Yes, archaeologists know virtually nothing about the pharaohs, but to paraphrase Miracle Max, there is a big difference between virtually nothing, and nothing at all

The National news website recently published a piece that proclaims that “Archaeologists know virtually nothing about the Pharaohs”, this according to “leading archaeologist John Romer.” On the one hand, of course we know some things about the Pharaohs. We know some of their names, we know when they lived, and we know some of their…

Hopewell airburst event news : Tankersley et al. retreat from comet to asteroid hypothesis

Coming at it from an astrophysical rather than an archaeological perspective, Neuhäuser and Neuhäuser (2022) published a brief but effective critique of Tankersley et al.’s (2022a) paper on the possible destruction of the archaeological Hopewell Culture by a comet airburst about 1600 years ago. Tankersley et al.’s (2022b) have a response, both in Nature Scientific…

Alternatives to the word “mysterious”: A short guide to writing archaeology headlines for media editors

In these slow news days between Christmas and New Year, archaeology often finds itself highlighted in media. This morning, I saw yet another headline for an archaeology story that couldn’t manage to stay away from the word “mysterious”. A mysterious wooden structure, like an apparition at low tide, beckoning us to the deep, just off…

Understanding the visceral reaction to Laura’s Spinney’s History as a giant data set

This week, Laura Spinney covers recent developments in the use of big data in history, the potential it has for illuminating the present, and for helping us prepare for the future. The online reaction from at least some of the history, archaeology, and social science community, has been visceral. Spinney simply ran headlong into the…

Reply to Neil deGrasse Tyson: The past is not inaccessible, and it is worth studying

Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson caused some significant consternation last week among historians and archaeologists by tweeting that “We are prisoners of the present, in perpetual transition from an inaccessible past to an unknowable future”. Reactions from archaeologists and historians were swift and critical. I take this as an opportunity for reflection on questions that we,…