Except for the Arch and the free museum in its basement, I’ve never been to downtown St. Louis in the nearly ten years I’ve been in Missouri. The week of the SAA meeting, I made up for lost time by spending most of my days there. Getting downtown from my… Read more“SAA, Part 2”
Category: anthropology
SAA, Part 1.5
Another trend I noticed in the presentations at the SAAs was the prevalence of Google Maps and Earth. While a Google Earth image will appear in my dissertation, I’m sticking with the tried-and-true drawing for my site-locating needs. A drawing allows me to filter out irrelevant details, like clouds and… Read more“SAA, Part 1.5”
SAA, Part 1
Last weekend I had a fantastic time at the SAA meeting in St. Louis. It’s taken me a while to collect my thoughts (also: dissertation) but I’m ready to start spilling. For this first post on the topic, let’s talk about talks. The actual conference was a extremely positive experience…. Read more“SAA, Part 1”
It’s Business Time
I’m making last minute preparations to go to the annual SAA meeting. This time it’s at convenient St. Louis. A friend had some good advice: business cards! So I’ve spent some time last night (until 1AM) and this morning making them fabulous: Following comics tradition there are variants to collect!… Read more“It’s Business Time”
American Museum of Natural History
When I went with my family to New York I had to see the American Museum of Natural History again. I was where over a decade ago and it had a large role in developing my love of biology, and later, anthropology. A lot of the classic exhibits haven’t changed,… Read more“American Museum of Natural History”
What is man’s greatest achievement?
So posits CNN. Ignoring the sexist wording, my answer is culture. Culture, shared and learned behavior, allowed humans to adapt rapidly to their environment in a way far more efficient and responsive than natural selection. The accumulation of these shared behaviors across generations leads to the other common answers as… Read more“What is man’s greatest achievement?”
The Answer is “Both”
“First, arguing over the extent to which nature or nurture is responsible for cross-cultural regularities, such as the apparent long-standing dominance of males as perpetrators and victims of violent acts, is a sterile exercise. The question makes no more sense than arguing about whether the length or the width of… Read more“The Answer is “Both””
LOLs from the Past
I’m still typing up the data the field school and I collected two summers ago. I’m almost done though! Since I originally wrote these notes a so long ago I smile at some of the things I put in. Some of my notes include: “Biggest. Guy. Ever.”“Cannot do. Oops, NVM!”“Teeth… Read more“LOLs from the Past”
Erectus Disfunction
As I work on my dissertation tonight I’m also viewing some educational Netflix. Tonight’s showing: Before We Ruled the Earth: Hunt or Be Hunted. They had a dramatization of H. erectus failing to hunt elk because their torches (used to scare the elk) went out in the moist air. I… Read more“Erectus Disfunction”
I Knew It!
Why am I writing about agriculture? It’s a long story that started at my first blog, kccomics.com. In May 2002 I was in a sciency mood. I was thinking about evolution. I was taught that group evolution doesn’t exist, natural selection occurs on the individual level and individuals don’t give… Read more“I Knew It!”