The LA Times tells us (on the front page!) that truffles are a common delicacy in Namibia. Who knew?
Author: Reid Farmer
What Reid is Reading
Well, if Steve can do it I can do it… The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte (I’m a sucker for good historical novels. Don’t miss his Captain Alatriste) The Nature of Paleolithic Art by Dale Guthrie (Steve loves this one, too) Fish on Friday by Brian Fagan (Fagan writes so much so well on archaeology, …
Puppy and a Sunset
I’ve had several inquiries as to the progress our new Aussie puppy Sadie, is making so I thought I would put up a few pictures we took on a beach walk a week ago Friday. She really is growing. She weighed 10 pounds when we picked her up in early February and now she is …
Tulane Commencement
My alma mater, Tulane University in New Orleans, has just held its first commencement since the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina last year so damaged the school’s physical plant that classes were suspended for the fall semester. Two ex-Presidents, Bush and Clinton, delivered a joint commencement address. Not too shabby – but I’m not so sure …
Oldest Observatory in the New World
The LA Times reports the discovery of the oldest celestial observatory yet found in the New World, at the 4200 year-old Buena Vista site, north of Lima, Peru. This “frowning face” marks one of the solstice alignments that have been documented by Bob Benfer of the University of Missouri, atop a pyramid located at the …
Loved to Death
The LA Times also brings the sad report today that the fabulous Peruvian archeological site, Machu Picchu, is showing signs of wear from the thousands of tourists who come to visit it each year. Visits are up since the end of the Sendero Luminoso rebellion. There’s not much you can do to prevent this unless …
Communication with the Future
I found this piece in the LA Times on the burial of radioactive waste in a salt mine in New Mexico fascinating from an anthropological point of view. How do we warn people 100,000 years from now that what is buried in the mine is dangerous? They obviously won’t speak our language and what are …
Prehistoric Dentistry
About the time Kennewick Man was paddling around Washington, people in Pakistan were having their cavities filled.
Doug Owsley on Kennewick Man
Connie and I heard Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution give the after-dinner address at the Society for California Archaeology awards banquet last Friday night in Ventura. He spoke on his work on the taphonomy of the Kennewick Man find, something I posted on in February. It was an interesting and amazingly well-illustrated talk. Not …
Canine Forensics
The Society for California Archaeology is holding their annual meeting in Ventura this week. In conjunction with that, Connie and I attended a presentation last night from the Institute for Canine Forensics. This group trains and promotes the use of dogs to locate dead humans both of recent and long-buried vintage. It is an outgrowth …