Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is claimed to be one of the world’s oldest, largest and best-preserved buffalo jumps (that we currently know about). What is a buffalo jump, you might ask? Well, it’s where North American Indians “led” Bison along the prairie towards the edge of a cliff, where they eventually fell to their death. A clever hunting technique where you kill (more than) two birds with one stone.
Head Smashed-In is a living testament to the ancient practices of Alberta’s native peoples, and is a great place for kids of all ages to learn about archaeology. On Wednesday, May 4, renowned Alberta archaeologist, Jack Brink, will be giving a guided tour of the 5,700 year old drive lanes and other significant archaeological sites in the area. The drive lanes are not generally open to the public, so take the day off, hop in your car, and spend the day roaming where the buffalo roamed. (Call first!)
Now THIS is a dream come true. The Indiana Jones series has inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of archaeologists, and has brought archaeology successfully into the mainstream as something interesting and worth saving… and now there is a travelling exhibit about it! Not only will there be props from the movies, there will be examples of artifacts from around the world. Indy continues to educate and inspire us all… Please come to Calgary!!!
There was finally an open window of dry, warm weather – hurrah! Archaeologists all over the world cheer for this. This means we are able to get back outside and dig some holes without having to wear and lug around excess gear. Yesterday, this involved revisiting a known stone feature site, which happened to be a cairn right in the middle of an access road. If you have ever wondered if developers listen when they say they’re going to protect something, here is proof. Finding this made our job much easier, and it brought a little smile to my face. It’s nice to see archaeology well protected; this is VERY well protected!
Thanks again SwissMiss for the tip on this video, via Devour. If any of you were wondering what came first, the caveman or the Egyptian, find out here (among other things)… and all they really wanted to do was water a flower!?
Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend and was able to spend it eating and relaxing, like I did. I probably didn’t need to eat as much as I did this weekend, but family get-togethers often involve really good food that you can’t help but eat, and then eat some more. Good thing spring has finally decided to show itself, so I can hit the field and burn off all the turkey, trimmings and then some!
My mother is having a milestone birthday on the 23rd (Happy Birthday! <3) so I am, hmmm, randomly playing with photos for no reason whatsoever. Being a big fan of the Hipstamatic application for the iPhone, I wanted to recreate these effects with regular old non-iPhone pics. Lo’ and behold: Photoscape – free and easy photo editing software, with tons of options for frames, filters and processing. Check out what I did with a standard photo of Majorville Medicine Wheel. Did I mention that it’s free? (Please donate if you can.)
Before Photoscape
After Photoscape, with adjustments to levels, contrast and colour, plus #3 Vignetting, Cali 12 Frame and Cross Process High Film Effect. Fun!
A must see (and must buy?)… The “Chinese Military Shovel WJQ-308” looks like the most useful thing you could carry in your dig kit nowadays. Awesome for digging holes and trenches, cutting down trees, you name it… AND it folds. The tool looks amazing, and the video is indescribable. I’m not sure if it’s because archaeologists just enjoy watching people dig, especially those with truly amazing skill, or if it’s the Indiana Jones-esque background music that makes you just want to get out and start using this thing, but I, for one, was bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Let me know if you find a deal somewhere. Right now, eBay seems the place to go.
Another inspiring TED talk, but this time less inspiration, more, “holy crap, that’s me” – thanks Tara Hunt for delivering the goods on the rough life of a start-up entrepreneur. We have dreams, we’re somewhat delusional, and we have the audacity to keep going amidst all the hard times.
For more inspiration, check out Entreneur magazine’s ‘Famous ‘Trep Failures — and Comebacks‘ that shares the failures of some of the most successful business owners. More proof that failing helps you grow.
I have always wanted a scooter. Winters in Calgary, Canada, however, are not really great for zipping around in uncovered transport with tiny wheels. Mint and Vespa have recently teamed up to quantify the benefits of using a scooter (Vespanomics). Not only will save you tons of money at the pump; if all your friends and their friends followed suit, traffic would decrease significantly, saving both money and time, as well as contributing to decreased road rage and bad moods in general. Bonus is, you’d look super cool going to and from work. Now if they only built an add-on toolbox for my dig kit…
Wessex Archaeology, which makes up half of Framework Archaeology (the other half being Oxford Archaeology), has recently been posting pictures and 3D reconstructions to their Flickr set. These are some of the findings from the excavations done in advance of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. There is some amazing stuff here: a Neolithic hand axe, Roman ropes, remnants of roundhouses and other impressive earthworks, a plethora of prehistoric pottery and, what I find to be most amazing, a wealth of wooden artifacts dating to the Bronze Age.
(Wooden bowl from a Bronze Age waterhole, by Wessex Archaeology)
I actually worked on this site briefly during my employment with Oxford Archaeology. That was when the curse was upon me, one which I had carried since working in Italy in previous years; everyone around me was finding cool stuff (Roman sandals, a Bronze Age ladder, etc.) but I wasn’t. Hopefully, that curse has been lifted.
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