Rebecca Dean
@rmdean.bsky.social
Anthropologist (archaeology, biological anth, ecology). Director of Assessment and Data Analytics. Former Michigan diaspora now home but missing Minnesota. UMich grad working at MSU. Never speaks for MSU.
Pinned
Rebecca Dean
@rmdean.bsky.social
· Sep 21
and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
Hey, the excellent Minneapolis arts and culture magazine Racket took down their paywall for the day, so you can go read their coverage of the occupation unhindered. Start here: racketmn.com/voices-of-th...
January 23, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Hey, the excellent Minneapolis arts and culture magazine Racket took down their paywall for the day, so you can go read their coverage of the occupation unhindered. Start here: racketmn.com/voices-of-th...
Gravity? I have too much fluff for gravity.
January 23, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Gravity? I have too much fluff for gravity.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
My new book DOMESTICATED was published today, and I am having all of the emotions. I am proud of this work - and also happy that it is finally out in the world as a fully open access publication.
#SilkRoads #Archaeology #Pastoralism #Eurasia #Asia #Farming #CentralAsia #UniversityofMichigan
#SilkRoads #Archaeology #Pastoralism #Eurasia #Asia #Farming #CentralAsia #UniversityofMichigan
Domesticated: How Cultivated Species Altered Ancient Silk Road Societies
Abstract. Domesticated approaches the past through novel archaeological methods to rewrite the existing narrative of the rise of social complexity in the g
academic.oup.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM
My new book DOMESTICATED was published today, and I am having all of the emotions. I am proud of this work - and also happy that it is finally out in the world as a fully open access publication.
#SilkRoads #Archaeology #Pastoralism #Eurasia #Asia #Farming #CentralAsia #UniversityofMichigan
#SilkRoads #Archaeology #Pastoralism #Eurasia #Asia #Farming #CentralAsia #UniversityofMichigan
I had a dream that a giant blue cockroach had crawled into my ear and got stuck. (This happened to a friend in the field once, it just wasn't blue). I woke with a start and my left ear was clogged because I was lying on it weird. I flicked my head violently and couldn't get back to sleep for hours.
Brains are ridiculous. Boooo
January 23, 2026 at 1:09 PM
I had a dream that a giant blue cockroach had crawled into my ear and got stuck. (This happened to a friend in the field once, it just wasn't blue). I woke with a start and my left ear was clogged because I was lying on it weird. I flicked my head violently and couldn't get back to sleep for hours.
Brains are ridiculous. Boooo
January 23, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Brains are ridiculous. Boooo
In my lifetime, the GOP has gone from "It's Morning in America" to "We're turning the Titanic around so we can sink facing the other direction." 🤷♀️
Vance on the economy:
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
January 22, 2026 at 7:19 PM
In my lifetime, the GOP has gone from "It's Morning in America" to "We're turning the Titanic around so we can sink facing the other direction." 🤷♀️
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
Interested in zooarchaeology and social dynamics in Upper Douro walled enclosures?
Develop your #PhD at #ICArEHB through the #FCT #Fellowships 2026.
More info 👉
www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#Archaeology #Research #Prehistory #ScienceCareers #PhDLife
Develop your #PhD at #ICArEHB through the #FCT #Fellowships 2026.
More info 👉
www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#Archaeology #Research #Prehistory #ScienceCareers #PhDLife
January 22, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Interested in zooarchaeology and social dynamics in Upper Douro walled enclosures?
Develop your #PhD at #ICArEHB through the #FCT #Fellowships 2026.
More info 👉
www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#Archaeology #Research #Prehistory #ScienceCareers #PhDLife
Develop your #PhD at #ICArEHB through the #FCT #Fellowships 2026.
More info 👉
www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#Archaeology #Research #Prehistory #ScienceCareers #PhDLife
My rural MN home still has 56% approval for You Know Who, but he won the election by 62% so…progress? My current county has 36% approval. I love MN but for many reasons I’m glad we moved here.
Today I am publishing what I believe to be the most detailed available map of Trump's job approval rating. Powered by over 12,000 interviews for our Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll. I hope this generates many stories, and hours wasted exploring data!
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-very-det...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-very-det...
A very detailed map of Trump's job approval
Explore our new interactive map of Trump's job approval, powered by 12,000 survey interviews conducted in 2025 and 2026
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:42 PM
My rural MN home still has 56% approval for You Know Who, but he won the election by 62% so…progress? My current county has 36% approval. I love MN but for many reasons I’m glad we moved here.
Liam’s scared little face beneath the blue floppy ears. Renee’s brilliant smile. The soul-burdening weight of these images.
January 22, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Liam’s scared little face beneath the blue floppy ears. Renee’s brilliant smile. The soul-burdening weight of these images.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino is seen deploying a gas canister at Mueller Park in south Minneapolis this afternoon.
Video by Ben Luhmann.
Video by Ben Luhmann.
January 21, 2026 at 11:57 PM
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino is seen deploying a gas canister at Mueller Park in south Minneapolis this afternoon.
Video by Ben Luhmann.
Video by Ben Luhmann.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
Gift article
Preschooler and three other students detained by ICE, school district leader says
The detentions of Columbia Heights students come after weeks of heightened concern and enforcement presence near and on Twin Cities school property.
www.startribune.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Gift article
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
Federal agents pinned a man to the ground in south Minneapolis and sprayed him with chemical irritants directly in the face.
Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii did not witness the man put his hands on agents.
Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii did not witness the man put his hands on agents.
January 22, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Federal agents pinned a man to the ground in south Minneapolis and sprayed him with chemical irritants directly in the face.
Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii did not witness the man put his hands on agents.
Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii did not witness the man put his hands on agents.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
Exquisite. #Archaeology
Something beautiful for the weekend! ✨
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
January 18, 2026 at 12:06 AM
Exquisite. #Archaeology
It's like shame no longer exists.
Karoline Leavitt is denying that Trump mixed up Greenland and Iceland multiple times during his speech today.
January 21, 2026 at 6:02 PM
It's like shame no longer exists.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
It’s not personal. But this is Americans’ responsibility, collectively, even though tens of millions of us made a different choice.
January 21, 2026 at 2:11 PM
It’s not personal. But this is Americans’ responsibility, collectively, even though tens of millions of us made a different choice.
A friend posted a picture on Facebook of 50 people standing in protest on a windswept, snowy, bitterly cold corner in extreme rural Minnesota, a county that voted 60+% for Trump. Mad respect. And, maybe, just a little hope?
January 21, 2026 at 12:27 PM
A friend posted a picture on Facebook of 50 people standing in protest on a windswept, snowy, bitterly cold corner in extreme rural Minnesota, a county that voted 60+% for Trump. Mad respect. And, maybe, just a little hope?
I used the phrase “Cassandra of sanity” to refer to someone’s role on a committee, and I’m absurdly proud of it.
January 21, 2026 at 11:46 AM
I used the phrase “Cassandra of sanity” to refer to someone’s role on a committee, and I’m absurdly proud of it.
Me too, on behalf of everyone (and I mean it’s everyone who lives in these parts) who has tried to drive through Detroit and ended up in Windsor, Ontario.
As someone who got screwed over several times and once even put in danger by mapping apps, I cannot stress enough how much I believe in this person's innocence
“I feel like I am somewhere where rules are not working,” he said in one of his calls from Plymouth. “Maybe in Russia or in Belarus — but I'm not in America.”
Every day, another reminder that the US is the villain in pretty much every story now.
www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...
Every day, another reminder that the US is the villain in pretty much every story now.
www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...
January 20, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Me too, on behalf of everyone (and I mean it’s everyone who lives in these parts) who has tried to drive through Detroit and ended up in Windsor, Ontario.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
I spoke to a friend on the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota board. They need financial donations to keep up with the heightened demand for their services: www.ilcm.org
ILCM is a nonprofit that provides free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in MN & ND
ILCM is a nonprofit that provides free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in MN & ND
Home - Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
www.ilcm.org
January 20, 2026 at 2:58 PM
I spoke to a friend on the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota board. They need financial donations to keep up with the heightened demand for their services: www.ilcm.org
ILCM is a nonprofit that provides free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in MN & ND
ILCM is a nonprofit that provides free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in MN & ND
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
dang, @planetdr.bsky.social, our signal might not be as secure as we thought.
"Attend department potluck; singlehandedly polish off a bottle of wine and start unabashedly on a second."
Action Items On Your Radical Professor’s Liberal Agenda
Figure out pithy and original ways to write the comment “you need to support your claims” in the margins of 72 term papers. - - -Debate how old the...
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 2:55 AM
dang, @planetdr.bsky.social, our signal might not be as secure as we thought.
I don’t do a ton of coding and I’m not very confident in my skills. Recently I’ve asked AI to help. You would not believe the ridiculous Rube Goldberg code it spits back out.
“One notable MIT study found that 95 percent of companies that integrated AI saw zero meaningful growth in revenue. For coding tasks, one of AI’s most widely hyped applications, another study showed that programmers who used AI coding tools actually became slower at their jobs.”
AI Completely Failing to Boost Productivity, Says Top Analyst
AI may or may not excel at a lot of things, but from an economic standpoint, it's definitely not making us more productive.
futurism.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:20 AM
I don’t do a ton of coding and I’m not very confident in my skills. Recently I’ve asked AI to help. You would not believe the ridiculous Rube Goldberg code it spits back out.
Reposted by Rebecca Dean
TIMELINE CLEANSE
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?
January 19, 2026 at 2:13 PM
TIMELINE CLEANSE
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?