Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · 3h

No archaeologists.🏺

Large sign posted in a barren rocky part of Oklahoma stating "No Trespassing. No hunting. No arrowhead hunting. No firewood or post cutting. no park ranger or ex-park ranger. No Forrest Rangers. No Archaeologists. No Universities. No Birding. No Biologists. No Conservatists. No Rabid Enironmentalists."

Spelling is per sign.

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · 4h

Truth - Child Welfare - Economic Development - Gender - Land - Media

Indigenous writers on the TRC Calls to Action, 10 years later. 🇨🇦

thewalrus.ca/truth-and-re...

The Truth of Reconciliation | The Walrus

The TRC report, released in 2015, laid out ninety-four clear Calls to Action. Ten years later, Indigenous writers reflect on what has and hasn’t been achieved

thewalrus.ca

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · 8d

"Cordes knew that anytime a code was written, a new algorithm developed or a cryptocurrency exchanged, there was a new chance to encode Indigenous epistemology." #AI #Indigenous #highered

thetyee.ca/Culture/2025...

Ashley Cordes Is Indigenizing the Algorithm | The Tyee

AI, cryptocurrency and other tech are known for their disruptive potential. But an Indigenous media scholar insists they can also be systems of abundance.

thetyee.ca

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · 19d

#unexpectedprimatology #downfall 🦍🦧🐒

Scene from the movie Downfall, in which Hitler says “and what applies to spies must definitely apply to humans”

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 3

Excellent brief review of the process which led to the recent Cowichan land claims court decision, by noted scholar of Indigenous:Crown legal relationships, Professor Hamar Foster

www.timescolonist.com/opinion/comm...

Comment: Cowichan land decision was a long time coming

The reckoning it represents is the product of decades of ignoring a constitutional obligation that pre-dates section 35 of the 1982 Constitution.

www.timescolonist.com

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 2

Full article (Open Access) by Longo et al here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... (and yes they tested the archaeological Indigo was not shed by excavators' blue jeans) 🏺👖

Direct evidence for processing Isatis tinctoria L., a non-nutritional plant, 32–34,000 years ago

Recovering evidence for the intentional use of plants in the Palaeolithic is challenging due to their perishable nature as, unlike chipped stone or bone artefacts, plant remains are rarely preserved. ...

journals.plos.org

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 2

Traces of blue Indigo, derived from inedible plants (e.g., Woad), at a 34,000 year old site in the Caucasus points to very early plant-based dyes and pigments. Article includes nice video of replicative experiments. phys.org/news/2025-09... 🏺

Traces of blue indigo on 34,000-year-old grinding tools suggest new Paleolithic plant use scenarios

An international research team coordinated by Ca' Foscari University of Venice has identified the presence of indigotin—a blue dye compound—on stone pebbles dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. This ...

phys.org

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 2

Canadian geoscientists are planning to revise formal geological unit names to eliminate culturally insensitive or offensive terms. Open Access. cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.... 🏺⚒️

Screenshot of text from article, reading: Some geological units named in the past have, unfortunately, utilized toponyms that are now considered culturally offensive or otherwise inappropriate. Although the Code, in Articles 17–20, provides substantial guidance on the revision or abandonment of existing formal stratigraphic names, until recently it did not address the problem of offensive unit names. Despite what would now be considered inappropriate nomenclature, such units remain scientifically valid. For example, in northern New Brunswick the name “Squ*w Cap” had long been used for a mountain and a nearby community, and has also been applied to an intrusive unit of rock, the “Squ*w Cap Felsite”, which crops out in the area (e.g., Wilson et al. 2004). The word “squ*w” is now widely seen as a slur against Indigenous women and girls due to racialized, sexist, and denigrating connotations and ties to European colonization (Bright 2000; King 2003; U.S. Department of Interior 2022). Accordingly, official efforts have resulted in changes to the geographic names, as Meto'mqwijuig Mountain and the community of Evergreen (Cox 2023; Urquhart 2023). These welcome changes do not, however, affect the validity of the name of the felsite unit as the Code emphasizes (Article 7, Remark d) that the renaming of a geographic feature does not affect a formal geological unit that is named after it. The New Brunswick Geological Surveys Branch is, however, currently undertaking steps as outlined below to change the associated unit name (D. Dahn, personal communication, 2025).

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 2

Correction: smelting began in 1889, lead isotopes spike dramatically in 1891.

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 2

The 1891 opening of Port Pirie / Broken Hill lead mine and Smelter in South Australia showed up almost immediately in Antarctic Ice. theconversation.com/lead-polluti... #anthropocene

Grap showing that 1891 opening of Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia almost immediately shows up as lead isotopes deposited in Antarctic ice cap.

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Sep 1

Over-reliance on International students for cynical financial reasons (high tuition) was administrative malpractice at BC Universities, yet the consequences are falling only on faculty and staff.

www.timescolonist.com/local-news/w...

'Wake-up call': Decline of international students forces layoffs, program suspensions at B.C. schools

The University of Victoria, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and Langara College have reported international enrolment declines of as much as 60 per cen...

www.timescolonist.com

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 29

Archaeology of Skateboarding at Kelvin Wheelies in Glasgow. More info here: www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a... 🏺🛹

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 28

Original article Fritz et al 2021 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (open access I think). Captions for the figures below are in the alt text. 🏺 🎵🐚 #archaeology

Fig. 1 Marine shell of Charonia lampas from Marsoulas cave (France).
(A) Side view. (B) Front view and naming of the anatomical areas. (C) Vestiges of red pigment preserved on the columella (image enhanced with Dstretch-rgb0). (D) Tracing of red dots and lines visible on the enhanced photo. Very similar red dots, produced with the fingertips, are present on the walls of the cave. (5) Set of red dots forming a bison silhouette (length, 1.10 m). (6) Geometric sign formed by a double line of dots. [Photos (A to C, E, and F): C. Fritz; drawing (D): G. Tosello.]

$Fig. 2 The Charonia shell bears the traces of important modifications of human origin. (A) Elimination of the labrum (outer lip) by series of strokes. (B) Opening of the apex by destruction of the first six spires. (C) In top view, the chipped edge of the mouth indicates a summary work. (D) A deposit of brownish organic matter covers the fractured edge of the apex. [Photos (A to D): C. Fritz.]$

Fig. 3 The Charonia, wind instrument.
(A) Sagittal section of the three-dimensional (3D) model of the shell that makes it possible to visualize the hole drilled at the level of the sixth spire (after opening the apex; see Fig. 2), probably to introduce a tube to facilitate the fitting of a mouthpiece. (B) Detail of the circular perforation drilled from the apex. The streaks on the edge are due to a skidding tool. (C) Top view of the 3D model showing the perforation. (D) Three-dimensional (3D) cross section at the level of the seventh spire. (E) The conch of Marsoulas in its Magdalenian context (hypothetical restitution). (F) Conch from Southeast Asia, the mouth of which is covered with a black coating, intended to protect the lips of the blower. (G and H) Conch from Syria and detail of its chipped mouth, close to that of Marsoulas. (I and J) Conch from New Zealand and its mouthpiece made of a decorated bone tube. [3D model captures (A to D): C. Fritz; drawing (E): G. Tosello; photos (F to J): Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac/E. Kasarhérou.]

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 28

This older article is making the rounds again via @kottke.org - interesting that once again a spectacular find was languishing on museum shelves, this time for 90 years. Gift link. 🏺 🎵🐚 #archaeology

www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/s...

Hear the Sound of a Seashell Horn Found in an Ancient French Cave (Published 2021)

www.nytimes.com

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 5

So casual: "Stories of murders passed down by Yamatji elders confirmed by cipher hidden in 1850s journals of prominent Western Australian pastoralist Major Logue. Now descendants on both sides want to break the shame and silence." @b-thom.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Screenshot of the original diary showing how cursive writing turns into an angular rune-like code when murders are described.

Text and encoded message describing murder of Aboriginal men in 1852, Western Australia.

4 April 1852

Started after breakfast and accompanied by Carsons we pushed in search of the natives who had taken the cattle saw smoke about 2 miles from Walkaway reached within a mile of it… proceeded from a native encampment tied up our horses in a thicket as the [ground] was very rough and crawled on our hands and knees within 200 yards when the natives saw us and scattered

FIRED BOTH BARRELS OF MY GUN AND WOUNDED ONE FELLOW IN THE RUMP. THOMSON AND DICKY SHOT ONE DEAD

There are 11 coded diary entries between 1851 and 1853 that describe shooting and killing people; witnessing others in his employ doing the shooting; going on a “campaign” to kill natives; and later riding over the “battlefield” and seeing the bodies of those he had killed lying dead or “hastily buried”.

By his own account he was part of groups who shot and killed at least 19 Yamatji people around what is now called Ellendale, Walkaway and the Greenough River.

Text and translated code of 1852 journal entry describing the murders:

4 April 1852

Started after breakfast and accompanied by Carsons we pushed in search of the natives who had taken the cattle saw smoke about 2 miles from Walkaway reached within a mile of it… proceeded from a native encampment tied up our horses in a thicket as the [ground] was very rough and crawled on our hands and knees within 200 yards when the natives saw us and scattered

FIRED BOTH BARRELS OF MY GUN AND WOUNDED ONE FELLOW IN THE RUMP. THOMSON AND DICKY SHOT ONE DEAD

There are 11 coded diary entries between 1851 and 1853 that describe shooting and killing people; witnessing others in his employ doing the shooting; going on a “campaign” to kill natives; and later riding over the “battlefield” and seeing the bodies of those he had killed lying dead or “hastily buried”.

By his own account he was part of groups who shot and killed at least 19 Yamatji people around what is now called Ellendale, Walkaway and the Greenough River.

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 1

Read the entire article in the Journal of False Advertising (open access) #oa @currentbiology.bsky.social

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Evolutionary Trade-Off between Vocal Tract and Testes Dimensions in Howler Monkeys

Males often face a trade-off between pre- and postcopulatory investments for reproduction. Dunn et al. report the first evidence for a trade-off between vocal investment and sperm production—howler mo...

www.cell.com

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Aug 1

"... in a beautiful twist of expectations, scientists have now found that the louder the monkey’s calls, the smaller the monkey’s balls."🐒🏑 #primatology #anthropology

www.vice.com/en/article/t...

The Louder the Monkey, the Smaller Its Balls, Study Finds

Howler monkeys can be well-endowed in the voice box or the family jewels, but not both.

www.vice.com

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 31

And so.... someone was wrong on the internet. Maybe you support ignorance and parochialism?

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 31

In many countries the Ph.D. is called a "thesis" maybe you should get out more

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 31

A significant step towards enhanced marine stewardship and the safeguarding of culturally significant ocean spaces to [...] "assert our rights and manage our core marine territory as the saltwater people of Tsawout"

www.vicnews.com/local-news/t...

Tsawout Nation goes high tech to safeguard historic waters of Saanichton Bay

The buoy, nicknamed 'QEN'T Junior' was deployed on July 4

www.vicnews.com

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 31

@historicalmarker.bsky.social This sign may miss a lot of nuance ….

David @archaeomather.bsky.social · Jul 31

Weather beaten and vaguely creepy interpretive sign that was once at the site of Camp Release in Minnesota, now on the porch at the Chippewa County Historical Society in Montevideo.

“CAMP RELEASE.
IN THIS VICIWITY STOOD
THE SIOUX VILLAGE OF RED IRON, A FRIENDLY CHIEF DURING THE OUTBREAK OF 1862. HIS
OPPOSITION CHECKED THE HOSTILE RETREAT AND ALLOWED OTHER FRIENDLIES TO GAIN POSSESSION OF THE WHITE CAPTIVES.
HERE ON SEPTEMBER
26, 1862, SOME 269
PRISONERS WERE RELEASED TO GEN. SIBLEY.
NOW A STATE PARK.”

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 29

[the Kula ring ] was a strictly ceremonial system geared to enhancing the prestige of male elites [....] ensconced in an atmosphere of pretend hostility between the parties.

Trump explained, by Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai(!)

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The key to understanding Trump? It’s not what you think

Everything the US president does is for money – and in serving his avarice, he’s managed to triumph over the market

www.theguardian.com

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 29

It's an archaeological Culturally Modified Tree (CMT) - write a site report 🏺

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘 @ashcanpress.com · Jul 29

I don't 100% know what it is yet, but I would write this book.

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qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 28

Jerk and his wife finally get some serious consequences after a lifetime illegally pillaging the marine ecosystem of the Salish Sea and elsewhere. Continued to offend while on bail and during the trial itself. 🐟

nanaimonewsnow.com/2025/07/28/r...

‘Remove him far from the sea:’ rogue Gabriola Island fishermen jailed for repeated violations

NANAIMO - A notorious local fisherman will spend the next six years behind bars and will also have to split a ...

nanaimonewsnow.com

qmackie @qmackie.bsky.social · Jul 24

Are you training students?

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