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archaeobears.bsky.social
Archaeobears
@archaeobears.bsky.social
260 followers 78 following 67 posts
Follow for info on human-bear interactions, from the ice ages to the present day. Home to #BoxOfficeBears news. #archaeology #history
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archaeobears.bsky.social
Archaeobears @archaeobears.bsky.social · Mar 17
Interested in #earlymodern journeys? Pondering where you might travel with a #bear in early modern England? Wonder no more, here’s our new #BoxOfficeBears paper! We explore the day-to-day London - Gloucester travels of a bearward, + snippets from other places. 🐻📚

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Bear journeys in early modern England
This article offers unprecedented insight into the domestic movements of early modern commercial entertainment producers based on fresh archival and archaeological details about bears and bearwards...
www.tandfonline.com
Reposted by Archaeobears
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
Two mother polar bears and their respective cubs beating a hasty retreat from a large male who had just showed up in the neighborhood. Males are a risk to cubs. #BearSeason2025 #mammals 🌿
November 15, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Something lovely for the weekend!

Magical amber animals from the Mesolithic. Carved between 10,000-7,000 years ago.

Amber can generate static electricity⚡️ For their ancient owners, these small animals could give off sparks in the dark and make hair stand on end, as if by magic✨
📷 me

#Archaeology
My photo collage shows four images of small animal figurines carved from amber during the Danish Mesolithic period. Top left: profile photo of the head, neck, and part of the front torso of an animal (bear?) facing left. Carved from deep orange amber. Found at Bølling Sø (lake) Central Jutland, Denmark. Top right: small almost complete figurine of an amber bear seen in profile facing right. The lower legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle and mouth are defined. Carved from translucent orange amber. Washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark. Bottom left: small figurine in the shape of a bear(?) carved from dark orange amber. It is known asvthe Resen Bear. There is fine incised geometric ornamentation on the body. Found in a bog at Resen, Denmark. Bottom left: bright orange amber animal head shown in profile facing left. Found in 1952 at Egemarke in Denmark, it is known as the Egemarke Elk. It is decorated with incised bands of closely aligned parallel zig-zag lines. There are two circular perforations at the bottom of the neck. All on display at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
November 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Archaeobears
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
One of my favourite polar bear photos I've taken to date. It was a weird, misty evening with just a sliver of sunlight coming through the fog, lighting up this bear on the rocks just outside of town. #mammals 🌿 #BearSeason2025
A lone polar bear picks its way over a ridge of rounded grey rocks in dim, muted sunlight of late afternoon
November 1, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Roman glass cups with colourful enamel decoration of animals from the Roman arena. AD 200s.

Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
My photo collage shows four images of Roman-era clear-glass cups painted with colourful enamel decoration depicting animals from the Roman Arena. Known as ‘circus cups’, fourteen of which have been found in richly-furnished ‘princely’ graves in Denmark. Dated AD 200s. The top two images show two sides of the same cup. Top left: a brown lion with shaggy mane, its front and rear legs outstretched as if running at full speed. Top right: a green spotted leopard. Out of shot, a blue goat is being hunted down by the lion and the leopard. Bottom left: fragmentary glass cup decorated with a light brown lion with shaggy mane. Nose and lips outlined in black. Bottom right: image of a gladiator with green leggings and blue shield, and in front of him a large brown bear.
October 31, 2025 at 4:38 PM
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secondnaturemb.bsky.social
When you're hungry, but Mom doesn't want to wake up.
#BearSeason #Mammals 🌿🐻‍❄️
A momma polar bear sleeps curled up in a small patch of willows on the rocky tundra. Her cub sits behind her, leaning their head on her side. A momma polar bear sleeps curled up in a small patch of willows on the rocky tundra. Her cub sits behind her, leaning their head on her side and dozing lightly.
October 31, 2025 at 3:56 PM
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uonclassarch.bsky.social
We’re going - are you? Come and find out more about #archaeology and why it’s one of the best subjects ever @uniarchday.bsky.social in London on Oct 27th. 🧪🏺🔬🦴
uniarchday.bsky.social University Archaeology Day @uniarchday.bsky.social · Oct 22
Also present next week will be our colleagues from @uonclassarch.bsky.social at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social! Snap up some of the last few tickets for in-person attendance or register for the livestream of the panel events here: linktr.ee/University_A...
Image shows a young man in a checked shirt looking into a microscope and typing on his computer in a lab space. The image advertises the presence of the University of Nottingham at University Archaeology Day on the 27th October. The QR code in the top right links a website where free tickets can be booked for the event.
October 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
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callanjd.bsky.social
I'm delighted, grateful, and a little dazed to be among this year's Philip Leverhulme Prize winners @leverhulme.ac.uk, and among such excellent company.
A little more on my research hopes at the @unisouthampton.bsky.social press release: www.southampton.ac.uk/humanities/n...
October 21, 2025 at 8:25 AM
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richardosgood.bsky.social
#inktober2025 11)Sting. Quick one today as I’ve been out at a lovely folklore, art and archaeology session. Everything is about balancing risk and reward - for every sting there is the chance of honey!🍯
Sketch of a bear eating a honeycomb with a bee poised to sting it on the nose
October 11, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
oispooky.bsky.social
Sorry, bear emoji explainer:

Hezekiah Moscow was also a bear tamer 👍🏻
October 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
archaeobears.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Boki the bear gets mice cake to celebrate brain surgery milestone
Keepers in Kent say the operation was a
www.bbc.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
antiquity.ac.uk
Plan of the #Roman amphitheatre of Viminacium, Serbia. Discovery and analysis of brown bear remains here indicate bears were captured nearby and forced to fight for entertainment.

(£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
Plan of a round amphitheatre structure with several rectilinear buildings surrounding it. An insert shows a photograph of one of these buildings after excavation.
October 3, 2025 at 7:13 AM
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alexanderglass.bsky.social
Corporal Wojtek of the Polish army, WW2, with human friend.
A Polish soldier in WW2 with a seated brown bear.
October 2, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Reposted by Archaeobears
stephenmcgann.uk
Part of a photo study entitled 'Amphetamine bears of Poplar'
September 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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ibabearbiology.bsky.social
Did you know? 💭
Sloth bears have several adaptations for a myrmecophagous lifestyle, meaning they eat mostly ants and termites.
Check out our species pages and explore the fascinating adaptations of all 8 bear species: www.bearbiology.org/the-eight-be...
*References in alt-text*
#slothbear
Close-up image of a sloth bear’s face with “did you know?” fact at the bottom. Same image of sloth bear with text overlaid, describing the sloth bear’s adaptations. References: 1. Servheen, C., S. Herrero, and B. Peyton. 1999. Bears: Status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 2. Mewada, T., and N. Dharaiya. 2010. Seasonal dietary composition of sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in the reserve forest of Vijaynagar, north Gujarat, India. Tigerpaper 37(2):8–13 3. Swenson. J. E., A. Jansson, R. Riig, and F. Sandegren. 1999. Bear and ants: myrmecophagy by brown bears in central Scandinavia. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:551–561. doi: 10.1139/z99-004 4. Davidar, E.R.C. 1983. Sloth bear’s (Melursus ursinus) method of hunting for termite nests. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 80:637. 5. Melursus ursinus (Sloth bear) (webpage). International Association for Bear Research and Management.
September 7, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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bear-conservation.bsky.social
Spotlight on Europe’s rarest bear: global conference in the Central Apennines

Steps taken to help people share space with bears in the Central Apennines of Italy mean the future of the Marsican brown bear now looks brighter.

rewildingeurope.com/news/spotlig...
Spotlight on Europe’s rarest bear: global conference in the Central Apennines | Rewilding Europe
Steps taken to help people share space with bears in the Central Apennines of Italy mean the future of the Marsican brown bear now looks brighter. In 2026, an event in the Central Apennines rewilding…
rewildingeurope.com
August 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
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beccyscottuk.bsky.social
This is a really neat bit of work on Bankside as an entertainment space, based on years of painstaking professional excavation. A hard read for a dog-lover, but fascinating nonetheless www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
What does a bear-baiting assemblage look like? Interdisciplinary analysis of an Early Modern ‘sport’ | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
What does a bear-baiting assemblage look like? Interdisciplinary analysis of an Early Modern ‘sport’ - Volume 99 Issue 404
www.cambridge.org
August 28, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
toriherridge.bsky.social
🏺🧪🐻

Cool stuff from the @archaeobears.bsky.social crew

#BoxOfficeBears
August 28, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
antiquity.ac.uk
What was life like for the animals that fought in the amphitheatres of the #Roman Empire? New research tells the story of a fighting bear from Roman Serbia.

Learn more (£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
September 3, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by Archaeobears
downham.bsky.social
A selection of finds from the Viking camp at Aldwark in the collection of NW Heritage CIC. Note the bear face on the left - looks Roman/Byzantine? #medievalsky #york Viking North Exhibition
July 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
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ruthfcarden.bsky.social
Day 4

“All by myself …”🎶🎤

Everyone working hard in the cave in various areas…

A few bear and reindeer bones coming out today…

#Castlepookcave #CSG #PALAEOIreland #IrishCaveBones
#cavearchaeology
@ria.ie
@researchireland.ie
🏺
July 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
archaeobears.bsky.social
A fabulous English sampler dated 1598 and showing a muzzled bear and a large dog. Bears are really unusual motifs on samplers - here the V&A say they’re related to heraldry. H/t @isabellarosner.bsky.social on instagram. collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/...
Sampler | Jane Bostocke | V&A Explore The Collections
Sampler of embroidered linen with coloured silk and metal threads, seed pearls and beads, made by Jane Bostocke, England, dated 1598.
collections.vam.ac.uk
July 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
archaeobears.bsky.social
A fabulous English sampler dated 1598 and showing a muzzled bear and a large dog. Bears are really unusual motifs on samplers - here the V&A say they’re related to heraldry. H/t @isabellarosner.bsky.social on instagram. collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/...
Sampler | Jane Bostocke | V&A Explore The Collections
Sampler of embroidered linen with coloured silk and metal threads, seed pearls and beads, made by Jane Bostocke, England, dated 1598.
collections.vam.ac.uk
July 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Archaeobears
palaeohan.bsky.social
I really enjoyed meeting the @suttontrust.bsky.social students @uniofnottingham.bsky.social today and sharing the wonder of #archaeology. I suspect they now know more about 🐻 than they ever thought they would.
July 7, 2025 at 8:40 PM
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joshlukedavis.com
"Dima had leapt from the bank onto the bear, dispatching her with a single bite to the nape of her neck, almost before she was even aware of his presence."

Wild recount of tigers predating bears 🤯🧪🐯
jonathanslaght.com Jonathan C Slaght @jonathanslaght.com · Jun 26
compelling 2022 blog post by John Goodrich--who is in my tiger book--writing about Dima, an Amur tiger with a penchant for killing brown bears:
panthera.org/blog-post/da...
Amur tiger looking up. Photograph (c) John Goodrich/Panthera
July 4, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Archaeobears
antiquity.ac.uk
The theatre wasn't the only form of entertainment in Elizabethan England, though. Just down the road from the Globe were several 'bear gardens', where the unpleasant (but popular) 'sport' of bear baiting was staged 2/2

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

@archaeobears.bsky.social‬ #BoxOfficeBears
Map of Bankside in London, showing the locations of the Rose and Globe theatres and four bear gardens, all within a few streets of each other.
June 29, 2025 at 10:01 AM