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Social history (including human origins and later prehistory), Page 2

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A postcard from Africa 4

Sadly this is my last postcard from Africa. We had a quiet weekend reading and discussing various plans for the future. Today (Monday 5th) on the other hand was a busy one. Pastory, James and I had a productive meeting this morning with colleagues and collaborators from the National Museum. @JamesColeArch with a Large LCT at the National Museum in Dar. This afternoon was another memorable one. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A postcard from Africa 3

Today (Thursday 1st May) is a national holiday in Tanzania so James and I had a more relaxed day visiting the galleries of the National Museum of Tanzania. The museum is an impressive place with really up to date galleries on human evolution and rock art. I took a lot of photos which will make their way into my lectures. The ethnographic collection also impressed me with the range and variety of material on display, reflecting Tanzania’s rich cultural heritage both past and present. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A Postcard from Africa

Saturday was a really memorable day. We finally got to see the Isimila Acheulean site. I’d been reading about it for decades so I was very excited and James, who told me he had been literally dreaming about the place for years, was like a kid on Christmas Eve. It’s the rainy season at the moment and Tanzania is very green, particularly in the highlands. The mountains and kopjes are blanketed in forest and dense thorn bush. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr John McNabb

A few months ago CAHO was invited to form a collaboration through Dr James Cole of the University of Brighton (James is a CAHO alumni) and Dr Pastory Bushozi of the University of Dar-es-Salaam. The project is to re-examine the famous Acheulean site of Isimila in Tanzania. Picture taken from Dr James Cole twitter feed (@JamesColeArch) So James and I flew out on the 23rd of April to meet Pastory and to plan our campaign at Isimila. Continue reading →

Scanning the Folkton Drums

I am currently working on a project looking at the art of portable Neolithic artefacts from Britain and Ireland. One of the remarkable findings so far is the degree to which markings on these artefacts have been erased and reworked. This is especially true of chalk artefacts. These processes of reworking provide important information about craft techniques, and the significance of art and imagery in this period of prehistory. Continue reading →

Baker’s Hole Palaeolithic site: new work

I'm happy to report an award of a grant from English Heritage to conduct a field survey of this important Palaeolithic site. I will be leading the project, which follows from a preliminary survey supported by Natural England which established that the site was currently in poor condition, leading to it being placed on the national register of Monuments at Risk. The site is unusual in being statutorily protected both as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Continue reading →

The Evolutionary Uses of Imagination

I have just published a post on fifteeneightyfour, the blog of Cambridge University Press. Here is a taster. You can read the remainder via the link at the bottom. Why are we so imaginative? What possible use is there in passing through the looking-glass with Alice or supposing that the moon is inhabited by creatures with aerials growing out of their heads? These are some of the wilder flights of our imagination and not shared by everyone. Continue reading →