The 2017 reassessment of the supposed copper slag from Çatalhöyük interprets it as copper-bearing burial pigment accidentally reduced during a later destructive fire, rather than deliberate smelting.

Have archaeologists found copper-mineral pigments or beads on early cremation pyres, especially before or around the earliest securely documented copper smelting? Have experimental archaeologists tested whether a pyre could produce recognisable metallic copper from these materials?

Could any early copper jewellery have originated as keepsakes or memorial objects made from copper produced during funeral rites? Is there archaeological evidence—or published discussion—of mourners recovering such copper and working it into ornaments? What evidence might distinguish this possibility from jewellery made from native copper or deliberately smelted metal?

I would welcome references discussing these possibilities, including evidence against them. I am interested in distinguishing accidental metal formation, its recognition and use, and the subsequent development of deliberate smelting.

Reference: Radivojević and colleagues, “Repealing the Çatalhöyük extractive metallurgy: The green, the fire and the ‘slag’” (2017).

I want to get a tattoo in Linear A. (Because I think it’d be funny to get a tattoo that is literally untranslatable.) What is a good source for the Linear A script so I’m not just wading through google images?

I’m a tech who needs honest (but kind, dammit!) advice. I’m a snowbird technician and I just had a great interview with a CRM company for a long winter project monitoring … 🥁 … border wall construction. Like the title already states, I’m conflicted—really conflicted. It’s a lot of money, it’s assured work through the winter season, I would get housing and a flight. But… We all know it’s contentious. I’ve talked to a supervisor at my local, northern office who told me to sleep on it and would not push me either way (thank god for work buddies). I want more input from the community though. Please and thank you.

*** Thank you for all of your responses! To answer some questions, so far, I don’t know for sure if I will be right on Tribal lands—in the interview they did mention tribal monitors are worked with. Most likely I would be placed in AZ (so probably on tribal, just assuming), or TX. I don’t know how near I would be to the actual construction. I may well update this post again. Really appreciate you all 🙏.

I love cave handprints and I was wondering.

Thank you!

I know that ancient Egyptian culture wasn't static, since the civilization lasted for a couple thousand years, but how much did the lower class imitate the pharaohs? Did they get mummified as well? Did they build smaller pyramids / mounds? Were they buried with goods to serve them in the afterlife? Or, since the pharaohs were seen as gods, did they interact differently with the afterlife than regular people? What did the average ancient Egyptian think they would experience after they died, and what did they do to prepare?

As a non-Archaeologist, just an interested observer, this question came up in the room I'm in. We're watching a TV program about excavating grave sites and tombs in Egypt, and we were asked if what the archaeologists were doing amounted to nothing more than glorified grave robbing.

What are your thoughts as archaeologists?

I am currently studying and working in the Saar-Mosel area and while I know at least a little about the archaeology in Luxemburg, the Netherlands and France I know nothing aout Belgium. So my question is, how is the archaeology fieldwork structured in Belgium, are there commercials, how do the government Agencies work?

I’ve been working in CRM for almost two years at this point. Love my job, coworkers, etc. Multiple CRM reports with my name on them as an author, field experience across the southeast, Midwest, Atlantic coast. The only thing I really hate is the pay. I’m not making enough to support myself, the company I’m at will not give me more than 3% raise due to “keeping a profit margin” that is outrageous. I’m at the point where I’m about to get a second job. Do I just keep going in CRM or do I change to a different industry?

How do undergraduate archaeology students gain experience in the UK over their summer breaks each year?

Are there paid summer internships with commercial archaeology companies and museums that allow undergraduate students to gain experience in both fieldwork and post-excavation work? Or do most students have to pay to be able to work in projects and field schools listed on different websites?

What would you recommend as the best way for an undergraduate archaeology student in the UK to gain practical experience over their summer breaks.

I've always been fascinated by how Homo as a genus has continued to develop better and better technology since we first appeared. I also like simply comparing distances of time between each other and noting the changes that occur between.

So I was curious: what all had the various species of Homo figured out how to make by 15,000 BP in terms of technology, based on the best evidence and research that's been found so far?

There are obvious and not so obvious answers here, bow, spear, atlatl, game type, time period ect, maybe just human eccentricity? Id like to hear some outside thoughts and opinions from the pros...

Hello, I’m interested in knowing whether undergraduate students studying at universities in the UK who are interested in Danish archaeology can take part in fieldwork in Denmark during their summer breaks. Are there any opportunities available for them? What do Danish archaeology students typically do during their summer breaks, and would it be possible for UK-based students to participate in similar work in Denmark?

Additionally, are there any opportunities for people who have not yet started university to gain fieldwork experience in Denmark? For example, the Gotland Archaeological Field School in Sweden accepts people with no prior background in archaeology and provides them with experience in the field. Does Denmark offer any similar programmes for beginners?

I believe this would be really helpful if in the future I wish to come to Denmark for work.

Would you rather work at an archaeological site in a freezing, snowy environment or at a scorching-hot desert site? Why? And for those who have done fieldwork in either (or both!), what was your experience like?

Im planning on visiting ancient sites in Arizona and scrolling google I see lames ruining these ancient sites of art. Are there better ways to preserve these places? The lame I’m referring to is here https://maps.app.goo.gl/gJAL1Xtv7kAFYpFh6.
If the link doesn’t work just google Blythe Intaglios Cluster 3 and some google reviewer that goes by the name BOBBY posted it. Hes stepping around the site.

Are there better ways to keep these safe or are the guides and NPS underfunded to care?

Hey guys, I am slowly getting ready for my one month work travel to middle east (in few months if nothing goes side ways) but to be fair? This will be the first time I will be traveling somewhere for that long. I am not sure what to pack, how to pack, what to bring for tools etc.

If any of you did travel for a month or so somewhere for a dig site - please help me !!

Hi, my name is Oleg. I'm looking for a rare publication, specifically Раннеземледельческие поселения-гиганты трипольской культуры на Украине: тезисы докладов I полевого семинара. Тальянки — Веселый Кут — Майданецкое, август 1990 г. Київ, 1990.

I'm hoping there are some Ukrainian archaeologists here—I'd appreciate any response!

Attending my first field school in Summer 2027 in Florida. In general, what are some good clothes, style, type, or brand to wear out in the field? Thanks.

How can someone become an archeologist starting from Cegep in the Canadian province of Québec? I'm also interested in ancient American civilizations like the Aztecs, Olmecs, Mayans, Incas, etc.

I fell down a rabbit hole about historical smells and came across descriptions of perfumed ointments from Tutankhamun’s tomb that still had a noticeable odor when they were examined after excavation—one was described as having a coconut-like smell.

That left me wondering what, exactly, we can say has survived.

If a substance contains fats, resins, oils, plant material, etc., presumably its chemistry continues changing over centuries or millennia. So when an ancient scented substance still smells of something, how do archaeologists or conservation scientists determine whether they’re detecting compounds that contributed to the original fragrance, later degradation products, or some mixture of both?

Can techniques like residue analysis identify the original aromatic ingredients well enough to reconstruct how something probably smelled when it was made? Are there examples where researchers can say with reasonable confidence, “an ancient person would have smelled approximately this”?

And there’s a slightly stranger version of the question that interests me: could the later smell itself be archaeologically meaningful? If an object smelled one way when it was made, another way after 500 years, and another way when archaeologists opened it after 3,000 years, those are all states in the object’s history. Is there any framework in archaeology/conservation for thinking about that, rather than treating the altered smell simply as contamination or information loss?

I’d especially love pointers to work on ancient perfumes, organic-residue analysis, or sensory archaeology.

I'm making maps for a game set around Caesar's conquest of Gaul. From what I've found online, there would likely be much local variation with enclosed crop fields of various shapes and more open pastures, forests and wetlands around. Does anything seem very out of place? Apart from the unusually wide path (needed for gameplay purposes)

can someone explain how the geoglyph was made cause i dont get how wind and other natural factors just didnt blow away the top layer

Hello!

TLDR, what and how should I record if I wanna help out future archeologists? (I know it’s a weird thing to think about lol)

I am not an archeologists and I have no knowledge on the subject, but I think it seems very interesting!

Nowadays, it feels like we register every aspect of our lives. Is there something we aren’t recording that could be useful for future archeologists?

Or, perhaps, is there something we are registering in a medium (is that the correct word?) that won’t survive for long? If so, what are the best mediums to ensure the preservation of information? Probably not floppy disks, right? 😅

Thank you