Occam's Trowel, Sifting archaeological fringe to get to archaeological fact.
Episode 50 of the Archaeological Fantasies is live, and Ken and I were able to finally sit down with someone who knows quite a bit about the use of DNA and genetics in archaeology. Jennifer Raff, who's covered all this wonderfully over at her own blog Violent Metaphors, was just the podcast guest I've been looking for to help us sus out all the ins and outs of genetic evidence in archaeology
Little is really known about Lina Eckenstein as an archaeologist, despite what could be considered her second most important contribution being her work with Hilda Petrie, her husband Flinders Petrie, and Margaret Murray working in Egypt. Eckenstein was a vibrant woman, a religious skeptic, a rebel of her time, and described as a "New Woman" in... Continue Reading →
Today we're going to talk about Nina Francis Layard and also to some degree her partner in life Mary Frances Outman. Though Mary seems to have played a traditional wifely role to Nina's more outgoing and adventurous stereotypical male role, I do not want to downplay Mary's contributions to Nina's work. Before we get too... Continue Reading →
There is so much that has been written about this incredibly stunning woman. I'm not even going to try to and repeat it all, rather I'll just link you to one of the better posts about her which is Elizabeth Kerri Mahon's post over at Scandalous Women. She gives a very thorough recounting of Stanhope's life. Briefly... Continue Reading →
Jane Dieulafoy is another excellent addition to our series. She's like something out of a fiction novel. A vibrantly brave woman, born out of context with the Victorian world. Her early marriage to her partner in life, her unusual dress, and her service in the French army, all make her beyond fascinating. Jane was born... Continue Reading →
For our next early female archaeologist I want to introduce you to Ella Sophia Armitage. Armitage was a particular challenge for me, as many of the women I will introduce you to will be, since there is so little known about her as a person, other than she lived. It's aggravating but this is the product of so many years of ignoring... Continue Reading →
I've been working on this series for a little more than a year now. Crafting and changing it. I finally decided on a format about six months ago, and figured, one more relaunch was worth a try. I've always been suspicious when I read a book on the history of Archaeology or attend a lecture that starts with the "Fathers of Archaeology" and never mentions women, at all, ever.... Continue Reading →
If I'm going to talk about Mary Anning, then I must also talk about her close friend and mentor, Elizabeth Philpot. Philpot is easily as important to the early discipline of palaeontology as Anning, and easily as neglected. It's this neglect that leaves her as little more than a footnote, still, as time passes more usually comes... Continue Reading →
I've been working on this series for a long time, but untill recently, I didn't have much of a direction beyond telling you about all the great women out there in the world of archaeology. However, while going over my notes from school, I realized something, most of the men credited with forming and practicing archaeology... Continue Reading →
So this lovely piece of journalisum came across my twitter feed today...TV Digs Will Harm Patrimony, Scholars Say by Bill Carter. First, props to Mr. Carter for using big words in the title, no props however for making it sound like the archaeologists of the world just want to take away all the fun from poor Ric Savage and... Continue Reading →
Archaeological Fantasies 