================================================================
explorator 12.02 May 3, 2009
================================================================
Editor's note: Most urls should be active for at least eight
hours from the time of publication.

For your computer's protection, Explorator is sent in plain text
and NEVER has attachments. Be suspicious of any Explorator which
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================================================================
================================================================
Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Donna Hurst, Hernan Astudillo,
John McMahon, Joseph Lauer, Patrick Swan, Mitch Allen, Don Buck,
Mata Kimasitayo, Mike Ruggeri, Richard C. Griffiths, Rochelle Altman,
Steve Farmer, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always
hoping I have left no one out).

... bit of a quiet week ...
================================================================
EARLY HUMANS
================================================================
John Noble Wilford on homo floresiensis:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28hobbit.html

I think we mentioned this Neanderthal genome a while ago:

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Finally-unearthing-the-secrets-of.5228844.jp
================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
Latest strange use of DNA analysis is its use to locate the
Garden of Eden in Namibia (or at least that's the spin the Times seems
to be putting on it):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6207399.ece
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/science/01eden.html

... here's some more responsible (maybe) coverage of same:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/05/01/MN2317BI4Q.DTL
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/8027269.stm

================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
Latest CT scan of a mummy reveals a mummified puppy at the owner's
feet:

http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v55/n31/mummies.html

Rachel Elior's theories on the Essenes continue to get coverage,
this time with some critique by Geza Vermes:

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/1173/full
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710803395&pagename=JPost/JPArticl\
e/ShowFull

The 2008 excavation report from Bethsaida:

http://www.unomaha.edu/bethsaida/reports/Excavations_report_2008a.pdf

Follow the dig at Tall Jalul:

http://jalul.wordpress.com

Nice features on the digitization of the Persepolis Fortification
Archive at the OI:

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/090430/persian.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/PFMellon
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/uoc-tso042809.php
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/551742/?sc=rsln

The (re)discovery of Amenhotep's tomb is making the rounds again
for some reason:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Archaeologists+rediscover+lost+Egyptian+tomb/1\
345560/story.html

... and that scan of the bust of Nefertiti is now being used to prove
the bust wasn't 'faked by Hitler':

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/266036,nefertitis-hidden-face-proves-ber\
lin-bust-is-not-hitlers-fake.html

More/followup coverage of the 53 tombs from the Fayum:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30433244/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8019872.stm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/5228382/Mum\
mies-unveiled-in-Egypt.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jBZy8LJHK2gqDdN1jODGEtR4beDwD9\
7QA3VG0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042601334.\
html
http://www.kentucky.com/524/story/774871.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/6393396.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090426/sc_nm/us_egypt_mummies
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=6781443&rss=rss\
-wabc-article-6781443
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/27/53-tombs-found-in-egypt/


More coverage of that 'Dark Age' Temple in Turkey:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090429-dark-ages-temple.html
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-30279.html

More on the reopening of Iraq's sites etc., but noting the
controversial nature thereof:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/world/middleeast/03babylon.html

More (brief) coverage on Christian relics found in Iraq:

<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92636&sectionid=3510212>

More on that Hebrew inscription from near the Gihon Spring:

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-28247.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090425203201.htm

More on that virtual recreation of Karnak:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429172224.htm
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=3733

Egyptology News Blog:

http://egyptology.blogspot.com/

Egyptology Blog:

http://www.egyptologyblog.co.uk/

Dr Leen Ritmeyer's Blog:

http://blog.ritmeyer.com/

Paleojudaica:

http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/

Persepolis Fortification Archives:

http://persepolistablets.blogspot.com/

Archaeologist at Large:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/ArchaeologyinEgypt/
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Plenty of coverage of the discovery/conservation of a millefiore
Roman bowl from London:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8024498.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090429/sc_nm/us_britain_roman_find_1
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090430/NEWS02/704309928
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/04/30/Bowl-may-offer-Roman-Britain-clues/UP\
I-59041241109484/
http://www.canada.com/technology/science/Unique+Roman+glass+dish+found+London+gr\
ave+site/1550056/story.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430092235.htm
http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_12254131

They're putting a roof over the Lyceum:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30499784/
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-eu-greece-aristotles-\
school,0,3940617.story
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2009/04/30/greece_sponsor_to_pa\
y_for_aristotle_school_roof
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/30/international/i01381\
7D98.DTL&feed=rss.news
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibVPF7hhL0KYXbI_vrIb0qZAjN2AD9\
7SR2GO0

Plans to investigate a Roman burial (found in the 1970s) in Gloucester:

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Archaeologists-k\
een-trace-origins-Roman-skeleton/article-944840-detail/article.html

Interesting project to document all the catacombs of Rome:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8027650.stm

Possible Roman pottery kilns in a Kentish village:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/british-village-may-have-been-a-huge-\
pottery-industry-in-roman-times_100185187.html

Some Roman burials from Bethlehem:

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37371

An interview with Adrian Goldsworthy:

http://newbooksinhistory.com/?p=840

Another Lysistrataesque strike:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518465,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8025457.stm

cf (for more comparanda):

http://rogueclassicism.com/2009/05/02/lysistratidai/

Recent reviews from BMCR:

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/recent.html

Recent reviews from Scholia:

http://www.classics.ukzn.ac.za/reviews/2009.htm

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/

Mediterranean Archaeology:

http://medarch.blogspot.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
A possible medieval 'boatwreck' off Scotland:

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Ancient-boat-remains-found.5214897.jp
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-29539.html

Medieval building remains found beneath Cathedral Square in
Peterborough:

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-29534.html
http://www.peterborough.net/news/articles/medievalcathsquare100.asp

The medieval fort of Trikala is now open to the public:

http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=7546217&maindocimg=7544188&servi\
ce=144

The 'Little Ice Age' in Scotland:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8010513.stm

'Early' evidence of amputations:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/8025710.stm

More coverage of that 'earliest' site in Scotland:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8029661.stm

Archaeology in Europe Blog:

http://www.archaeology.eu.com/weblog/index.html
================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
China's earliest known 'carving':

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/content_11274877.htm

Latest ship recreation is a 16th (17th?) century Chinese junk ... sadly,
it was hit by a freighter one day before the end of its journey:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8020206.stm
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10569146&ref=rs\
s
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5228176/Replica-Chinese-jun\
k-sinks-one-day-from-end-of-epic-journey.html


More coverage of that Indus Script 'decipherment':

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-30401.html
http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KD30Df01.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423142316.htm
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/indusscript
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Learning-with-the-Times-Deciphering-Ind\
us-script-a-tough-task/articleshow/4452812.cms

... but we should also read some refutation:

http://www.safarmer.com/Refutation3.pdf
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1374
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-30333.html

Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog:

http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/

New Zealand Archaeology eNews:

http://www.nzarchaeology.org/netsubnews.htm
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
An allele is suggesting Native Americans all descend from a single
population:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/04/29/native.americans.descended.a.single.\
ancestral.group.dna.study.confirms
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090428223836.htm
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=9101

Remains of a pair of ca 1100 A.D. palisaded villages from
Macon County found in the preliminaries to airport construction:

http://www.maconnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4607&Itemid=3\
4

Another Hohokam site is being dug in Arizona:

http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2009/04/30/news/49arch426.txt

Nice feature on the assassination of George Brown:

http://torontoist.com/2009/05/historicist_the_death_of_george_bro.php

There's a US version of Time Team:

http://www.pbs.org/video/program/1100231536/

Some heritage roses in New York:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/garden/23garden.html

The Georgia Guidestones:

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/ff_guidestones?currentPa\
ge=all

Review of Daniel Brown, *The Indifferent Stars Above*:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/books/review/Roach-t.html
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
An abstract of another feature on the Nazca lines:

http://www.archaeology.org/0905/abstracts/nasca.html

Mike Ruggeri's Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://web.mac.com/michaelruggeri

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/
================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
================================================================
Sidebarish sort of thing on 10 voyages that changed the world:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/04/28/ten.voyages/index.html

Nice feature on Palladio:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2009/03/30/090330crsk_skyline_gold\
berger

... and one on Poe:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/04/27/090427crat_atlarge_lepo\
re

On the evolutionary skills of ancient breeders:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227064.200-ancient-breeders-show-intelli\
gent-design.html

In case you missed 'talk like Shakespeare' day:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103414533

Britain has its first female poet laureate:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/world/europe/02poet.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5256745/Poet-Laureate-Changing-wi\
th-the-times.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/05/01/britain.poet.laureate/

... and in case you want to know all about this poet laureate business:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1113085_poet_laureate_all_you_need\
_to_know

What some scholars are doing when they're away from their desk:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/nyregion/30towns.html

On the evolution of languages:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5805522.ece

OpEd thing suggesting UNESCO Heritage Status might do more harm
than good:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/is-unesco-damaging-the-worlds-treasures-\
1675637.html

... and one on the need to rethink the concept of the University:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html

Backlash from Google Earth's inclusion of some historical maps
of Japan:

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090502/ap_on_hi_te/as_japan_google_dark_secrets

More on the World Digital Library:

http://www.informationweek.com/galleries/showImage.jhtml?galleryID=321&cid=nl_IW\
K_daily_H
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8009974.stm
http://www.wdl.org/en/

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Lives of the Week:

http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/lotw/

Arts and Letters Daily:

http://aldaily.com/

Past Preservers:

http://pastpreservers.blogspot.com/
================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
Calcutta:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/travel/03calcutta.html

Athens:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ricksteveseurope/2009139295_websteves28.ht\
ml
================================================================
DIG DIARIES/BLOGS
================================================================
[please send in suggestions! current digs only please!]

Norton Community Archaeological Group:

http://nortoncommarch.wordpress.com/

Tel Kadesh:

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/kelseymuseum.digdiary/read_our_blog

Tel Dan:

http://teldan.wordpress.com/

Hopkins in Egypt Today:

http://www.jhu.edu/egypttoday/index.html

================================================================
GENERAL MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS
================================================================
About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Archaeorama:

http://blogs.discovery.com/news_archaeorama/

Archaeoblog:

http://archaeoblog.blogspot.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Another case of recovered Thracian jewellery from a site in
Bulgaria:

http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2009-04-30&article=27383
http://www.novinite.com/newsletter/print.php?id=103210

... but it's another site which is most popular with looters:

<http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n179736>

Looting of sites in Arkansas:

http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=10257578

Robert Fulford argues against returning looted artifacts:

http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=a8bad11d-fe96-4cb1-a2da-c74d3d\
a318f9

Art theft from a Dutch museum:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1895429,00.html

That guy who was slicing pages out of books in the British and
Bodleian libraries had his sentence reduced:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23682949-details/Expert+who+stole\
+pages+of+rare+texts+has+prison+term+halved/article.do
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=287690&version\
=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20

Looting Matters:

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
A huge cache of medieval coins from a site in Bulgaria:

http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/1178
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/6469/2/

Numismatic Bibliomania Society:

http://www.coinbooks.org/

Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/
================================================================
EXHIBITIONS, AUCTIONS, AND MUSEUM-RELATED
================================================================
Russian Folk Costumes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/arts/28iht-Ffolk.html

Art, Pen and Parchment:

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=30484

Baroque:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/arts/02iht-melik2.html

Pompeii and the Roman Villa:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-pompeii29-2009apr29,0,599226.sto\
ry

The Myers Museum has returned a number of items to Egypt:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aTp8L4YyrY6I

A (negative) review of Berlin's Jewish Museum:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/arts/design/02conn.html

Piles of layoffs at the Getty:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-getty28-2009apr28,0,3464364\
.storylink
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/arts/design/30gett.html
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-getty1-2009may1,0,1800718.s\
torylink

That flu thing is affecting attendance at the British Museum's
Aztec thing:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/apr/29/swine-flu-british-museum-aztec-sho\
w

Some items related to female Georgian writers are coming to auction:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/arts/design/01anti.html

... while some Lincoln stamps fetched a very nice price:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/arts/design/20lincoln.html

... as did a Chinese imperial seal:

http://www.france24.com/en/20090429-chinese-imperial-seal-sells-168-million-euro\
s-summer-palace-beijing-china-protests-auction-paris

The auction houses are downsizing their catalogs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/arts/design/02cata.html

They're still saying the Acropolis Museum will open in June:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100017_27/04/2009_106641
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090426/ennew_afp/entertainmentgreecearchaeologyacr\
opolismuseum_20090426200705
================================================================
PERFORMANCES AND THEATRE-RELATED
================================================================
King David:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/theater/reviews/28king.html

Reviewish/informative piece on the Baroque:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/arts/music/01pahu.html
================================================================
ON THE WEB
================================================================
How to Pack Books:

wiki.coinbooks.org/index.php/How_to_Pack_Books
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Ahmad Hasan Dani:

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=82992&cid=2

Felipe Solis Olguin:

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=30490

Alan Vince:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/apr/29/alan-vince-archaeologist-ceramics-\
obituary

Hans Holzer:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/books/30holzer.html
================================================================
DON'T EAT THAT ELMER (A.K.A. CVM GRANO SALIS)
================================================================
Noah's tomb is in Ajerbaijan:

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=5972
================================================================
PODCASTS
================================================================
The Book and the Spade:

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

The Dig:

http://www.thedigradio.com/

Stone Pages Archaeology News:

http://news.stonepages.com/

Archaeologica Audio News:

http://www.archaeologychannel.org/AudioNews.asp
================================================================
EXPLORATOR is a weekly newsletter representing the fruits of
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