THAT PLACE WHERE I POST THINGS

visitheworld:

El Castillo mayan pyramid at Xunantunich in western Belize (by Tall KiD).

(via architectureofdoom)

Viking Valkyrie

This Valkyrie pendant is based on an original Viking age find from Oland in Sweden, which is now on display at the Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm (image 2 shows the orginal Valkyrie).  In Viking mythology a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja ”chooser of the slain”) was a spirit woman who rode over the battle field. Warriors who were deemed to have died a heroic death were brought by the valkyries to Valhalla, the great feasting hall of the slain, which was ruled over by the god Odin. The pendant is made from pewter by Asgard Crafts and measures circa 37 mm in length by approximately 11 g in weight. It comes ready to wear with a length of black neck tie. 

mediterraneum:

 Tomb of Ramses VI, Egypt.

(via martins-brolly)

archaeologicalnews:

Move over Indiana Jones, there is a new dog in town.

Meet Migaloo the wonder-pup who can sniff out 600-year-old bones more than 2m underground with her sharp sense of smell and keen eye for adventure.

The three-year-old black labrador mix has been hailed as the first archaeology dog in the world.

Owner Gary Jackson found Migaloo at a rescue centre 14 months ago and says they have been inseparable ever since.

“She’s a really special pup. She had the drive we needed for the job and was absolutely ball crazy,” he said.

After only a year on the job, Migaloo already holds the world record for the oldest archaeological find by a dog. Read more.

Now I’m watching a Percy Fawcett documentary and their artistic rendering of the Lost City of Z is the fucking Greek Acropolis just with jungle greenery added

ಠ_ಠ

(via nooby-banana)

roboticonography:

loki-feelsmith:

acquaintedwithrask:

boobsdontworkthatway:

SUBMISSION: bunnyinafez

I’m guessing that boobs didn’t work like that in Ancient Egypt

but idk

Maybe they gave helium breast enlargements

Eh, I’d give the ancient Egyptians a break. They had engineering and astronomy down pat, but bless their souls if they didn’t understand perspective, let alone anatomy.

-Satya

FINALLY, A CHANCE TO USE MY ART HISTORY CLASSES *EYES SPARKLE*

Egyptians actually knew anatomy very well, their style came about because they wanted to represent the human form in the most straightforward way visually possible.  They wanted to show each part of human anatomy in a way that it could be visually understood immediately.  For example, they always draw faces to the side because then you can see and understand that the nose sticks out— something you cannot really ‘get’ when the face is drawn from the front without a lot of shading.  This is why the shoulders are from the front, but legs and, in this case, breasts, are to the side.

The reason they did that, by the way, was because they believed that otherwise the spirit of the person depicted would be left without that body part, or not remember that they had that body part.  Pretty unfortunate when the afterlife was supposed to be like an entirely new life.

What’s really interesting is that this rigid representation was only used for people who mattered.  If you look at how they drew slaves, you will see much more fluidity of the form, and they look much more natural.

AWWW YISS HAVE SOME ARCHAEOLOGY <3

Relief art is limited by the materials and the surface area (and of course the skill of the craftsperson involved). If you look at Egyptian statuary from the same period, you’ll see a much higher degree of realism.

Trends in artistic convention also play a huge part. Egyptian art spans thousands of years and numerous distinct nation-states. To say that “the Egyptians” did a thing is a little like saying “the Americans” wear knee breeches now because some did in the 1700s.

The above relief, if I’m not mistaken, is from the Temple of Kom Ombo, which was built during the Ptolemaic era and shows a heavier influence from Greek and Roman art and architecture styles.

Whereas if you look at the Amarna Period (pictured below, admittedly in and of itself a huge stylistic departure from the established norm) you can actually watch as the figure style changes from very soft and naturalistic to more representative, with emphasis on a unified androgynous appearance. (Why that happened is a whole other story.)

Back to our regularly scheduled nonsense about superheroes shortly.

(via gorgonetta)

motherjones:

mypubliclands:

What does Jurassic Park have to do with public lands? Quite a bit, actually…

Jurassic Park is based on paleontologist’s research analyzing fossils. Our extensive knowledge of dinosaurs wouldn’t be possible without this research, which is conducted by permitted paleontologists and their students. Many of the greatest dinosaur discoveries occur on your public lands in Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and New Mexico!  For example, just outside Cañon City, Colorado discoveries include the first complete skeleton of Allosaurus, the three most complete Stegosaurus skeletons ever found, as well as the first known remains of dinosaurs like Camarasaurus, Ceratosaurus, and Diplodocus.

Of course, the proper preservation and protection of paleontological resources is a vital component of BLM’s Paleontology program and is the reason that the BLM and Universal Studios created these Public Service Announcements back in 1993.  Students and scientists with BLM permits are making new discoveries every year, many of whom became excited about paleontology because of movies such as Jurassic Park. Join the adventure, click here to learn more about fossils on public lands!

—Kyle Sullivan, BLM Colorado

Watch the original PSAs here:

Jeff Goldblum

Laura Dern

Sam Neill

Michael Crichton

Note: license for footage used in these PSAs granted by Universal Studios in June 1993.

Oh man. Whoever is running the Bureau of Land Management Tumblr is doing it right.

archaeologicalnews:

Shark-tooth weapons once used for warfare in the Central Pacific have revealed two locally extinct shark species, a new study says.

Historical records show that natives of the Gilbert Islands, now part of the country of Kiribati, once battled one another using wooden swords, spears, daggers, and other weapons inlaid with the sharp, jagged teeth of local shark species.

By studying 120 such weapons housed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, scientists determined that Gilbert Islanders used teeth from at least 17 shark species in making their weapons.

To their surprise, however, the researchers discovered that two of the species—the spotfin shark and the dusky shark—are no longer found in the reefs off Gilbert Island. Read more.

ancientart:

Figure of a Mayan priest.

Courtesy & currently located at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Photo taken by Wolfgang Sauber