Planning an Introduction to Archaeology textbook based on The Pixies songs.
So far I have the following chapters -
Gouge away: excavation techniques
U-mass: dating techniques
Bone machine: bioarchaeology
Digging for fire: ancient pyrotechnology
Palace of the brine: underwater Archaeology
1/2
So far I have the following chapters -
Gouge away: excavation techniques
U-mass: dating techniques
Bone machine: bioarchaeology
Digging for fire: ancient pyrotechnology
Palace of the brine: underwater Archaeology
1/2
January 7, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Planning an Introduction to Archaeology textbook based on The Pixies songs.
So far I have the following chapters -
Gouge away: excavation techniques
U-mass: dating techniques
Bone machine: bioarchaeology
Digging for fire: ancient pyrotechnology
Palace of the brine: underwater Archaeology
1/2
So far I have the following chapters -
Gouge away: excavation techniques
U-mass: dating techniques
Bone machine: bioarchaeology
Digging for fire: ancient pyrotechnology
Palace of the brine: underwater Archaeology
1/2
Proud PhD supervisor moment! @wcmurph.bsky.social successufully defended his PhD thesis on 🔥Pyrotechnology during the Upper Paleolithic in Europe @icarehb.bsky.social
March 8, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Proud PhD supervisor moment! @wcmurph.bsky.social successufully defended his PhD thesis on 🔥Pyrotechnology during the Upper Paleolithic in Europe @icarehb.bsky.social
🏺This IS cool but N American Old Copper culture (clue's in the name), were also using copper at this time: mining, heating, hammering & grinding into weapons & tools.
Not same intensity of metallurgy/pyrotechnology, but foragers definitely interested in metals!
[all this will feat. in #Matriarcha]
Not same intensity of metallurgy/pyrotechnology, but foragers definitely interested in metals!
[all this will feat. in #Matriarcha]
Okay, this is big. Really.
New finds from SE Anatolia suggest that at Gre Fılla, #Diyarbakir, Neolithic hunter-gatherers experimented with copper #metallurgy ... 9,000 years ago!
Yes, that's the Pre-Poettery Neolithic we're talking about:
🏺 www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/how-...
New finds from SE Anatolia suggest that at Gre Fılla, #Diyarbakir, Neolithic hunter-gatherers experimented with copper #metallurgy ... 9,000 years ago!
Yes, that's the Pre-Poettery Neolithic we're talking about:
🏺 www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/how-...
How Anatolia’s last hunter-gatherers pioneered copper metallurgy 9,000 years ago - Türkiye Today
New findings in Anatolia show that hunter-gatherers were experimenting with copper metallurgy 9,000 years ago, reshaping our understanding of early technology.
www.turkiyetoday.com
March 19, 2025 at 9:39 PM
🏺This IS cool but N American Old Copper culture (clue's in the name), were also using copper at this time: mining, heating, hammering & grinding into weapons & tools.
Not same intensity of metallurgy/pyrotechnology, but foragers definitely interested in metals!
[all this will feat. in #Matriarcha]
Not same intensity of metallurgy/pyrotechnology, but foragers definitely interested in metals!
[all this will feat. in #Matriarcha]
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: This is how humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago 🔥🏺
A group of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has now been able to shed some light on the mystery of Ice Age fire. 👨🔬👩🔬
Read more here: ⤵️
A group of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has now been able to shed some light on the mystery of Ice Age fire. 👨🔬👩🔬
Read more here: ⤵️
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: This is how humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Differences between the fireplaces indicate ingenious use
medienportal.univie.ac.at
April 14, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: This is how humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago 🔥🏺
A group of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has now been able to shed some light on the mystery of Ice Age fire. 👨🔬👩🔬
Read more here: ⤵️
A group of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has now been able to shed some light on the mystery of Ice Age fire. 👨🔬👩🔬
Read more here: ⤵️
Yet we already were able to track back such attempts of controlled early (even earlier) #pyrotechnology with the production of #LimePlaster in the Pre-Pottery #Neolithic near East:
www.jstor.org/stable/530304
www.jstor.org/stable/530304
The Beginnings of Pyrotechnology, Part II: Production and Use of Lime and Gypsum Plaster in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic near East on JSTOR
W. David Kingery, Pamela B. Vandiver, Martha Prickett, The Beginnings of Pyrotechnology, Part II: Production and Use of Lime and Gypsum Plaster in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic near East, Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer, 1988), pp. 219-244
www.jstor.org
March 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Yet we already were able to track back such attempts of controlled early (even earlier) #pyrotechnology with the production of #LimePlaster in the Pre-Pottery #Neolithic near East:
www.jstor.org/stable/530304
www.jstor.org/stable/530304
Pyrotechnology: How humans made fire during an Ice Age [via Universitat Wien] 🧪🧊🧍♂️🔥🐅🦕
"humans used wood as their main fuel [in] the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood."
medienportal.univie.ac.at/en/media/rec...
#IceAge #fire #wood #humans #prehistoric #archaeology
"humans used wood as their main fuel [in] the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood."
medienportal.univie.ac.at/en/media/rec...
#IceAge #fire #wood #humans #prehistoric #archaeology
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: This is how humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Differences between the fireplaces indicate ingenious use
medienportal.univie.ac.at
April 15, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Pyrotechnology: How humans made fire during an Ice Age [via Universitat Wien] 🧪🧊🧍♂️🔥🐅🦕
"humans used wood as their main fuel [in] the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood."
medienportal.univie.ac.at/en/media/rec...
#IceAge #fire #wood #humans #prehistoric #archaeology
"humans used wood as their main fuel [in] the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood."
medienportal.univie.ac.at/en/media/rec...
#IceAge #fire #wood #humans #prehistoric #archaeology
Had a fun day producing burnt bone assemblages for my students to start analyzing tomorrow. The archaeological cremains module promises to be fun...with lots of added pyrotechnology.
February 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Had a fun day producing burnt bone assemblages for my students to start analyzing tomorrow. The archaeological cremains module promises to be fun...with lots of added pyrotechnology.
#Neanderthals as chemical engineers? 🧪
A $40,000k-year-old tool from Le Moustier shows they mixed bitumen & ochre for non-sticky grips. This shatters the "Cognitive Rubicon"!
Read my latest Substack post for the full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/deephist...
A $40,000k-year-old tool from Le Moustier shows they mixed bitumen & ochre for non-sticky grips. This shatters the "Cognitive Rubicon"!
Read my latest Substack post for the full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/deephist...
The Chemistry of Cognitive Equality: Neanderthal Pyrotechnology and the Archaeology of Compound Adhesives
Neanderthals weren't just survivors—they were master engineers. Explore the chemistry, pyrotechnology, and cognitive brilliance behind ancient innovation.
open.substack.com
June 6, 2026 at 8:45 AM
#Neanderthals as chemical engineers? 🧪
A $40,000k-year-old tool from Le Moustier shows they mixed bitumen & ochre for non-sticky grips. This shatters the "Cognitive Rubicon"!
Read my latest Substack post for the full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/deephist...
A $40,000k-year-old tool from Le Moustier shows they mixed bitumen & ochre for non-sticky grips. This shatters the "Cognitive Rubicon"!
Read my latest Substack post for the full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/deephist...
🔥❄️ Buzul Çağı’nda gelişmiş ateş teknolojisi: İnsanlar on binlerce yıl önce 600°C'nin üstüne çıkan kontrollü ateşler yakıyordu.
Ukrayna’daki arkeolojik kazılar, 26.500 yıl önce avcı-toplayıcıların odun, kemik ve yağ kullanarak 600°C üstü sıcaklıklara ulaşan ocaklar kurduğunu ortaya koymuş.
Ukrayna’daki arkeolojik kazılar, 26.500 yıl önce avcı-toplayıcıların odun, kemik ve yağ kullanarak 600°C üstü sıcaklıklara ulaşan ocaklar kurduğunu ortaya koymuş.
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: This is how humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Differences between the fireplaces indicate ingenious use
medienportal.univie.ac.at
April 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
🔥❄️ Buzul Çağı’nda gelişmiş ateş teknolojisi: İnsanlar on binlerce yıl önce 600°C'nin üstüne çıkan kontrollü ateşler yakıyordu.
Ukrayna’daki arkeolojik kazılar, 26.500 yıl önce avcı-toplayıcıların odun, kemik ve yağ kullanarak 600°C üstü sıcaklıklara ulaşan ocaklar kurduğunu ortaya koymuş.
Ukrayna’daki arkeolojik kazılar, 26.500 yıl önce avcı-toplayıcıların odun, kemik ve yağ kullanarak 600°C üstü sıcaklıklara ulaşan ocaklar kurduğunu ortaya koymuş.
Pinnacle Point, South Africa (≥164 ka): early H. sapiens heated silcrete in hearths to improve flaking—pyrotechnology for better blades. #PaleoPost #HumanOrigins #MiddleStoneAge #PinnaclePoint
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 30, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Pinnacle Point, South Africa (≥164 ka): early H. sapiens heated silcrete in hearths to improve flaking—pyrotechnology for better blades. #PaleoPost #HumanOrigins #MiddleStoneAge #PinnaclePoint
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Stone tools from a 1981 excavation in Arnhem Land turn out to be the world’s oldest known intentionally heat-treated chert — nearly twice as old as comparable evidence from Europe or East Asia. #Archaeology #HumanEvolution #Paleoanthropology www.anthropology.net/p/the-worlds...
The World’s Oldest Heat-Treated Chert Came from Arnhem Land
Reanalysis of a 1981 stone tool collection from Nauwalabila I shows deliberate chert pyrotechnology in Australia nearly twice as old as any comparable evidence in Eurasia.
www.anthropology.net
May 7, 2026 at 3:49 AM
Stone tools from a 1981 excavation in Arnhem Land turn out to be the world’s oldest known intentionally heat-treated chert — nearly twice as old as comparable evidence from Europe or East Asia. #Archaeology #HumanEvolution #Paleoanthropology www.anthropology.net/p/the-worlds...
📢 #jobopportunity
🚨 Predoctoral Research Staff Position in Neanderthal Fire Use and Pyrotechnology #FIRESPARK (PID2024-157476NA-100)
🔗 More info: bit.ly/4jBsT38
#SomCERCA
🚨 Predoctoral Research Staff Position in Neanderthal Fire Use and Pyrotechnology #FIRESPARK (PID2024-157476NA-100)
🔗 More info: bit.ly/4jBsT38
#SomCERCA
January 8, 2026 at 10:21 AM
📢 #jobopportunity
🚨 Predoctoral Research Staff Position in Neanderthal Fire Use and Pyrotechnology #FIRESPARK (PID2024-157476NA-100)
🔗 More info: bit.ly/4jBsT38
#SomCERCA
🚨 Predoctoral Research Staff Position in Neanderthal Fire Use and Pyrotechnology #FIRESPARK (PID2024-157476NA-100)
🔗 More info: bit.ly/4jBsT38
#SomCERCA
Read the new research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
The Ursoaia Kiln (north-eastern Romania): a benchmark for Chalcolithic specialised pottery production | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Excavated in 2025 at Ursoaia, north-eastern Romania, a Chalcolithic (fifth–fourth millennia BCE) bicameral kiln sets a new benchmark for prehistoric pyrotechnology. Its large working surface exceeds known Cucuteni–Trypillia and most Eurasian Chalcolithic examples, suggesting an intensification of ceramic production and an early shift towards craft specialisation in south-eastern Europe.
doi.org
September 17, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Read the new research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Very happy to have been to attend and share our experimental results at the #dig2025 conference in Tübingen! 🔥❄️ #geoarchaeology, #pyrotechnology, #paleolithic
@veraaldeias.bsky.social @icarehb.bsky.social
@veraaldeias.bsky.social @icarehb.bsky.social
May 25, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Very happy to have been to attend and share our experimental results at the #dig2025 conference in Tübingen! 🔥❄️ #geoarchaeology, #pyrotechnology, #paleolithic
@veraaldeias.bsky.social @icarehb.bsky.social
@veraaldeias.bsky.social @icarehb.bsky.social
Neanderthals were master fire-makers. 🔥
They used chemical catalysts like manganese dioxide to start flames and engineered birch tar glue through complex pyrotechnology. This wasn't just survival; it was chemistry. 🧪
#Paleoanthropology #Neanderthals #DeepHistory #Science
They used chemical catalysts like manganese dioxide to start flames and engineered birch tar glue through complex pyrotechnology. This wasn't just survival; it was chemistry. 🧪
#Paleoanthropology #Neanderthals #DeepHistory #Science
January 13, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Neanderthals were master fire-makers. 🔥
They used chemical catalysts like manganese dioxide to start flames and engineered birch tar glue through complex pyrotechnology. This wasn't just survival; it was chemistry. 🧪
#Paleoanthropology #Neanderthals #DeepHistory #Science
They used chemical catalysts like manganese dioxide to start flames and engineered birch tar glue through complex pyrotechnology. This wasn't just survival; it was chemistry. 🧪
#Paleoanthropology #Neanderthals #DeepHistory #Science
New article about pottery kilns in Iraqi Kurdistan: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Assembling the puzzle pieces: Integrating pottery and kiln analysis to reconstruct pyrotechnology at the Dinka Settlement Complex (Iraqi Kurdistan)
This study offers an integrated analysis of pottery and firing installations, used to investigate ancient pyrotechnology. Such combined approaches rem…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:47 AM
New article about pottery kilns in Iraqi Kurdistan: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The human & hominin presences and chronology in #RisingStar are clearly going to be complex and I am looking forward to seeing what the data says when it is published, since we now have such a huge variety of analyses to choose from in understanding archaeological fire signatures & pyrotechnology.
March 4, 2026 at 4:40 PM
The human & hominin presences and chronology in #RisingStar are clearly going to be complex and I am looking forward to seeing what the data says when it is published, since we now have such a huge variety of analyses to choose from in understanding archaeological fire signatures & pyrotechnology.
Even more: Already in their seminal works on #Neolithic #lime and #gypsum plasters, Kingery et al. (quite fittingly) described this technology as "The Beginnings of #Pyrotechnology" (J. Field Arch. 2(1/2), 1975 + J. Field Arch. 15, 1988):
repository.si.edu/bitstream/ha...
repository.si.edu/bitstream/ha...
repository.si.edu
October 15, 2023 at 1:19 PM
Even more: Already in their seminal works on #Neolithic #lime and #gypsum plasters, Kingery et al. (quite fittingly) described this technology as "The Beginnings of #Pyrotechnology" (J. Field Arch. 2(1/2), 1975 + J. Field Arch. 15, 1988):
repository.si.edu/bitstream/ha...
repository.si.edu/bitstream/ha...
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: How humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: How humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Whether for cooking, heating, as a light source or for making tools—it is assumed that fire was essential for the survival of people in the Ice Age. However, it is puzzling that hardly any well-preser...
phys.org
April 15, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: How humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago
Are we still adhering to the outdated "Cognitive Rubicon" that separates us from Neanderthals? A rigorous look at Middle Paleolithic pyrotechnology suggests it is time to dissolve that boundary.
August 2, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Are we still adhering to the outdated "Cognitive Rubicon" that separates us from Neanderthals? A rigorous look at Middle Paleolithic pyrotechnology suggests it is time to dissolve that boundary.
Very excited to share our new paper on Fire Use during the LGM at Korman'9, Ukraine! Check it out!
#geoarchaeology, #micromorphology, #pyrotechnology, #LGM, #Paleolithic, #archaeology
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#geoarchaeology, #micromorphology, #pyrotechnology, #LGM, #Paleolithic, #archaeology
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Fire Use During the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence From the Epigravettian at Korman' 9, Middle Dniester Valley, Ukraine
The Last Glacial maximum (LGM), spanning from 26.5 to 19 thousand years before present (ka bp), is a period of extreme climatic degradation associated with reduced biomass production and resource str...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Very excited to share our new paper on Fire Use during the LGM at Korman'9, Ukraine! Check it out!
#geoarchaeology, #micromorphology, #pyrotechnology, #LGM, #Paleolithic, #archaeology
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#geoarchaeology, #micromorphology, #pyrotechnology, #LGM, #Paleolithic, #archaeology
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Iron Age potters at Dinka fired low, slow, and together. New research reconstructs an entire production system, showing conservative technology, shared knowledge, and underestimated urban organization in the Zagros. #Archaeology #IronAge #Pyrotechnology #Zagros www.anthropology.net/p/fire-clay-...
Fire, Clay, and the Quiet Discipline of Craft at an Iron Age City in the Zagros
How archaeologists reconstructed a complete pottery production system at Dinka, revealing conservative technologies, shared knowledge & a form of urban organization long underestimated in the Iron Age
www.anthropology.net
December 26, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Iron Age potters at Dinka fired low, slow, and together. New research reconstructs an entire production system, showing conservative technology, shared knowledge, and underestimated urban organization in the Zagros. #Archaeology #IronAge #Pyrotechnology #Zagros www.anthropology.net/p/fire-clay-...
High-quality lime plaster pyrotechnology already existed in the Late Natufian, as seen at Nahal Ein Gev II. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Lime plaster cover of the dead 12,000 years ago – new evidence for the origins of lime plaster technology | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core
Lime plaster cover of the dead 12,000 years ago – new evidence for the origins of lime plaster technology - Volume 1
www.cambridge.org
March 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM
High-quality lime plaster pyrotechnology already existed in the Late Natufian, as seen at Nahal Ein Gev II. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Mastering fire in the Ice Age: how early humans harnessed sophisticated pyrotechnology
Archaeologists have made new discoveries regarding the use of fire during the Ice Age thanks to the discovery and extensive analysis of three prehistoric hearths at Korman’ 9..
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/mast...
Archaeologists have made new discoveries regarding the use of fire during the Ice Age thanks to the discovery and extensive analysis of three prehistoric hearths at Korman’ 9..
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/mast...
April 24, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Mastering fire in the Ice Age: how early humans harnessed sophisticated pyrotechnology
Archaeologists have made new discoveries regarding the use of fire during the Ice Age thanks to the discovery and extensive analysis of three prehistoric hearths at Korman’ 9..
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/mast...
Archaeologists have made new discoveries regarding the use of fire during the Ice Age thanks to the discovery and extensive analysis of three prehistoric hearths at Korman’ 9..
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/mast...