, Dr. Spoor and his colleagues wrote, “With the discovery of the new, well dated specimens, H. habilis and H. erectus can now be shown to have co-occurred in eastern Africa for nearly half a million years.” The fact that the two hominid species lived together in the same lake basin for so long and remained separate species, Meave Leakey said in a statement from Nairobi, “suggests that they had their own ecological niche, thus avoiding direct competition.”

Date Line of Evolution

More on this at:
Fossils in Kenya Challenge Linear Evolution

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: August 9, 2007

2007-08-09T11:49:00.000-04:00

News is coming up, Very busy times !

2007-06-12T19:11:00.000-04:00

Ekain Caves in Zestoa Gipuzkoa, Basque country

ZESTOA –Gipuzkoa: Ekain caves’ replica will have more than 80,000 visits per year A French company is building a replica that will be placed next to the original at the end of year 2006.

Link: Ekain Caves in Zestoa Gipuzkoa

2007-05-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

While the men were out hunting, Stone Age women created a future

By Scott LaFee

For generations, archaeologists believed that Stone Age gender roles split neatly in two, like a well-struck piece of flint:

Paleolithic males were hunters of woolly mammoths and other daunting prey. Females stayed behind. They cared for the kids, or maybe gathered seeds and berries.

The image was widely disseminated and quickly popularized in movies, cartoons and museum dioramas. It was also based, contends James M. Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute in Pennsylvania, upon wrongheaded interpretations of scant evidence and some dubious assumptions.

More...

2007-05-13T10:49:00.000-04:00

Uncovering history — Utah Prehistory Week offers a chance to tour archaeological site near prison

In 1998, the site was declared protected open space by the state Legislature, and set aside from any development. But it took until now before further excavations were made.
Andy Yentsch shows an excavation area at the prison site. (Ravell Call, Deseret Morning News)

Andy Yentsch shows an excavation area at the prison site.

Yentsch was brought in last October to oversee a one-year project. Actual digging at the site started last month and will continue through June.
Tours and explanations of the Prison Dig are being featured during Utah Prehistory Week, May 5-12. Other events include tours of Danger and Jukebox Caves in the West Desert and activities and lectures for the whole family.

More on this : Utah Prehistory Week

2007-04-08T11:39:00.000-04:00

How to Build a Pyramid

Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza remains. An estimated 2 million stone blocks weighing an average of 2.5 tons went into its construction. When completed, the 481-foot-tall pyramid was the world's tallest structure, a record it held for more than 3,800 years, when England's Lincoln Cathedral surpassed it by a mere 44 feet.

Pyramid Plan

Link : Hidden ramps may solve the mystery of the Great Pyramid's construction.

2007-03-20T22:05:00.000-04:00

The rise and fall of great cities

Zabid studied by Canadians

The Canadian Archaeological Mission in Yemen began its program of activity in 1982 after receiving a favourable response from Qadi Isma’il al-Akwa’ who was then the director of the Organization for Antiquities, Manuscripts, and Libraries.

Our request was for permission to study the archaeology of Zabid and its surrounding territories between Bayt al-Faqih to the north, Hays to the surrounding territories between the sea and the mountain foothills.

The reason for choosing Zabid was because of the city’s reputation that attracted students from many parts of the Islamic world for study. We wanted to see what evidence there was for other kinds of contact within Yemen, as well as abroad, to take a real measure of Zabid’s importance.

Link

2007-03-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

Stone towers make up oldest observatory in Peru

A line of 13 stone towers that top a coastal hillside in Peru are in fact the Western Hemisphere's oldest solar observatory, researchers said on Thursday.

The 2,300-year-old site points to a sophisticated culture that used the dramatic alignment of the sun and the structures for political and ceremonial effects, the researchers said.
The site, called the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, precisely spans the annual rising and setting arcs of the sun when viewed from two specially constructed observation points.

Link

2007-02-04T10:42:00.000-05:00

Pictures at an Excavation

Illustration credit : Peter Arkle

News from NY Times

2007-01-30T18:23:00.000-05:00

Sentinels From Prehistory

Hazaribagh's prehistoric megaliths are finally receiving the academic and popular attention they deserve. Subhashis Das has been working tirelessly to preserve them and started the Megalithic Utsav at Punkhri- Barwadih two years ago to generate awareness about these sentinels from the remote past. The Utsav is held on the morning of the two equinoxes each year, when the sun can be seen rising through the V-shaped gap between a pair of tall megaliths. This beautiful astronomical sight can be seen only on equinox mornings here. It?s a rare, spectacular phenomenon, says Das, who quit his job to research and popularise the megaliths full-time. These ancient stones were actually superb astronomical-astrological observatories, says Das, who has discovered three megalithic observatories in Jharkhand.

Source

2007-01-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

Keenlyside heads Museum and Heritage Foundation

A permanent executive director has been hired to head the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation. Dr. David L. Keenlyside, curator of Atlantic Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, will be assuming the duties in March.
"This appointment is a crucial step in strategic planning for the museum," says Dr. Dasgupta, chair of the board of governors. "We look forward to Dr. Keenlyside's arrival." Elmer MacFadyen, P.E.I.'s minister of community and cultural affairs, says Dr. Keenlyside's colleagues at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa highly recommend him and praise him for his interpersonal, organizational and project management skills, his work ethic, and his ability to foster a good working re lationship with crews, volunteers and exhibition teams.
This is the first permanent appointment to the position since the retirement of Chris Severance, who served as executive director from 1992 to 2004.

2007-01-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

Stonehenge most likely didn't stand alone

The world famous Stonehenge in the plains of Salisbury in southern England that has intrigued anthropologists and archaeologists for centuries did not stand in isolation, but was juxtaposed between two more world famous prehistoric stone formations.

One of the megalithic finds is a sandstone formation that marked a ritual burial mound. The other is a group of stones at the site of an ancient timber circle.

Colin Richards of Manchester University and Joshua Pollard of Bristol University who made the discoveries have suggested that many similar monuments might have been erected in the shadow of Stonehenge, possibly forming part of a much larger complex.

The first monument, a 9.2-foot-long (2.8-meter-long) sarsen stone was found lying in a field next to the River Avon, two miles (3.2 kilometres) east of Stonehenge, which is located near the modern-day city of Salisbury.

More of this

2006-12-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

Landmark Exhibition Of Asian Textiles At The Textile Museum

A landmark exhibition of textiles of the Chin peoples of western Myanmar (Burma), northeastern India and eastern Bangladesh will be on view at The Textile Museum from October 13, 2006 ? February 25, 2007. Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong includes nearly 80 ceremonial mantles, tunics and other garments, along with contemporary and historic photographs as well as jewelry and accessories worn with the textiles.

Textiles play a central role in Chin social life, illustrating an individual?s success in achieving merit in this life and the next through worldly activities such as hosting feasts and bagging big game. The majority of the textiles on view are from The Textile Museum?s collections, which was formed in large part by a donation to the Museum by the exhibition?s curators, Dr. David W. Fraser and Barbara G. Fraser.

Technique and Structure in Chin Textiles

2006-11-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

Lecture Looks at 1604 St. Croix Settlement

Archaeologist Pendery discussed the newest information on the archaeological excavations of the first French settlement in the New World in 1604. Samuel de Champlain was one of 79 men who chose to set up a trading post on St. Croix Island at the mouth of the St. Croix River, today located at the boundary of Maine and Canada. Almost half of the men died the first winter due in part to the harsh climate. The following year the trading post was moved to the Canadian shore at Port Royal.

The excavations on St. Croix Island, conducted jointly by the U.S. National Park Service and Canadian scholars, have found the sparse but intriguing remains of this first French settlement.

More news about Ongoing Events

2006-11-19T08:49:00.000-05:00

Investing In A Region's Future

A small and unobtrusive research institute at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus thinks it has found the remains of the Bonhomme Richard, the ship commanded by Continental Navy captain John Paul Jones off England in 1779.

The project was mentioned briefly during a symposium on maritime history earlier this week at the Avery Point campus. Its significance calls for some additional elaboration and attention in this region, which continues to grapple with the future. The project, organized and directed by the nonprofit Ocean Technology Foundation, fits perfectly into a role for the region as a center for maritime research and exploration linking the past and future.

The Institute undertook the project three years ago, joining historical data and state-of-the-art undersea technology. This included the development of a computer model of the ship showing how the damaged hull would have drifted. The ship sank in a celebrated battle off the northeast coast of England. Jones and his crew abandoned the heavily damaged ship and fought their way aboard and captured the HMS Serapis in the storied battle, in which Jones uttered the famous line, ?I have not yet begun to fight.?

This short article : Marine archaeology is a specialized mission

2006-10-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

Just the Artifacts

The Palisades area, with its proximity to the Potomac and the various creeks that fed into it, was more than just a pleasant spot for ancient Washingtonians; it was critical to their survival. The anadromous fish migrations?shad and striped bass running back to spawn in their native streams?that drive modern-day sportsmen onto the river each spring coincides with what was the ancient Indians? leanest time of year.

Just when they had depleted their winter stores and before the berries appeared or cultivated crops could be harvested, they received tens of thousands of pounds of protein in the form of schools of fish so thick that 17th-century explorer John Smith tried to catch them with frying pans. If anything, Dupin?s findings verify the impression archaeologists have about the area?s density of materials. ?The mantra of today?s real-estate agent also holds in prehistory: location, location, location,? says Stephen Potter, the regional archaeologist for the National Park Service (NPS). ?Prime real estate is and always will be on the waterfront.?

More on this !

2006-10-14T05:50:00.000-04:00

Plenty to Trade

A replica of Caravel Pinta is seen at Palos de la Frontera's wharf, where Columbus set off for America in the 15th century. New research on Columbus' exploration of Cuba reveals that he and his crew traded ordinary shoelace tags for gold with the indigenous islanders, who valued the brass objects more highly than the then-abundant gold available to them.

2006-09-18T20:37:00.000-04:00

Archaeological dig suggests nomads built homes

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- A long-held theory about the migrations of ancient inhabitants of eastern Connecticut might change in light of an archaeological dig that has unearthed homes built into a hillside.

Researchers had long believed that the native people who lived in the region about 9,000 years ago were nomadic hunters who moved frequently and did not create permanent living spaces.

But an archaeological dig taking place near a Foxwoods Resort Casino parking garage has uncovered dozens of pit houses, structures built into a hill and supported by timbers.

Click here to find out more!

2006-09-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

Discoveries in a Gibraltar cave suggest over closest relative was closer than previously thought

Primitive stone tools and remnants from wood fires recovered from the vast Gorham's cave on the easternmost face of the Rock suggest Neanderthals found refuge there, and clung to life for thousands of years after they had died out elsewhere.

Carbon dating of charcoal fragments excavated alongside spear points and basic cutting tools indicates the cave was home to a group of around 15 Neanderthals at least 28,000 years ago, and possibly as recently as 24,000 years ago. Previously uncovered remains lead scientists to believe the Neanderthals died out in Europe and elsewhere some 35,000 years ago.

The discovery marks more clearly than ever before the time of death of our closest relative, and completes one of the most dramatic chapters in human evolution.

Today, Gorham's cave is perched on a cliff face lapped by the Mediterranean, but the view from the east-facing entrance was once of rolling sand dunes pocked with vegetation. A freshwater stream running down from the north led to the sea 4.8km away.

Link to more: Neanderthals: Not so far removed

2006-09-02T10:24:00.000-04:00

Artifacts locked in time spawns 'museum in action'

For archaeologists, discovery of the Peinan site in southeastern Taiwan has proved invaluable in terms of information about the unwritten past of Taiwan's early inhabitants. For the National Museum of Prehistory, exhibiting the excavated treasures not only offers an opportunity to educate visitors about Taiwan's prehistoric past but also provides a link to the island's present, and thus helps to tell the full story of Taiwan's indigenous culture.

This also explains the museum's future direction: located in Taitung City, a major aboriginal conurbation, it hopes to become a window of the Austronesian-speaking cultures that cover a large part of the earth's surface from Madagascar off the coast of Africa to Easter Island in the eastern Pacific, and from New Zealand in the south to Hawaii and Taiwan in the north.

This way :

Taiwan Prehistoric Past

2006-08-22T20:10:00.000-04:00

Museum in a Site

A new museum has to be created within an archeological site in the middle of a hill overlooking the city of Jeongok. The site presents a strong topography with a big difference of level between the main road of access to the site and the excavation pits up in the hill. A basalt cliff is also present in the core of the hill and it is asked to incorporate it within the museum route as another part of the exhibition area.

The design concept is based on the potential of the new building working as a new gate for the entire prehistoric site solving the difference of the height levels within the site and on the potential of the basalt precipice that becomes the major element to display.

For more:
A new museum within an archeological site

2006-08-20T12:35:00.000-04:00

A Short list of Archaeo - BLOG and Links

European Journal of Archaeology

Northstate Science

Fourth year anthropology student focusing on archaeology

the Canadian archaeological project at Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi, Syria

Archaeology Image Bank:

Archaeolog,all things archaeological

2006-08-20T11:56:00.000-04:00

Historic Places in Miami

DESIGNATING A NATIONAL LANDMARK

Five Bay Harbor Islands properties in Miami area are noted as being eligible for nomination into the National Register of Historic Places, which provides incentives to help protect historic structures. They are:

Bay Harbor Club, 1155 103rd St.

Bay Harbor Towers, 10141-43 East Bay Harbor Dr.

Coral Sea Towers, 10300 West Bay Harbor Dr.

Citgo station, 1501 Broad Causeway.

Town founder Shepard Broad's 1955 waterfront house at 9405 East Broadview Dr.

According to the register, criteria for inclusion are:

The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or

B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or

C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

2006-08-04T10:10:00.000-04:00

Parks Canada Welcomes Archaeology lovers this August

QUEBEC, QUEBEC--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 3, 2006) - Once again this year, Parks Canada is participating in Archaeology Month. In August, three national historic sites invite adults and children to meet engaging and passionate archaeologists: Levis Forts, Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial, and the Saint Louis Forts and Chateaux.

Link to this : Parks Canada is participating in Archaeology Month

2006-07-27T20:36:00.000-04:00

DNA to unlock secrets of cavemen

Scientists are to decipher the genetic code of our closest relative, the barrel-chested, long-faced Neanderthal, in the hope that it will reveal how modern humans developed the formidable cognitive power to dominate the world.

With fragments of DNA from bones found in ancient caves, researchers will piece together the Neanderthal's genome and compare it with those already sequenced for humans and chimps.

Modern humans and Neanderthals split from a common ancestor nearly 500,000 years ago. From a foothold north of the Mediterranean, Homo heidelbergensis steadily evolved into the Neanderthals, while in Africa, the same species embarked on a different evolutionary path, ultimately resulting in Homo sapiens.

Remains of Neanderthals dating back as far as 400,000 years suggest a reasonably sophisticated species that crafted tools and weapons and buried its dead, but was no match for Homo sapiens. The last of them died out nearly 40,000 years ago, as Homo sapiens migrated to, and eventually settled throughout, Europe.

The team of scientists, led by Svante Paabo at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, will analyse strands of DNA preserved in a leg bone recovered from a cave in Vindija, Croatia, and an upper arm bone from an archaeological site in the Neander valley in Germany.

Contamination with microbes means only 5 per cent of the DNA collected from the bones belongs to Neanderthals, giving the scientists a huge sorting problem.

DNA to unlock secrets of cavemen

2006-07-24T18:36:00.000-04:00

Archaeology in Toronto

Toronto is one of the largest, most culturally diverse municipalities in North America and has a cultural history that began approximately 11,000 years ago. The archaeological sites that are the physical remains of this lengthy settlement history represent a fragile and non-renewable cultural legacy.

Protecting these sites has become increasing important since landscape change has been occurring at an ever-increasing rate. The City of Toronto is in the process of developing an archaeological master plan to identify areas of archaeological potential and to require archaeological assessments on land prior to development. The Interim Report - A Master Plan of Archaeological Resources for the City of Toronto, August 2004 sets out the framework for the project.

City of Toronto: Archaeology

2006-07-23T10:52:00.000-04:00

Divers survey famed 'Christmas Tree Ship'

Team finds clues to why schooner foundered
TWO RIVERS ? Nearly a century after the schooner Rouse Simmons ? the famed "Christmas Tree Ship" ? foundered in a Lake Michigan storm, divers this week gained a better understanding of how and why the ship went down.

Researchers spent several days exploring the wreck, located about 12 miles northeast of Two Rivers and 170 feet below the surface, for a nautical archeological survey ? the first one conducted on the ship, said Keith Meverden, an underwater archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society.

After reviewing information collected on Wednesday's dive, the team made a discovery about how the ship went down.

Since the crowded deck prevented the crew from spreading the chain, the weight of the chain remained in the front of the 123-foot-long ship. The Rouse Simmons likely tipped forward when it took on water, adding to the weight of the chain, driving the bow head-first into the bottom and throwing the rigging forward, Bentley said.

Contributing to the sinking was the fact that the schooner had no caulk or putty between boards, Bentley said.

The dive team will return on Aug. 13 for another week to finish the survey. The findings will be published.

More on this : Divers survey famed 'Christmas Tree Ship

2006-06-10T10:36:00.000-04:00

Fishing stages to be restored

The Trinity Historical Society has received funding from the Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program (FHPP), to restore three fishing properties in Trinity. The FHPP, administered by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is a program developed to assist in the preservation and presentation of the province?s fisheries heritage.

The buildings to be restored are the stages of Thomas Spurrell and Francis Toope and the slipway belonging to Boyd Coleridge. These structures are in need of restoration in order to stabilize them and ensure that they are preserved for the future.

Project Coordinator Jim Miller says there are very few fishing stages left in Trinity, adding it would be a shame to lose those that are left.

"The preservation of these community buildings is of utmost importance to the Historical Society as they tell a part of the town?s history that is not told elsewhere in the town," says Miller

More on this : Fishing stages to be restored

2006-06-05T20:34:00.000-04:00

IPFW students digging into prehistoric Indiana

The land is only yards away from a practice firing range, owned by the Kosko Conservation & Sportsman, a local gun club. The same place where people recreationally practice their shot is where Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne archeology researchers believe Paleoindians killed caribou and wild turkeys with spears to survive 10,000 years ago.

To the average person who drives Fox Farm Road, it?s almost unimaginable that this plot used to be a sand dune, home to communities of Paleoindian people. The Paleoindians, who lived in North America between 11,000 and 8,000 B.C., were the founders of the American Indian cultures that were prevalent in northeast Indiana for the next 10,000 years.

It?s on that plot of land where IPFW archaeology researchers are furthering their research of this time period, allowing students to hone their excavation skills.

In the past five years, the IPFW Archaeological Survey has made quite a name for itself in Indiana.

More of this :
IPFW students digging into prehistoric Indiana

2006-05-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

In the Desert, Ancient Signs

ON the northern border of a vast desert preserve, halfway up a dusty hillside and overlooking a great forest of Joshua trees, David Nichols knelt to brush off a flat gray stone.

Mojave National Preserve
"Yep, this is one right here," he said, motioning toward a sheet of exposed bedrock. A group of small, closely spaced stones, like tiny turrets in the sand, formed a vague ring at his feet. "These supposedly kept the rodents out."

Mr. Nichols, one of two full-time research archaeologists employed at Mojave National Preserve, was showing off a recent discovery. On a nondescript hill, a quarter-mile off a four-wheel-drive dirt track, the remnants of a prehistoric way of life lay scattered in the sand.

Throughout Mojave National Preserve, a 1.6 million-acre park about 140 miles northeast of Los Angeles, the subtle traces of a bygone civilization are all around. Pictographs painted on cave walls, dart tips in the sand, shelters, fire rings and pottery shards are common in the area, where generations of prehistoric people lived and died. Indeed, Mojave National Preserve is an amateur archaeologist's dream, with undocumented sites open year-round for visitors to explore in the empty, undeveloped park.

More of this : In the Desert, Ancient Signs

2006-05-04T11:56:00.000-04:00

7000-Year-Old Mass Grave Discovered in Bolaghi Gorge

Archeological excavations in Bolaghi Gorge historical site led to the discovery of the remains of three skeletons dating back to 5000 BC in a single grave in the area number 131 at the closest point to the Sivand Dam which will be flooded by mullahs soon.

"Existence of three skulls and disordered bones shows that it must have been a mass grave. The discovered clays in this grave indicate that the skeletons found here belong to the Bacon era (fifth to fourth millennium BC). This mass grave was discovered in area number 131 which is the closest archeological site to the Sivand Dam. Two big and two small clay dishes have also been found in this grave," said Mojgan Seyedein, Iranian head of the Iranian-German joint archeology team in Bolaghi Gorge.

Prior to this, the remains of a skeleton of a young girl belonging to the Bacon era was discovered in area number 73 also by the joint Iranian-German team. According to Seyedein, the only difference between the skeletons found recently with that of the girl is that the skeleton of the girl was discovered almost intact while the ones which were discovered in their latest excavations are fragmented.

More of this at : 7000-Year-Old Mass Grave Discovered in Bolaghi Gorge

2006-05-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

Neanderthals Lived in Iran's Kermanshah Caves

The latest excavations by Iranian and French joint team at prehistoric caves of Kermanshah, west of Iran, revealed them to have been early settlements of Neanderthals who used to live there about 85000 to 40000 years ago.

The joint team was to continue its studies on other Paleolithic caves in Kermanshah province, but as the term of the agreement has reached an end, the French team have returned back home. This team is to resume its activities in March 2006 in prehistoric caves in Kermanshah province if the agreement is renewed for an extended term.

Asadollah Piranvand, head of Kermanshah branch office of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, said, "This team conducted some research in prehistoric caves of the province in March 2005, which revealed these caves to be early settlements of Neanderthals about 85000 to 40000 years ago."

Neanderthals Lived in Iran's Kermanshah Caves

2006-03-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

On behalf of the CAA 2006 Organising Committee, I cordially invite you to the 39th annual meeting of the Canadian Archaeological Association in Toronto from May 24th-27th, 2006. Our venue is the University of Toronto's residence and conference facility, 89 Chestnut. As both a place to stay and a place to meet, this facility is first rate. You can see this for yourself by visiting the 89 Chestnut web site.

Several special events are being planned in conjunction with the conference. Participants will be able to visit local museums and archaeological sites around Toronto, and you can count on receptions and a banquet that will be up to the high standards set by recent meetings. Speaking of the banquet, an annual CAA tradition, this year we will meet in the Lakeview Room on the 27th floor of 89 Chestnut. As the name implies, this room provides a spectacular view of downtown Toronto and the lakefront district, including City Hall and the CN Tower. It certainly promises to be a memorable night!

Link to web site :
Welcome to the 39th Annual CAA/ACA Conference Website

2006-03-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

Bangladeshi archaeologists discover ancient fort city

WARI, Bangladesh: Archaeologists in Bangladesh say they have uncovered part of a fortified citadel dating back to 450 BC that could have been a stopping off point along an ancient trade route.
So far, a moat round the citadel has been uncovered along with parts of an ancient road at Wari, 85km northeast of the capital Dhaka.
Link to this:

Gulf Times - SriLanka/Bangladesh

Reuters UK

2006-03-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

Artifacts reveal distant past

EASTHAM - It's been 16 years since Frederica Dimmick, the National Park Service archaeologist at the Cape Cod National Seashore, first saw the little hearth area with blackness all around it.
More:Artifacts reveal distant past

2006-03-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

Archaeology in Arctic North America

The northernmost part of the North American continent has seen some of the most fascinating human adaptations anywhere, extending back thousands of years. But learning about those adaptations through archaeological research in that vast region presents a number of unique challenges, including short field seasons, immense logistical problems, and excavation into permafrost (permanently frozen ground). Using text and images, these pages provide a glimpse of archaeological research in this region and its results focusing principally on the Canadian Arctic where I've done the majority of my research.

Link to this:Arctic Archaeology

2006-02-12T12:14:00.000-05:00

Museum digs into prehistory

Rochester Museum & Science Center and its newly installed exhibit, "Expedition Earth: Glaciers & Giants." It flash-freezes 200 million years of western New York history ? including a flesh-eating Albertosaurus, a shaggy mastodon and towering blue glaciers.
The Albertosaurus

The Albertosaurus skeleton in the exhibit is placed in a setting that evokes the environment the predatory dinosaur inhabited about 75 million years ago.

More on this Exhibit:Expedition Earth: Glaciers & Giants.

2006-02-12T12:06:00.000-05:00

Online Resources for Canadian Heritage

Archaeology in Canada

For a list of Institutions and Associations in Archaeology in Canada go at this link : Archaeology - Canada

And for the Parks Canada Agency:Archaeology at Parks Canada

See you then !

2006-01-22T16:10:00.000-05:00

"Ancient lakes of the Sahara"

The Sahara has not always been the arid, inhospitable place that it is today ? it was once a savannah teeming with life, according to researchers at the Universities of Reading and Leicester.

In their article ?Ancient lakes of the Sahara?, which appears in the January-February issue of American Scientist magazine, Dr Kevin White of the University of Reading and Professor David Mattingly of the University of Leicester explain how they used satellite technology and archaeological evidence to reveal new clues about both the past environment of the Sahara and of human prehistory in the area.

?The climate of the Sahara has been highly variable over the millennia and we have been able to provide much more specific dating of these changes,? said Dr White. ?Over the last 10,000 years, there have been two distinct humid phases, separated by an interval of highly variable but generally drying conditions between roughly 8,000 and 7,000 years ago. Another drying trend took place after about 5,000 years ago, leading to today?s parched environment.
Full article:
Ancient lakes of the Sahara:

2006-01-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

"Mongolia looks to archaeologists and dinosaur hunters to help create jobs"

BAGA GAZRYN CHULU, Mongolia (AP) Archaeologists and dinosaur hunters are digging up Mongolia's vast countryside, seeking to retrace thousands of years of history in this storied but still mysterious land.

It was from here that Genghis Khan's armies conquered China and threatened Europe some 700 years ago, and where untold herds of dinosaurs once roamed.

To the newswire:
Mongolia looks to archaeologists

2006-01-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

Storm brews over treasures sunk in 1814

HALIFAX -- A U.S. treasure hunter's bid to scavenge a famed War of 1812-era shipwreck off the coast of Nova Scotia has met a storm of protest from underwater experts, who say the province's rich maritime history is being pillaged by modern-day pirates.

HMS Fantome was laden with loot believed to have been stolen from Washington -- including from the White House and Capitol building -- when it ran aground on a treacherous shoal south of Halifax in November, 1814. The crew of the British naval vessel survived, but its cargo was lost to the stormy sea.

Now, a Pennsylvania-based treasure hunter has obtained a licence from the Nova Scotia government to excavate what is believed to be the wreck site, a move that has angered divers and underwater archeologists who say the ship's bounty could include priceless historical artifacts, which should not be sold for profit.

Storm brews over treasures sunk in 1814

2006-01-02T12:07:00.000-05:00

World at its Hottest Since Prehistory

Scientists in Bern, Switzerland, and Oregon analyzed levels of the gas in tiny air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice during the past 650,000 years. They found current levels were 27 percent greater than the highest level over that period. The UK's Chief Scientist said the last time levels of the gas were that high was 60 million years ago.

World at its Hottest Since Prehistory

2006-01-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

Is the little levity can wait until we're all not busy ?

It's been a Canadian tradition for almost 400 years for levees to be held Jan. 1, according to history books.

The first recorded event was in 1646 in Chateau St. Louis by the Governor of New France, which later became Quebec. Citizens came with well wishes and to hear news from overseas.

The ritual was carried on by British colonial governors, then governor generals and eventually down the line to mayors and councillors.

The word levee itself comes from the French word lever, meaning to rise. It started with King Louis XIV back in the 1600s, who made a habit of receiving his subjects in his bed chamber just after he woke. Levees developed to become a vital means of spreading information.

Now more like a reception, New Year's levees are still popular across the country. Mayors in Toronto, Mississauga, London, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and Waterloo will all be shaking hands.

2006-01-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

"The other side of a traitor

Tom Desjardin is tackling an American legend with his latest book.

Desjardin, a Maine native with a Ph.D. in U.S. history, has written a book about some of the good things Benedict Arnold did during the American Revolution before becoming our country's most famous traitor.

Desjardin has written "Through A Howling Wilderness - Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775." The book details Arnold's leading 1,100 soldiers on a secret mission through Maine to seize British Quebec.

Desjardin, 41, is originally from the Lewiston/Auburn area and now lives in Pittsfield. He works as a historic site specialist for the state of Maine and has written four books.
The other side of a traitor:
"

2005-11-27T15:14:00.000-05:00

Site May Be 3rd-Century Place of Christian Worship

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, November 7, 2005; Page A14

MEGIDDO, Israel, Nov. 6 -- Israeli state archaeologists have discovered mosaics, pottery and other remains of a Roman-era Christian building on the grounds of a high-security prison here. They say the site could be the oldest public place of Christian worship ever uncovered in Israel and perhaps one of the earliest such sites in the world.

The mosaic floor of the structure, buried beneath rock, soil and asphalt, was discovered Oct. 30 by an Israeli prisoner working on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The agency has been excavating the compound for more than a year to ensure that nothing of historic value is lost during an ongoing renovation project. At a news conference Sunday, Yardena Alexandre, a spokeswoman for the authority, called the discovery "one of the most important finds for the history of early Christianity."

Follow this:
Site May Be 3rd-Century Place of Christian Worship

2005-11-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

Indian art rediscovered in upstate New York

The Canadian high school archaeology teacher had rediscovered a rare example of Indian rock art long thought to have been erased by centuries of weathering. Scardera reported his find for the first time this fall at the Conference on Iroquois Research at The Rensselaerville Institute Conference Center.

The red ochre-streaked rock face was last recorded in a 1920 photograph kept by the New York State Museum in Albany.

Indian art rediscovered in upstate New York

2005-11-27T15:06:00.000-05:00

"French, Canadians to explore Mazandaran caves"

LONDON, November 20 (IranMania) - Scholars from Lyon and Toronto Universities have asked to carry out excavations in the ancient caves of Mazandaran province in Iran, CHN reported.

Previous studies and excavations in the caves indicate that human settlement in Mazandaran province dates back to 40,000 years ago.

Mazandaran province, in the southern coastal line of the Caspian Sea, enjoys several unique caves such as Kushiman. Mazandaran is one of the most historical provinces of Iran, the inhabitants of which have lived in urbanized societies from the 5th millennium BC. Until now a lot of mysteries of the 5,000-year-old life of the people of the region have been revealed.

Iran News - French, Canadians to explore Mazandaran caves:

2005-11-06T15:27:00.000-05:00

Digging into the past

Once a monastery, later Army barracks, and today the site of a future shopping mall, the northeast quadrant of what is now námestí Republiky has always reflected the changing face of Prague. During the initial stages of the ongoing construction of the 7.5 billion Kc ($303 million) Palladium shopping center project, archeologists have discovered the remnants of yet another era: the foundations of a 12th-century Romanesque palace.

The European Property Fund (EPF), the project's investor, has spent 100 million Kc on the archeological excavation. This is a requirement stipulated by law: Any investor planning construction in a historical area must first do an archeological survey of the site, and if archeological artifacts are found, he must finance further fieldwork.

More of this:

The Palladium site yields an unexpected bounty of archaeological treasure

2005-10-23T15:51:00.000-04:00

Course Catalog
Out of the Cave: Prehistory in Fact and Fiction

Short story:
Out of the Cave: Prehistory in Fact and Fiction"

2005-10-23T15:29:00.000-04:00

Nunavik?s first provincial park to open next year

KUUJJUAQ By this time next year, the first official visitors to Nunaviks first provincial park, Pingualuit, should be flying into a small airstrip near the unique Pingualuit crater ? the reason behind the park?s existence.

The crater, located 88 kilometres southwest of Kangiqsujuaq ? and not far from the Raglan nickel mine ? is the result of a meteorite that crashed there 1.4 million years ago. Inside the surrounding parks borders also lie the Puvirnituq River Canyon, home to gyrfalcons, peregrine falcons and rough-legged hawks, the ?Great Lakes Necklace? of lakes joined to each other by waterways and water falls, and a series of rolling hills.

Look at this at:
Nunavik first provincial park to open next year

2005-10-23T15:14:00.000-04:00

"Roanoke buffs start new quest
Underwater, archaeologists dive for clues to Lost Colony"

ROANOKE ISLAND -- Sitting on the bow of his boat last week, underwater archaeologist Gordon Watts thought about what might be buried in the waters of Roanoke Sound.

Iron guns, perhaps, or bricks or ceramics, all more than 400 years old and abandoned by colonists who came from England, built a life and then disappeared ... to where?

The group of 116 colonists sailed from England and landed on Roanoke Island in 1587, only to vanish three years later.

Watts was looking for evidence of their lives. He and a three-man crew were working about 600 feet from shore on the northeast side of Roanoke Island in water less than 5 feet deep.

The original site could now be underwater, he said, because of erosion and rising sea levels.

More on this:

Roanoke buffs start new quest Underwater

2005-10-08T09:28:00.000-04:00

Beaver tales

The Beaver may be getting long in the tooth, but it's hardly showing its age. In fact, thanks to a new look, a new editor and a resurgence of interest in our nation's past, Canada's history magazine feels younger than ever at 85.

"In the last 15 years, there's never been as much attention paid to Canadian history across the country in government, departments of education and the private sector," says Deborah Morrison, president of Canada's National History Society, which has published The Beaver for the last decade.

More on this:
The Beaver began...:

2005-10-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

Board of Trustees for Canadian Museum of Nature to Meet in Thunder Bay

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Oct. 3, 2005) - From October 4 to 6, the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN), Canada's national natural history and natural science museum, will meet in Thunder Bay. The trustees, who come from across Canada and meet quarterly, convene once a year in the home community of one of their members.

"I am pleased to showcase our region to my colleagues on the Board," says trustee Roy Piovesana, a Thunder Bay resident and archivist/historian with the city's Roman Catholic Diocese. "Each of us is tremendously proud of our communities and the opportunity to guide the Museum and its national projects." Mr. Piovesana has published widely on the history of Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario and is a former head of history at Hammarskjold High School.

A Crown corporation, the CMN's roots date back over 150 years to the early years of the Geological Survey of Canada. Originally the National Museum of Canada and later the National Museum of Natural Sciences, it was created in the late 1800s to safeguard the GSC's collections. A public exhibition facility was built in the early 1900s and the stately Victoria Memorial Museum Building in downtown Ottawa continues to display Canada's natural treasures. The majority of the CMN's collections are preserved in the Museum's Natural Heritage Building in Quebec.

"The Canadian Museum of Nature's President and CEO, Joanne DiCosimo, and I are very pleased to be holding our quarterly board meeting in Thunder Bay. With board members from across the country, this meeting provides a wonderful opportunity for our trustees to explore this beautiful part of Canada," states Ken Armstrong, Chair of the CMN's Board of Trustees.

The CMN houses a collection of more than 10 million earth and life-science specimens, which includes approximately 60 beautiful pieces of Ontario's official gemstone - amethyst - from the Thunder Bay region, renowned for its bountiful deposits of this popular variety of quartz. Ranging in size, the largest specimen is about 50 cm wide - a dark purple mass of crystals - which originated from the Thunder Bay Amethyst mine east of Elbow Lake (now Amethyst Mine Panorama). Some of the CMN's amethysts also came from the Noyes Diamond Willow mine on the north side of Big Pearl Lake.

The flora and fauna of Northwestern Ontario are also significantly represented in the Museum's collections, with almost 12,000 catalogued specimens. These range from 1,400 lichens to more than 800 fish and 870 molluscs from remote lakes and streams, to 4,500 plant specimens carefully preserved in the National Herbarium. Each specimen helps to understand the ecosystems surrounding Thunder Bay, and some show scientists how plants and animals adapt to the conditions of living in urban areas. The collection even includes slide-mounted samples of pollen, which can be used to compare modern plants to ancient fossilized specimens of the same plant Chimaphila umbellata: (Prince's-pine or Pipsissewa; a form of the dwarf shrub Wintergreen).

In addition to attending regular committee and board meetings, the trustees will tour Fort William Historical Park, The Thunder Bay Art Gallery, The Thunder Bay Museum, and the Amethyst Gift Centre. After each event, they expect to meet with guests from a variety of educational, business, and cultural organizations in the region.

Link is there:
Board of Trustees for Canadian Museum of Nature to Meet in Thunder Bay

2005-10-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

Archaeologist wants site protected from water plan

Evidence of prehistoric campgrounds ? one more than 1,300 years old ? may be in the path of a proposed east-side reservoir that?s considered a key to providing future drinking water to Colorado Springs.

A University of Colorado at Colorado Springs archaeologist says he has uncovered artifacts suggesting three prehistoric ?occupations? by ancient nomads at the Jimmy Camp Creek area as early as 665 A.D.

To protect the site, Bill Arbogast, the archaeologist who is a research instructor in the UCCS anthropology department, said he will nominate it for listing on the Colorado Register of Historic Places. He?ll submit the paperwork as soon as the city signs off ? required because the city owns the land.

More at this site:
Jimmy Camp Creek:

2005-10-01T08:39:00.000-04:00

'He changed the lives of so many'

"FARMINGTON -- A glimpse into the life of a dynamic teacher, mentor and archaeologist during a memorial service for him Monday drew a picture of an inspiring scientist on a dogged quest to learn how and where some of the earliest people lived and thrived. James B. Petersen's legacy will be his work uncovering ancient civilizations inhabited 8,000 years ago in the Amazon rain forest. He also broke ground by uncovering the existence of native cultures that lived in the Northeast 10,000 years ago. Petersen, 51, was shot to death Aug. 13 during a robbery at a small restaurant in the town of Iranduba, Brazil, about 1,800 miles northwest of Rio de Janiero. He and a group of colleagues were dining together after a day of field work on their Central Amazon Project when the attack occurred. Petersen was a professor at the University of Maine at Farmington from 1983 to 1997 and founded the Archaeology Research Center, which has developed into a major archaeology consulting organization in the Northeast. At the time of his death, he was chairman of the University of Vermont's anthropology department."

Farewell to M. Petersen:
'He changed the lives of so many' :

2005-10-01T08:31:00.000-04:00

'Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America

"'Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763,' by William M. Fowler Jr.: Walker, 332 pages, $27.

To the extent that Americans know much at all about the French and Indian War, they probably do not consider it one of the first world wars or realize its importance in setting the context for the American Revolution.
In his finely written narrative, 'Empires at War,' William M. Fowler Jr. attempts to rectify these deficiencies and bring that conflict to center stage. He wants readers to understand that it was something more than the setting for several novels of dubious merit written by James Fenimore Cooper."

In the spring of 1754, a Virginia militia company led by a young major general, George Washington, attacked a small group of French soldiers at Jumonville Glen near present-day Pittsburgh. The battle lasted no more than 15 minutes, but the war it ignited would shape the course of world history.

The American portion of the conflict, known as the French and Indian War, actually comprised but part of a broader conflict known as the Seven Years War, with fronts in Europe, North America, Africa and India.

From Pondicherry to Quebec and around the globe, British forces won victories that shifted the balance of power from France toward Great Britain.

In North America, a continent long contested by these two European rivals, Great Britain took Canada from the French, setting the stage for French support of the United States during the Revolutionary War.

Fowler's narrative effectively conveys the view from William Pitt's London as well as that of military commanders in the field. The Battle of Quebec takes a significant place in this finely written history of the war.

Brief biographical sketches of both major and minor civilian and military officials help readers keep the "cast of characters" straight.

"Empires at War" is primarily a military history of the French and Indian War. Chapters devoted to "Lining Up Allies," "French Victory, English Defeat," and "The Fall of Quebec" reveal this focus.

That focus is both a strength and a weakness. Readers interested in military history will no doubt find the accounts riveting reading, while people interested in the social outcomes of the war or the perspective of Native American combatants may be disappointed.

Nonetheless, "Empires at War" offers an excellent introduction to a war that with some reason might be included among the "turning point[s] of modern history."

Edward L. Bond teaches History at Alabama A&M University.

From the news site:
French war shifted balanceto Britain:

2005-10-01T08:24:00.000-04:00

Local group wages David-and-Goliath battle to build historic fort replica

In 1749, though, the French controlled Canada and the entire Mississippi Valley to New Orleans, pinning in the rapidly growing 13 British colonies. But New France had only about 80,000 people settled in its sprawling colony while the British colonies' population was over a million.

Picquet's purpose was to convert the natives to Christianity, and to support the French.

The pallisaded fort was built at the confluence of the Oswegatchie and St. Lawrence rivers where it held a strategic importance as a barrier to preventing English access to the St. Lawrence and as a link in the French supply route from Quebec to the forts and settlements in the Great Lakes basin.

The fort served as a base for raids on English settlements in New York and Pennsylvania. During the 1750s, Picquet attracted more than 3,000 Indians from different tribes to live there.

In 1760, the French abandoned the fort as a force of 12,000 British soldiers approached. The British renamed it Fort Oswegatchie.

During the Revolutionary War, the British used the fort as part of their supply route and to spring attacks on American patriots in New York's Mohawk Valley.

In 1796, the United States claimed the fort as part of the Jay Treaty. A rifle regiment occupied the fort at the outbreak of the War of 1812, conducting raids on the British bases along the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River.

Over the years, the old French fort was abandoned and fell into ruin, then oblivion. In the 1830's, the site became a shipyard, and in the 1860's, a railroad yard and station, its designation into the 20th century.

More on this story:
Local group wages David-and-Goliath battle to build historic fort replica

2005-09-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

The Government of Canada Commemorates the National Historic Significance of the Hopital-General de Quebec Cemetery

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--( Sept. 16, 2005) - The Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today unveiled a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque commemorating the national historic significance of the Hopital-General de Quebec Cemetery.

"This cemetery, which has existed for nearly 300 years, is steeped in the history of Quebec and Canada," said Minister Dion. "Today, through the records kept by the Augustines, it continues to enhance our knowledge of the Seven Years War and other significant events that have shaped our nation. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to thank the congregation for its precious contribution to preserve our collective heritage."

The Hopital-General de Quebec Cemetery, one of the oldest still remaining in Quebec City, holds more than 1,000 graves of Canadian, French, British and Amerindian officers and soldiers who died during the Seven Years War (1755-1763), of which 277 died during the battles of the Plains of Abraham (1759) and of Sainte-Foy (1760). Their names, places of birth and even sometimes their ages have been recorded in the parish register by the Augustines, creating an invaluable document for future generations.

Recognizing the historic importance of this exceptional site, which was identified as a cultural icon by Quebec in 1977, the Quebec Ministere de la Culture et des Communications has provided the Augustines with the necessary financial resources to conserve and present the cemetery. It was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 1998. In 2001, the Augustines mandated the Commission de la capitale nationale du Quebec to lay out, maintain and preserve the cemetery for future generations. Improvement work on the cemetery, the construction of a mausoleum to Montcalm, the creation of a memorial to the victims of the Seven Years War and the installation of interpretative panels, have created a large and impressive commemorative area for the public.

Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of the Environment regarding the national historic significance of places, people, and events that have marked Canada's history. It is one means of informing the public about the richness of our cultural heritage, which must be preserved for present and future generations.

(Also available on the Internet at www.pc.gc.ca under What's new.)

2005-09-11T09:32:00.000-04:00

"Russian scientists find new rock drawings beyond polar circ"

Russian scientists have found new rock drawings on the only historical monument of ancient culture in Chukotka, the Russian Far East, an expedition member said Friday.

Mikhal Slobodzyan said the expedition, organized by the Archaeology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explored the monument 40 years after Russian geologist Nikolai Samorukov had found the first 103 paintings, or petroglyphs, on the Kaikuulsky steep of the Pegtymel river.

News from Russia

New rock drawings beyond polar circle

2005-09-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

"Planning begins for Champlain's 400th anniversary"

Every 50 years, Samuel de Champlain becomes big business in Vermont.

President William Howard Taft joined a crowd of thousands in Burlington in 1909 to watch a floating re-enactment of Champlain's 1609 "discovery" of the lake that bears his name.

In 1959, on the 350th anniversary of the first visit by a European to the region, a parade of canoes carrying 70 war-painted teenagers traveled the lake in birchbark canoes, wowing crowds at every stop. New York and Vermont promoted the event to draw visitors from across the country.

Now Vermont has begun to plan for Champlain's 400th anniversary in 2009, hoping to draw the world's attention -- and tourist dollars -- to the region.

For more news on that:
Champlain 400th Anniversary in Vermont:

2005-08-27T08:17:00.000-04:00

Heating System Confirms Ancient Kingdom Was ???

"The largest 'ondol' heating system dating from the Barhae kingdom has been unearthed in a nearly intact state in Russia's Maritime Province, confirming the kingdom to have been a Korean settlement.

Ondol, literally 'warm stone', is an under-floor heating system where flues carry hot gases below the living space. They were a distinct feature of Korean dwellings and are not found in the remains of Chinese, Khitan or Jurchen homes.

Answer to continue here:
Heating System Was Korean
"

2005-08-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

Stone axes highlight 10,000 years of commuting in stockbroker belt

"ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered an important Stone Age site in the heart of Surrey".

An excavation has turned up flint tools and cooking pots from about 10,000 years ago at the site on the North Downs. The area, which bears the remains of cooked meals, campfires and flints shaped into tools by people who visited the North Downs around 8,000BC, is believed to contain one of the most important Mesolithic excavations in Britain."

Britain, :

2005-08-27T08:05:00.000-04:00

Bones reveal first shoe-wearers

"Sturdy shoes first came into widespread use between 40,000 and 26,000 years ago, according to a US scientist".

Humans' small toes became weaker during this time, says physical anthropologist Erik Trinkaus, who has studied scores of early human foot bones.
He attributes this anatomical change to the invention of rugged shoes, that reduced our need for strong, flexible toes to grip and balance.
The research is presented in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The development of footwear appears to have affected the four so-called 'lesser' toes - excepting the big toe."

Bones reveal first shoe-wearers

2005-08-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

India and Canada Governor

"Like the Indian President, the Canadian Governor General gives assent to bills okayed by the two houses of Parliament, appoints the Prime Minister and his team and judges, serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the nation's armed forces (of just above 60,000 personnel compared to Indian Army of 1.1 million alone) and receives foreign dignitaries and envoys.But there is one big difference. India is a republic where the President is elected -- indirectly -- by its lawmakers at the state and federal levels. On the other hand, Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The Canadian Governor General is appointed by the British Queen at the recommendation of the Canadian Prime Minister. Thus the Governor General serves as the representative of Queen Elizabeth who is also the Canadian monarch (During her visits to Canada, the Queen takes over the role of the Governor General. Queen Elizabeth has been to Canada for about two dozen times since taking over five decades ago). Curiously, Canada shares its monarch (the Queen) with more than a dozen Commonwealth states."

Another woman occupies top post : HindustanTimes.com:

2005-08-13T08:32:00.000-04:00

"Peru's ancient bureaucrats used knotted-string devices as ledgers

Harvard anthropologists find evidence that 'khipu' were used to track accounting data

CAMBRIDGE, Mass - Anthropologists at Harvard University have found evidence that ancient Inka accountants shared numbers across their sprawling bureaucratic hierarchy using khipu, aggregations of knotted strings that served to record information in the Andean empire. The finding sheds new light on the uses of khipu, used by Inkans in lieu of the two-dimensional writing favored by other ancient civilizations."

Peru's ancient bureaucrats used knotted-string devices as ledgers:

2005-08-07T08:57:00.000-04:00

Nunavut Web Site News

" A plan to open a Danish consulate in Iqaluit shows Denmark and Canada are more neighbours than enemies, despite their dispute over who owns Hans Island, the tiny rock located between Ellesmere Island and Greenland."

Link others news: Nunatsiaq News

2005-07-30T09:18:00.000-04:00

The 'Gouge' thing

German scientists are tickled pink after unearthing one of the world's oldest sculpted phalluses - 20cm of polished siltstone lovingly created around 28,000 years ago.

The stone schlong was discovered in Hohle Fels Cave near Ulm, Swabia, by a T?bingen University team. Professor Nicholas Conard, from the university's snappily-named department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, explained the excitment to the BBC thus: "Female representations with highly accentuated sexual attributes are very well documented at many sites, but male representations are very, very rare."

Indeed, although other examples of male genitalia - from France and Morocco - predate the Ulm member, to have "any representation of male genitalia from this time period is highly unusual".

The prehistoric "tool" was reassembled from 14 fragments of siltstone.

Link: The Thing

2005-07-24T11:09:00.000-04:00

Fur Trade Canada

For Your Information:
Alberta: How the West was Young - Fur Trade and Mission History

Fur Trade Canada

2005-07-24T11:05:00.000-04:00

Important Links

The Fur Trade and Historical Archaeology:
A Bibliography

Compiled By Michael A. Pfeiffer
This Version: 13 January 1999

1st Link :
Fur Trade Bibliography

2005-07-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

Planarch

Based firstly on developing an understanding of the legal and organisational frameworks for dealing with archaeology and then working together on specific issues relating to the integration of archaeology within the planning process, including:

? Improving field techniques for detecting and establishing the nature, extent, date and quality of archaeological remains potentially affected by development and other activity - this has to underpin effective decision-making relating to management of the archaeological resource at successive stages of knowledge.
? Developing best practices in managing heritage records
? Sharing experience about the story of the Planarch region as told by archaeology
? Improving best practice in reducing the impact of development on archaeology
? Strengthening the links between archaeology and spatial planning
? Promoting awareness of the rich heritage of the Planarch region

Follow this: Planarch - Planning and Archaeology in North West Europe

2005-07-03T10:17:00.000-04:00

Appalachians is a picture of history

"Say Appalachia and pictures of coal mines and poverty probably pop into most Americans' minds. But the area has a rich history that says a lot about who we are as a country."

Episode 1 :
When the first European settlers arrive in the Allegheny, Cumberland, and Blue Ridge mountains in the 17th century, they trade and intermarry with the Shawnee, Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee who have lived there for centuries. But by the mid-18th century, the swelling pioneer population leads to decades of combat on the Appalachian frontier that eventually forces the natives out. As the Scotch-Irish and other immigrants settle in, the isolation of the mountains helps preserve the cultural traditions they have brought with them. The men of Appalachia fight bravely in the American Revolution, but then rail at taxes and regulations imposed by the new American government. Evangelical revivals sweep the region in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and traditional music mingles with the rhythms used by African slaves to form a glorious new gospel music.

And it's also accountable for this side of the frontier.....

Documentary by KET1 :
Appalachians is a picture of history

Also by : The Appalachians is a three-hour film series with companion book from Random House and soundtrack CD from Dualtone Records

2005-06-24T08:47:00.000-04:00

Archaeological wonders are under the sea

In September 2004, an ancient bronze statue was discovered.

"Athens - The recent discovery of the remains of a shipwrecked 4th century BC vessel, nicknamed Kythnos I after the Greek island near which it was found, is the latest testimony of the archaeological riches still submerged in Greek waters.

It also demonstrates the technological advances that underwater archaeology has made in this country in recent years.

Greece has no shortage of skilled archaeologists. But when it comes to underwater research, it is only recently that the Greek ministry of culture has begun mixing academic knowledge with hi-tech wizardry."

Try this one : Archaeological wonders are under the sea

2005-06-24T08:38:00.000-04:00

Academics search for wreckage of ancient warships

"HISTORY MAKING: Researchers are hoping to find artifacts of ships from a battle in 480 BC, where the Greeks defeated an invading fleet in a battle said to have changed histor"

THE GUARDIAN , ATHENS
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005,
Link: Academics search for wreckage of ancient warships

2005-06-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Presentation

"The Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Presentation, located in Shawinigan-Sud, was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 2004 in recognition of its interior decoration, executed between 1942 and 1955 by Quebecois artist Ozias Leduc. It also contributes to the development of the Mauricie region heritage network, which includes two other national historic sites of Canada that are open to the public: the Forges du Saint-Maurice and the Former Shawinigan Aluminum Smelting Complex. Together, these places help to protect the historic heritage of the Mauricie region and to enhance our understanding of its important contribution to Canada's history, by making it accessible to everyone."
Link to this :

Parks Canada: National Historic Significance of the Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Presentation

2005-06-11T15:03:00.000-04:00

"Sage Advice in Archaeology: Think Like a Neandertha"

By CLAUDIA DREIFUS
Published: June 7, 2005
About three years ago, Dr. Ana Pinto, an archaeologist at Arizona State University, was driving past a natural outcropping in northwest Spain and - screech! - she put the brake to her car.

She had just spotted a limestone cave that she sensed might have once been settled by prehistoric humans.

"This cave at Sopeña is almost unique because it has signs of continuous hominid habitation for at least 60,000 years," she said. "This is an incredibly rare find. she said

Link : Sage Advice in Archaeology: Think Like a Neanderthal:

2005-06-04T07:34:00.000-04:00

Fort Augusta

"Mr. Delle said the French and Indian War was significant because the British defeated the French and Pennsylvanians were the British at the time. 'This set the stage for America to independence,' he said. Fort Augusta was the largest fort in Pennsylvania at that time and a strong fort that discouraged attacks. 'The French and Indians tried to control the river route. 'There was no battle at Fort Augusta because it was such as strong point. Fort Augusta and Fort Hunter, north of Harrisburg, protected the areas along the Susquehanna River"
Eighteenth Century drawings he has show the fort as diamond-shaped. They are searching for the northeast corner bastion. In 1930, an excavation revealed evidence of a southwest bastion. In 1981, evidence of the moat was found during a dig. A dig in 1993 was done near the powder magazine on the other side of the property.
Link : Fort Augusta

2005-06-04T07:19:00.000-04:00

Just a Lonesome Traveler, the Great Historical Bum

by Douglas K. Charles
"After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000 to 5000 B.C. Steven Mithen. xvi 622 pp. Harvard University Press,
2004. $29.95
After the Ice offers a fascinating whirlwind tour of an underappreciated segment of human history. Author Steven Mithen, professor of early prehistory and head of the School of Human and Environmental Sciences at the University of Reading, has created a complex, multilayered account of life from 20,000 to 5000 B.C., during the late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic period"

American Scientist Online - "Just a Lonesome Traveler, the Great Historical Bum" :

2005-05-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

The Ontario Archaeological Society

Partners to the Past: Making Connections in the Ottawa River Valley
2005 Symposium, November 3, 4 and 5, 2005
Petawawa, Ontario
"The programme will feature themed and general sessions including an overview of the Ottawa River Valley's archaeological heritage, the role of the Ottawa River in the economic development of Canada, and contributed papers from our
membership."

Link to : OAS 2005 Symposium

2005-05-15T07:55:00.000-04:00

Hunters find skeleton, could be 2,000 years old

"Discovery of a 2,000-year-old human skeleton through natural erosion is uncommon, but there is little scientific value associated with the American Indian remains unearthed recently in northeast Nebraska, the head of archaeology for the State Historical Society said Wednesday. Hunters found the remains three weeks ago in the hills near Newcastle. "

By ScottsbluffGering, Nebraska
Link : Hunters find skeleton, could be 2,000 years old

2005-05-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ancient graves cast new light on history

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech -
By - JONATHAN LESSWARE

"ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed more than 200 medieval skeletons on a farm. The graves were discovered when a farmer struck bones while ploughing a field near North Berwick, East Lothian. Archaeologists have described the find as 'extremely interesting'. They have also uncovered the remains of a chapel, thought to be medieval or older and a number of other artefacts including medieval ring brooches. The discovery was made at Auldhame Farm near Tantallon Castle."

Read this at : Ancient graves cast new light on history

2005-05-10T07:49:00.000-04:00

Sixtieth anniversary of D-Day

The truth about the Second World War
-- By Alan Woods

''The story of D-Day has been told many times. It has made a powerful impression on the public through films such as The Longest Day and, more recently, Saving Private Ryan. The recent celebrations, accompanied by a steady stream of television documentaries, have revived the stories about the heroic invasion of France, the terrible cost in human lives, the sacrifice and the bravery. All of this is true. But it does not tell anything like the full story.''
Read this :
The truth about the Second World War

2005-05-09T08:45:00.000-04:00

Fouilles archéologiques à Price

La municipalité de Price effectue présentement des fouilles archéologiques sur les terrains où seront construits ses futurs bassins d'épuration.

Il y a plus de 8000 ans les lieux étaient fréquentés par plusieurs tribus amérindiennes. Jusqu?à maintenant, une tête de couteau fabriquée dans de la pierre gaspésienne a été trouvée.

Une fois les fouilles terminées, d?ici une semaine, la municipalité ira en appel d?offres pour la reconstruction de son système d?aqueduc et d?égouts et la construction de ses bassins d?épuration. Des travaux de 7M$.

Les travaux attendus depuis 1986 devraient prendre fin à l?automne 2006.

Extrait vidéo (Windows Media): Fouilles archéologiques à Price

2005-05-08T09:08:00.000-04:00

Defender of the faith revered

Paris-born Jesuit wove Catholicism into the fabric of Quebec

"Prominently displayed on the south choir wall of the ancient abbey church of St-Germain-des-Pres on Paris's left bank is a hand carved, polychrome bas-relief that commemorates an important event in the history of Canada and the Canadian Church. The scene portrayed is the consecration there of new Bishop Francois de Montmorency-Laval by Rome's Papal Nuncio on Dec. 8, 1658. Who was this cleric and why is he remembered there rather than in a cathedral ?''

By TED FITZGERALD
Special to the WCR
Quebec City, Que
Follow this : Blessed Francois de Laval

2005-05-08T08:57:00.000-04:00

Bizkaiko Arkeologia eta Euskal Herriko Etnografia Museoa

"The Archaeological, Ethnographic and Basque History Museum of Bilbao : The museum is divided into a number of different sections: prehistory, fishing and the sea, the history of sheep farming, the iron and arms industries, trade and traditional arts and crafts such as ceramics and weaving.
The Archaeological, Ethnographic and Basque History Museum of Bilbao, situated in the old part of the city, next to the church of Santos Juanes, occupies the old Jesuit school of Jesueta de San Andres (1604) and the former Casa de Misericordia.
The museum is divided into a number of different sections: prehistory, fishing and the sea, the history of sheep farming, the iron and arms industries, trade and traditional arts and crafts such as ceramics and weaving. The exhibition is complete with an impressive model of the province of Bizkaia and there are a number of excellent pieces of popular furniture and religious artefacts on display throughout the museum.

Address
Plaza Unamuno, 4
48008. Bilbao
tel. 94- 415 54 23 y 94- 416 92 46

Opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday: 11 AM to 5 PM
Sunday mornings: 11 AM to 2 PM
Mondays and holidays: Closed

Ticket prices
School visits and groups of more than 20, must be booked in advance
Cost per person: 3 euros
Students and groups (10 ): 1.5 euros
Children of under 10 years of age and pensioners: free of charge
Day of the museum, Thursdays: free of charge

LINK : The Archaeological, Ethnographic and Basque History Museum of Bilbao

2005-05-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

In the footsteps of Benedict Arnold

"Arnold, then still loyal to the American cause, left Cambridge, Mass., with his troops on Sept. 11, 1775; the force arrived outside the walls of Quebec two months later. The ensuing
battle, which began in a blinding New Year's Eve snowstorm, ended in defeat for the Americans. But perhaps more than the outcome, the 350-mile expedition is remembered for hardships the soldiers endured as they rowed and marched their way up the Kennebec valley, an ordeal popularized by Kenneth Roberts in his 1930 novel, 'Arundel.'

Link : Daily Facts - Historical

2005-04-16T07:36:00.000-04:00

The Rich Prehistory of Etolin Island

April is Alaska Archeology Month
"Etolin Island's buried history is deep enough to keep archeologists busy for decades. Island sites represent thousands of years of use and hold details about the Alaska Native people who lived in the area."
Follow this : The Rich Prehistory of Etolin Island: