Catherine Frieman
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cjfrieman.bsky.social
Catherine Frieman
@cjfrieman.bsky.social

D.Phil. Archaeologist. Co-Editor Current Anthropology. Previously Editor European Journal of Archaeology. Educator. Tattoo Enthusiast. World Traveller. Accident Prone.

Catherine J. Frieman is an archaeologist and associate professor at the Australian National University. Her research investigates conservatism and innovation, and she is a specialist in material culture and technology. .. more

History 25%
Environmental science 16%
Pinned
A reminder we’re accepting abstracts and registrations for the first #AusTAG conference to be held 22-23 May in Adelaide.

Call for Papers: austag.org/2025/11/04/a...

Registration: events.humanitix.com/austag-confe...

Can’t wait to see a bunch of archaeology folks there!
Call for Papers: AusTAG 2026
Submit an abstract to the first ever Australian Theoretical Archaeology Group (AusTAG), to be held at Adelaide University!
austag.org
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/
My sole sports hot take is there isn't a ballsport that couldn't be improved, from a spectating perspective, by the introduction of an additional ball
One of those slightly ‘get it in the neck from all sides’ positions but @artscouncilengland.bsky.social is looking for a new Chair. £60k / 2 days a week
apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9064
Appointment details – Chair - Arts Council England – Apply for a public appointment – GOV.UK
apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk

Oh this is absurdly cool
We sequenced #ancientRNA from an 18th-Century human lung and recovered a rhinovirus genome. Take a look at our preprint. Feedback welcome.
Excited to share our work on #AncientRNA from alcohol-preserved lungs, recovering the oldest human RNA virus genome (an 18th-century rhinovirus). Our study shows that viral RNA remnants persist in centuries-old tissue, opening new ways to study virus evolution and historical disease #Paleovirology🫁🦠
“Misfeasance in public office claims are extraordinarily difficult to make out, because of the high legal standard required. That makes this a very significant decision and may provide guidance for plaintiffs in future misfeasance claims." satpa.pe/vLMFB6u
Exclusive: Misfeasance case paves way for robodebt action
A damning judgement of ‘highhandedness or cynical disregard’ by the Medicare watchdog has established a new front for civil litigation of public servants named in the robodebt royal commission.
satpa.pe
We have a new paper out in Rapid Comms in Mass Spectrometry about 14C dating bone using a minimally destructive approach.
analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Minimally Destructive Radiocarbon Dating of Bone
Rationale Bone is commonly used in radiocarbon dating in archaeology and other disciplines. Despite advances in collagen extraction protocols, the process remains destructive, requiring sawing, dril.....
analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Glass Onion knew what they were doing when they were like "we have to make this billionaire use the wrong words trying to sound smart"
We sequenced #ancientRNA from an 18th-Century human lung and recovered a rhinovirus genome. Take a look at our preprint. Feedback welcome.
Excited to share our work on #AncientRNA from alcohol-preserved lungs, recovering the oldest human RNA virus genome (an 18th-century rhinovirus). Our study shows that viral RNA remnants persist in centuries-old tissue, opening new ways to study virus evolution and historical disease #Paleovirology🫁🦠
www.biorxiv.org
Jet Necklace • Derry

This is part of a c.4000 year old necklace made of jet found at Cumber, County Derry.

The jet is likely to have come from Northern England, showing trade links across the Irish Sea in the Bronze Age.

You can see this wonderful artefact in the National Museum of Ireland.
Excited to share the new Steering Committee of PAASTA 🎉
An ECR-driven community working to foster an open, inclusive, and collaborative space for palaeoproteomics researchers worldwide.
Looking forward to building and growing this community together 🧬
New archaeological analysis of the bronzetti figurines of Sardinia has changed the picture of copper in the Bronze Age: The Nuragic people who lived on the island may have traded the metal as far as Scandinavia.

archaeology.org/issues/january-february-2026/artifacts/sardinian-bronze-figurines/
Nice bit of weekend reading!

FOUR (3 are open access) papers have been released in PPS this week!

Including - hillforts, axeheads, the Bronze Age fens and human remains from Wood Bone Cave in Cumbria.

#Archaeology #Prehistory

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
FirstView articles | Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society | Cambridge Core
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society - Daniela Hofmann, Susan Greaney, Courtney Nimura
www.cambridge.org
Pagans is coming to a @waterstones.bsky.social near you! Yes, @jamesbluecat.bsky.social is off on a tour of the country (from Truro to Glasgow, no less, and with more dates to be confirmed!). Events are limited capacity, so get your tickets asap: www.waterstones.com/events/searc...

This is pretty comprehensive
The Foo Fighters’ AIDS denialism should be on the record
By Martin McKenzie-Murray in The Monthly
medium.com
Does anybody know anybody who might be able to link me into resources on loanwords or comparative phonology and phonotactics of sign languages? Disabled Sailing is looking at building a standard sailing-related vocab for Deaf sailors.

There's that Cretaceous chalk again... hard not to look at these maps of vaccination uptake and measels risk without seeing more traces of the long impact of slavery and the deeply entrenched social and economic inequality we've not yet fixed

Australians! Send us your abstracts!
Austag Call for papers extended to 15 Feb!

Call for Papers: austag.org/2025/11/04/a...

Please also register – right now we don’t have enough registrations to cover costs and we’ll have to cancel if that stays true, so please register now!

Registration: austag.org/conference-r...
Call for Papers: AusTAG 2026
Submit an abstract to the first ever Australian Theoretical Archaeology Group (AusTAG), to be held at Adelaide University!
austag.org
Hot off the press!!
Link to our new paper on the rodents from a 40,000-2,000 years old site in Timor-Leste. Open Access 👇🏽🐀🐹

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Biometric Analysis of Giant and Large Murid Remains From Matja Kuru 2, Timor‐Leste
Published research on Matja Kuru 2 (MK2) demonstrates its significance for understanding human lifestyle during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. Murids represent the most commonly identified ta....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Austag Call for papers extended to 15 Feb!

Call for Papers: austag.org/2025/11/04/a...

Please also register – right now we don’t have enough registrations to cover costs and we’ll have to cancel if that stays true, so please register now!

Registration: austag.org/conference-r...
Call for Papers: AusTAG 2026
Submit an abstract to the first ever Australian Theoretical Archaeology Group (AusTAG), to be held at Adelaide University!
austag.org
Happy Sex Matters losing two cases in one day despite being funded by billionaires to all who celebrate
This watermark graffiti by street artist Mathieu Tremblin is, like, the best thing ever.
When AI “hallucinates,” what’s really happening between the lines of code? Scholar @shirachess.bsky.social compares AI to a dybbuk — a trapped spirit waiting to escape. Silicon Valley’s own myths only fuel the unease:
A Demon in a Box? Unspooling the Dark Mythology of AI
Tech titans keep imbuing AI with spiritual significance. The question is whether they’re building a savior — or a world-eating leviathan.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
📣 Work with us! 📣

The McDonald Institute invites applications for the eighth Renfrew Fellowship in archaeology. Named in honour of the Institute's founding Director, Professor Colin Renfrew.

📅 Closing date: 27 February 2026
👉 More info here: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/renfrew...
Renfrew Fellow (Fixed Term)
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance. The McDonald Institute invites applications for the eighth Renfrew Fellowship in archaeology. Named in honour of
www.cam.ac.uk

Boston (grew up) - yes
Canberra (now) - yes
half of all tech news lately is some variation of "the computer company has discontinued their well known product, the computer"
🚨 Job alert! The University of Tübingen announces a W3 (Full) Professorship in Early Hominin Evolution in the framework of the DFG Cluster of Excellence 'HUMAN ORIGINS':

uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Application deadline: 11.03.2026 🚨

Do it!!!

This would make a gorgeous pair of Archaeology tattoos
This complete antler or bone artefact was discovered in a ditch forming part of a Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon enclosure system at Trumpington Meadows. It is decorated on both broad faces and is likely to have been used as a pendant. More in Riversides: buff.ly/cGoGcBf