Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,

John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,

Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,

Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay,

Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week

(as always hoping I have left no one out).

Happy New Year! (a slow week to start us off)

================================================================

EARLY HOMINIDS

================================================================

Evidence that early humans in Border Cave (Kwazulu-Natal) were cooking starchy foods 170 000 years bp:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uotw-emh010220.php

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-early-modern-humans-cooked-starchy.html

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/humans-roasted-starchy-carbs-170-000-years-ago

https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/01/02/ciencia/1577957101_260346.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2228880-earliest-roasted-root-vegetables-found-in-170000-year-old-cave-dirt/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8334-200103-roasted-starchy-plants

Feature on a Neanderthal footprint in Gibraltar and its implications:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/11/ciencia/1576078951_223421.html

Feature on the Denisovans:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/denisovan-research-reveals-the-early-humans-were-more-complex-than-we

Pondering what more we can learn about human origins:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/all-that-weve-learned-about-human-origins-recently-and-what-we-still-want

More on what was in Otzi’s hunting pack:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-we-can-learn-otzis-hunting-pack-180973898/

================================================================

AFRICA

================================================================

A pile of Kenyan artifacts are being digitized and put online:

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/US-firms-put-over-10-million-Kenyan-artefacts-online/434746-5406164-j6iul1z/index.html

More on recent finds in Aksum:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/church-unearthed-ethiopia-rewrites-history-christianity-africa-180973740/

================================================================

ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT

================================================================

A recent study of a 4000 years bp copy of ‘The Book of Two Ways’ is getting press attention:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/science/archaeology-books-egypt-underworld.html

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-egyptian-oldest-book-1744110

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/4000-year-old-guide-ancient-egyptian-underworld-may-be-oldest-illustrated-book-180973880/

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8327-191231-egypt-book-of-two-ways

Egypt’s decision to move some sphinxes to Tahrir Square is causing controversy:

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-egypt-ire-artifacts-busy-tahrir.html

https://egyptianstreets.com/2020/01/03/unesco-condemns-transfer-of-sphinxes-from-luxor-to-tahrir/

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79324/Al-Khalifa-condemns-the-transfer-of-the-sphinxes-from-Karnak

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-tahrir-antiquities.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/sphinxes-move-for-first-time-since-the-pharaohs-8j5ws8g8s

http://www.startribune.com/egypt-draws-ire-with-artifacts-move-to-busy-tahrir-square/566598331/

… an op ed:

https://egyptianstreets.com/2020/01/01/do-we-really-need-pharaonic-antiquities-to-renovate-egypts-tahrir-square/

… and the minister defends the decision:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/358698/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-antiquities-minister-defends-plans-to-move-.aspx

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79227/Min-takes-needed-security-measures-while-transporting-artifacts-to-Tahrir

On evidence of musicians in Egypt some 5000 years bp:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1222732/Ancient-Egypt-discovery-archaeology-news-Egypt-music-ancient-Egyptian-instruments

The Pyramid of Djoser will open to the public this year:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypts-oldest-pyramid-opens-in-2020/

Feature on Tut’s tomb:

https://www.thedailystar.net/in-focus/news/the-treasure-tutankhamun-1846924

Feature on Anne Austin’s work studying tattoos on ancient Egyptian mummies:

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/umsl-archaeologist-takes-photographs-study-tattoos-ancient-egyptian-women

More on top finds from Egypt om 2019:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79149/Egypt-amazes-the-world-with-its-discoveries-in-2019-part

I think we mentioned this 2700 years bp cuneiform tablet from Assur featuring a demon associated with seizures:

https://www.livescience.com/assyrian-demon-tablet-found.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/demon-sketched-2700-year-old-tablet-was-thought-cause-epilepsy-180973901/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8333-200103-assyrian-demon-drawing

Concerns for a Hasmonean-era fortress in the Palestinian controlled region of Samaria:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Hasmonean-site-in-West-Bank-at-risk-from-robbery-and-neglect-archaeologist-says-612530

A hoard of what is being dubbed 1200 years bp Hanukkah Gelt from Yavneh:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Trove-of-1200-year-old-Arabian-nights-gold-coins-uncovered-in-Israel-612471

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-piggy-bank-of-gold-coins-uncovered-in-yavne-dig/

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-on-the-fourth-day-of-hanukkah-archaeologists-find-hoard-of-islamic-coins-in-israel-1.8328698

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/273803

https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/r1rVWJd18

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/12/30/gold-coins-dating-to-early-islamic-delight-archaeologists-at-yavne-dig/

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/religion/1200-year-old-cruse-loaded-with-gold-coins-found-in-yavneh-excavation/2019/12/29/

https://hamodia.com/2019/12/29/1200-year-old-chanuka-gelt-discovered-yavneh/

https://www.livescience.com/ancient-hanukkah-gelt-found-in-pot-shop.html

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/trove-of-ancient-gold-coins-found-in-yavneh-juglet/

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8325-191231-islamic-gold-coins

… which was followed by the find of some Hasmonean-era coins in Shiloh:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/2000-year-old-Hasmonean-coins-unearthed-in-Shiloh-on-Hanukkah-612567

Feature/interviews about the Tel Shimron dig:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/digging-deep-at-tel-shimron/

A top ten Holy Land archaeology stories of 2019 piece:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/digging-the-land-the-top-10-holy-land-archaeology-stories-of-2019/

Some of the top finds in Israel in 2019:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Corner-of-Gods-Altar-in-Shiloh-makes-2nd-place-in-2019-top-discoveries-612740

More on that wall in Iran as a top find from 2019:

http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/443541/Ancient-Iranian-wall-among-top-10-archaeology-discoveries-of

Some Early Islamic period tombstones from Makkah:

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/585927/SAUDI-ARABIA/Tombstones-from-early-Islamic-period-spotted-in-Makkah

Feature on vanilla in the Middle Bronze Age:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2020/01/Vanilla-in-the-Middle-Bronze-Age

================================================================

ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)

================================================================

Prehistoric finds in the Troodos mountains (Cyprus) are causing a rethink of where to look for sites:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/12/31/archaeologists-to-reassess-locations-of-ancient-sites-after-troodos-discovery/

A possible relief of Demeter from Hadrianopolis:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ancient-slab-unearthed-in-karabuk-150351

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8322-191230-turkey-demeter-carving

Remains of a Roman settlement in Derbyshire (we may have mentioned this):

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/roman-settlement-uncovered-near-navio-fort.htm

Apparently hitherto unknown (?) sites at Ostia Antica spotted via Google Earth (both of these are paywalled, alas):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/buried-roman-city-at-ostia-antica-spotted-by-google-earth-sjv2bkc03

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/buried-roman-city-discovered-by-google-earth/news-story/8a6f1367d5c2d2f361347e5a8da8b2da

Finds from various periods from a survey of Amargeti (Cyprus):

https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/01/03/bronze-age-to-byzantine-finds-as-project-begins-in-amargeti/

Cambridge is urging people to visit the mummy of the ‘earliest woman professor of classics’:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/cambridge-urges-students-to-visit-2000-year-old-mummy-of-egypts-first-female-professor/

The House of the Orchard in Pompeii is open to the public:

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/pompeii-opens-house-of-the-orchard.html

Not sure why the discovery of the ‘sphinx room’ from the Domus Aurea is making the rounds again:

https://www.ibtimes.sg/archaeologist-discover-well-decorated-ancient-secret-chamber-below-roman-palace-37089

Feature on the Caves of Caraftu in Iran, which are associated with Hercules:

https://world.greekreporter.com/2020/01/01/caraftu-caves-the-mysterious-lair-of-hercules-in-western-iran/

More on those 1600 years bp bone pendants from Assos:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/1-600-year-old-pendants-unearthed-in-assos-excavations-150435

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8328-191231-turkey-assos-pendants

An early copy of ‘A Problem in Greek Ethics’ (19th century) has been found:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-recover-early-copy-19th-century-gay-rights-essay-180973895/

Continuing a CA feature on Roman villas:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/excavating-the-ca-archive-roman-villas-3.htm

On artistic portrayals of Circe’s power:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-artists-have-depicted-circes-power-through-time

Feature on recent finds from Cataractonium:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/excavating-cataractonium.htm

Feature on seven emperors of Rome:

https://mymodernmet.com/ancient-roman-emperors/

TV hype feature on garum:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1223061/archaeology-news-ketchup-roman-empire-found-pompeii-garum-fish-sauce-spt

I think we’ve had this ‘fascination with Troy’ piece before:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/culture-fascination-with-the-myths-of-troy/index.html

Feature on the reception of Cleopatra today:

https://theweek.com/articles/870088/how-cleopatra-became-canvas-societys-anxieties

Feature (podcast) on the Roman financial crisis of AD 33:

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/792386687/the-roman-financial-crisis-of-a-d-33

Another legal opinion on the Parthenon Marbles:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/37916-australian-lawyer-sees-hope-for-athens-parthenon-sculptures-to-greece.html

… and more on past damage done to the marbles during cleaning etc. at the BM:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/38286-stolen-parthenon-marbles-damaged-by-vandals-and-british-museum-cleaning.html

Review of Freeman, *How to Think About God*:

https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/the-long-twilight-of-the-roman-gods/

Review of Cantarella, *Les Plus belles histoires d’amourt de l’Antiquite’:

https://next.liberation.fr/livres/2020/01/01/desirs-et-pulsions-a-l-antique_1771457

Review of a translation of Andrea Marcolongo, *La Lingua Geniale*:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/comma-queen/an-instant-classic-about-learning-ancient-greek

More on the Torlonia collection going on display:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/01/worlds-important-private-collection-ancient-roman-art-go-display/

https://heraldplanet.com/worlds-most-important-private-collection-of-ancient-roman-art-to-go-on-display-for-first-time/

More on that statistical pattern found in Roman emperors’ lives/deaths:

https://www.science20.com/news_staff/for_roman_emperors_surviving_the_first_year_was_hardest-244207

More on Turkey hyping Patara in 2020:

https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2019/12/31/2020-gem-of-lycian-civilization-patara-to-shine-in-new-year

More on that trio of ‘Amazon’/Scythian burials from Devitsa:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/12/31/amazons-were-long-considered-myth-these-discoveries-show-warrior-women-were-real/

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-tomb-with-three-generations-of-amazon-warrior-women-found-in-russia-1.8327358

https://www.ibtimes.sg/burial-scythian-amazon-golden-headdress-puzzles-archaeologists-women-warriors-36819

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/archaeologists-unearth-graves-ancient-warrior-women-russia

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/02/russian-expedition-finds-burial-ground-ancient-female-warriors/2794493001/

https://www.newsweek.com/tomb-ancient-scythian-amazon-woman-ceremonial-headdress-gold-silver-copper-discovered-1479626

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/118555267/amazons-were-long-considered-a-myth–discoveries-show-warrior-women-were-real

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tomb-containing-three-generations-amazon-warrior-women-unearthed-russia-180973877/

More on the Roman shipwreck off Kefallonia:

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/fiscardo-shipwreck-07979.html

Plans to move Rome’s souvenir stands:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/02/rome-souvenir-stands-to-be-moved-from-main-tourist-sites

Another piece on Stoicism and Silicon Valley:

https://www.motherjones.com/media/2020/01/silicon-valley-stoicism-holiday/

Comparing Marcus Aurelius and Donald Trump:

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/marcus-aurelius-versus-donald-trump/

—–

Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/

================================================================

EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)

================================================================

A Neolithic monument from near Loftus:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/excavating-the-neolithic-at-street-house.htm

Finds from various periods at a housing development site in Sawtry:

https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/pottery-and-glass-found-at-housing-site-in-sawtry-dates-back-to-iron-age-and-roman-era-1-6447191

Finds from various periods from a dig in Grimsby:

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/grimsby-treasures-uncovered-garth-lane-3703149

I think we mentioned these Roman and Anglo-Saxon burials near Coventry airport:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-50809706

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8324-191230-england-warwickshire-graves

Remains of a 570 years bp house from Cardiff under a public washroom:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7844981/Grand-medieval-house-discovered-public-TOILET-Cardiff.html

Medieval Christian artifacts from Tuida Fortress (Bulgaria):

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/12/19/10th-century-cross-with-jesus-christ-image-peacock-ring-seal-found-in-tuida-fortress-in-bulgarias-sliven/

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8330-200102-bulgaria-christian-artifacts

Some North Yorkshire sites made top ten lists:

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northyorkshire/18131127.north-yorkshire-archaeological-sites-top-ten-important/

A 3000 years bp chisel and dagger hoard from near Lancaster was declared treasure:

https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/people/3000-year-old-bronze-age-chisel-and-dagger-hoard-found-near-lancaster-declared-treasure-1354638

The top finds in Nottinghamshire in 2019:

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/axe-heads-sheeps-feet-best-3693243

Feature on those burials found a couple years ago during Crossrail construction:

https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/massive-graveyard-found-underneath-london-17500983

Feature on the Oseberg ship and the women buried therein:

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/01/viking-ships-buried-clues-may-reveal-identities-mystery-women

Rethinking the Declaration of Arbroath (paywalled):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/declaration-of-arbroath-scots-700-year-old-rallying-cry-stolen-from-roman-rebel-vx607b26b

Rethinking the implications of the Pla de Nadal site:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/12/27/actualidad/1577460008_695804.html

More on the feast-related finds at Navan fort:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-traveled-across-ireland-eat-pork-ancient-site-180973874/

More on lightning and the Callanish standing stones:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/massive-lightning-strike-may-have-inspired-scottish-stone-circle-180973870/

More on Napoleonic-era field kitchens in Guernsey:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/napoleonic-era-field-kitchens-found-on-guernsey.htm

Latest on the Brunel Bridge kerfuffle:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-50947932

================================================================

ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

================================================================

200 more Terracotta Warriors have been excavated:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/31/c_138669212.htm

https://www.newsweek.com/hundreds-more-terracotta-warriors-unearthed-tomb-chinas-first-emperor-1480096

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/more-terracotta-warriors-unearthed-from-pit-of-emperor-qinshihuangs-mausoleum

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7845221/The-Terracotta-Army-expands-220-earthenware-warriors-uncovered.html

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/terracotta-army-uncovered-china-1744743

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/200-more-terracotta-warriors-excavated-china-180973900/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8329-200102-china-qinshihuang-mausoleum

Finds spanning seven dynasties from a site in Hebei:

http://www.ecns.cn/news/2020-01-03/detail-ifzsiwze9785181.shtml

The Japanese author of a Chinese epitaph may have been identified:

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201912260044.html

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8326-191231-china-japan-epitaph

A Mughal-era drain from near the Red Fort:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-archaeologists-find-mughal-era-rainwater-drain-near-red-fort/story-hutSXzmwADmQlevAyLCegL.html

They’re still wondering about the ‘Marree Man’ geoglyph in Australia:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/world/marree-man-nasa-trnd/index.html

https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/31/nasa-investigates-mystery-huge-carving-hailed-message-aliens-11980412/

An appeal to ‘virtually rebuild’ Shuri Castle:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50956330

================================================================

NORTH AMERICA

================================================================

Those 18th century remains found beneath an 18th century home in North Haven are being examined:

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-bones-revolutionary-war-soldiers.html

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/01/03/us/ap-us-skeletal-remains.html

http://www.startribune.com/tests-begin-on-bones-that-may-be-revolutionary-war-soldiers/566695211/

Overviewish thing on this year’s digging at Colonial Dorchester:

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/historic-park-working-to-unearth-time-capsule-of-american-colonial/article_d78ff1d8-201c-11ea-b6c1-d326a05695cc.html

A Revolutionary War monument in New York has a dating error:

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troy-s-military-monument-bears-Revolutionary-War-14942810.php

I think we mentioned these ‘mystery bones’ from an Idaho cave; they turn out to belong to a prisoner who escaped a century ago:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/us/man-identified-100-years-later-trnd/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/01/headless-torso-found-cave-identified-murderer-escaped-jail-1916

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/01/joseph-henry-loveless-dismembered-body-found-idaho-identified-outlaw/2789895001/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8332-200103-idaho-wild-west

Pondering Cortes’ legacy:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/31/hernan-cortes-mexico-spain-atlantic

Trying to figure out the identity of bones found in a 17th century shipwreck off Texas:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/23/ciencia/1577120739_535303.html

Feature on Muslims in early America:

https://aeon.co/essays/muslims-lived-in-america-before-protestantism-even-existed

More on the 1619 Project criticism:

https://www.aier.org/article/fact-checking-the-1619-project-and-its-critics/

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/28/nytr-d28.html

More on kiddie-sized training weapons from Oregon:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-child-sized-weapons-found-in-oregon-were-used-for-teaching-anthropologists-say-1.8345781

More on Irvin Peithmann’s collection going to SIU:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/southern-illinois-archaeologist-s-finds-return-to-siu-shedding-light/article_115814f2-6ad2-521e-bd52-84d9314ac063.html

================================================================

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

================================================================

More on that major Maya palace site found at Kaluba in the Yucatan:

https://www.livescience.com/maya-palace-found-in-mexico.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/archaeologists-discover-remains-of-vast-mayan-palace

https://nypost.com/2019/12/31/ruins-of-ancient-mayan-palace-discovered-in-mexico/

More on the analysis of those possibly-human-sacrifice bones found at Uxul a few years ago:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/did-mayans-human-sacrifices

—–

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/

================================================================

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

================================================================

Looking forward to what might be found in 2020:

https://www.livescience.com/archaeological-discoveries-to-watch-for-2020.html

… and seven finds from 2019:

https://aleteia.org/2020/01/03/7-great-archaeological-finds-from-2019/

Connecting the rise of civilizations to the extinction of Ice Age mammals:

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-extinction-ice-age-mammals-humans.html

Not sure where to put this one: science types have digitally-recreated the acoustics of Hagia Sophia:

https://aleteia.org/2019/12/31/scientists-digitally-recreate-hagia-sophia-acoustics/

On some love letters of T.S. Eliot:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/04/us/ts-eliot-emily-hale-letters.html

When medical types look at the statue of David:

https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/david-miguel-angel-se-adelanto-siglo-la-ciencia-medica/953205/

How a Cassatt was mistaken for a Degas:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/entertainment/mary-cassatt-girl-arranging-her-hair/

In case you need a 1000 years bp hangover cure:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/01/01/happy-new-year-heres-year-old-hangover-cure/

Tracing some Jewish family recipes back to Inquisition-era Spain and Portugal:

https://www.wbur.org/npr/789864201/trove-of-recipes-dating-back-to-inquisition-reveals-a-familys-secret-jewish-root

Documenting graffiti by WWI soldiers in France:

https://www.dw.com/en/in-france-underground-mementos-of-world-war-i/a-51811497

Nice APOD of the Quadrantids over the Great Wall:

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200103.html

Interesting feature on traditional Indigenous Peoples’ songs:

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-indigenous-song-keepers-reveal-traditional.html

… and some songs of the Sufi people have been given ‘Intangible Heritage Status’:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/28/africa_no_es_un_pais/1577559564_071253.html

Folks in New Mexico have recreated on of Tycho Brahe’s astronomical tools:

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-device-mexico-clock-astronomy.html

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2019-12-31/new-devise-in-new-mexico-turns-back-clock-on-astronomy

On the role of ‘wonder’ in human endeavours:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20191219-a-lost-masterpiece-rediscovered

On the origins of pralines:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2020/01/the-history-behind-one-of-americas-most-beloved-desserts/604405/

Feature on sculpture:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/arts/design/Charles-Ray-Bertoldo-de-Giovanni-bronzes.html

Some engraving blocks from the original Alice in Wonderland printing were found:

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/collector-finds-rare-templates-used-3693398

OpEd with a Wal Whitman spin:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/opinion/walt-whitman-nytimes-2020.html

More on the British Museum’s focus on Thomas Becket this year:

https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/thomas-becket-murder-like-game-of-thrones/cid/1731283

Cicero v Machiavelli (paywalled):

https://www.wsj.com/articles/virtue-politics-review-of-soulcraft-and-statecraft-11577463166?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1

Marking the centennial of the Volstead Act:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/us/100-years-ago-the-booziest-january-suddenly-dried-up.html

Review of Shariatmadari, *Don’t Believe a Word*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/books/review-dont-believe-word-david-shariatmadari.html

Review of a new translation of *The Art of War*;

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/books/review-art-of-war-sun-tzu-new-translation-michael-nylan.html

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MUSEUM MATTERS

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Durer:

https://hyperallergic.com/535654/albrecht-durer-drawings-at-the-albertina-museum/

Some shows coming to the British Museum in 2020:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/whats-on-at-the-british-museum-in-2020/

The GEM is 90% done apparently:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79339/90-percent-of-GEM-work-is-finished

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AUCTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

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Mel Wacks’ coins are coming to auction:

https://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/mel-wacks-coin-collection-being-offered-in-nyc-sale

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THE TECHY SIDE

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More on heart disease being detected in some Greenland Inuit mummies:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2757994

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/surprise-ancient-inuit-mummy-scans-reveal-possible-heart-disease

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8323-191230-greenland-inuit-mummies

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ON THE DNA FRONT

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DNA tests on a mulberry tree in Norfolk associated with Pocahontas were inconclusive:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-50669758

We mentioned the DNA identification of a 19th century ‘Connecticut Vampire’ a while ago:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-50669758

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CLIMATE MATTERS

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Climate concerns for Egyptian monuments:

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/12/29/egypts-history-of-humanity-monuments-face-climate-change-threat/

Climate change is being implicated in the destruction of a Harappan settlement:

https://in.news.yahoo.com/climate-change-may-wiped-saraswati-070548493.html

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TOURISTY THINGS

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Sites in Turkey:

https://www.dailysabah.com/travel/2019/12/31/alternative-ancient-cities-to-visit-in-turkey-in-2020

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PERFORMANCES

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Die Tote Stadt:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/arts/music/die-tote-stadt-munich.html

Little Women:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/books/little-women-feminism-2019-movie.html

… related: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/books/little-women-book-writers.html

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CRIME BEAT

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A plan to rob the castle of Fontainebleu was foiled:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/01/04/actualidad/1578158801_684342.html

Someone attacked a Picasso at the Tate Modern:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50956400

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/31/man-charged-over-damage-to-20m-picasso-at-tate-modern

The church in Leipzig when Bach is buried was vandalized:

https://www.dw.com/en/windows-smashed-at-renowned-bach-church-in-leipzig/a-51853584

conflict antiquities:

http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/

anonymous swiss collector:

http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues:

http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/

Looting Matters:

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/

Illicit Cultural Property:

http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/

SAFE:

http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/

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REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY

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Some sacred objects once held by SIU were reburied with their Hopi and Navajo forebears:

https://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/sacred-artifacts-held-by-southern-illinois-university-carbondale-reburied-with/article_4bf929e2-9446-5ce0-93a5-d34d2cf9d607.html

https://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/returning-home-sacred-artifacts-held-by-siu-carbondale-reburied-with/article_198831a5-1552-5f21-be9f-1e88cba03eaa.html

A US collector has returned 3500 copper coins to Mexico:

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-returns-3500-copper-coins/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8331-200102-mexico-copper-coins

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NUMISMATICA

================================================================

Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v22/club_nbs_esylum_v22n52.html

… and the one which should appear later today:

[not sure how this one will be numbered]

————————

Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

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OBITUARIES

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Gertrude Himmelfarb:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/books/gertrude-himmelfarb-dead.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/gertrude-himmelfarb-historian-moral-change/604276/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/gertrude-himmelfarb-scholar-of-victorian-era-and-neoconservative-thinker-dies-at-97/2019/12/31/4b7f7146-20db-11e9-8e21-59a09ff1e2a1_story.html

https://nypost.com/2019/12/31/r-i-p-gertrude-himmelfarb-one-of-americas-greatest-minds/

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AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS

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Audio News from Archaeologica:

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2909-audio-news-from-archaeologica-december-22-through-december-28-2019

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GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS

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Archaeology Magazine News Page:

http://www.archaeology.org/news/

About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Ancient Digger:

http://www.ancientdigger.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/

Past Horizons:

http://www.pasthorizons.com/

Stonepages:

http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:

http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/

Time Machine:

http://heatherpringle.wordpress.com/

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PODCASTS/VODCASTS

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Archaeosoup:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch

Archaeology Podcast Network:

http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/

The Book and the Spade:

http://www.radioscribe.com/bknspade.htm

================================================================

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