Category: Archaeology

Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow: Black Holes in Ancient Space

Today, we welcome a guest post from Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, author of The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems just published in paperback by UNC Press. The Romans developed sophisticated systems of urban infrastructure, including aqueducts for moving water from one place to another, sewers for removing dirty water from baths and for runoff from walkways… Continue Reading Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow: Black Holes in Ancient Space

Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton: Queen Anne Appears Aboard QAR

Today, we welcome a guest post from Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton, authors of Blackbeard’s Sunken Prize:  The 300-Year Voyage of Queen Anne’s Revenge, just published by UNC Press. In 1717, the notorious pirate Blackbeard captured a French slaving vessel off the coast of Martinique and made it his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne’s Revenge. Over the next six months,… Continue Reading Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton: Queen Anne Appears Aboard QAR

Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton : Archaeological Treasure aboard Blackbeard’s Sunken Prize

Today, we welcome a guest post from Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton, authors of Blackbeard’s Sunken Prize:  The 300-Year Voyage of Queen Anne’s Revenge, just published by UNC Press. In 1717, the notorious pirate Blackbeard captured a French slaving vessel off the coast of Martinique and made it his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne’s Revenge. Over the next six months,… Continue Reading Mark Wilde-Ramsing and Linda Carnes-McNaughton : Archaeological Treasure aboard Blackbeard’s Sunken Prize

Excerpt: The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy, by Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow

Roman toilets, sewers, and drains are important archaeological features that embody ideas relevant to Roman society about cleanliness, physical health, concepts of beauty, and even notions of privacy. If toilets are excavated properly, they can provide valuable data even about the diet and socioeconomic status of users, divisions between households where they are found, construction methods, and maintenance. Continue Reading Excerpt: The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy, by Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow

George W. Houston: From a Trash Heap: The Mind of an Ancient Book Collector

Thrown out in the third century, rediscovered in 1906, these book rolls are finally now, in the twenty-first century, revealing to us the interests and priorities of a book collector who lived, read, and strove to understand his texts some eighteen hundred years ago. Continue Reading George W. Houston: From a Trash Heap: The Mind of an Ancient Book Collector

Excerpt: Decolonizing Museums, by Amy Lonetree

One of the most vivid memories of my experience in the museum world—and one that has shaped both my understanding of collaboration and the significance of objects to Indigenous communities—took place in 1995 at the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS). As an exhibit researcher working on Families, an exhibition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities focusing on Minnesota families that opened at MHS in 1995, one of my responsibilities was to locate a Native American family to be featured in the exhibition. Continue Reading Excerpt: Decolonizing Museums, by Amy Lonetree

Interview: Laura E. Matthew on Indigenous conquistadors and complex identities in Guatemala

Researching this book transformed my own sense of Mesoamerican history. As I got deeper into the project, it became impossible to ignore the fundamental imprint of Mesoamerican history, culture, and relationships on the conquest period and beyond. So I had to work much harder than I anticipated to weave that preconquest history into my narrative, not just as background but as something integral to my analysis. Continue Reading Interview: Laura E. Matthew on Indigenous conquistadors and complex identities in Guatemala

Faith, Fact, and Religious Relics

We welcome a guest post today from Bernadette McNary-Zak, coeditor of Resurrecting the Brother of Jesus: The James Ossuary Controversy and the Quest for Religious Relics, a collection of essays exploring the circumstances of an archaeological hoax in which a box of skeletal remains was passed off as belonging to James, the brother of Jesus. In this post, she discusses… Continue Reading Faith, Fact, and Religious Relics