Skeleton Games

featherandmoss: “Fish vertebrae – unlike mammalian bones – grow...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:05:56 +0100

“Fish vertebrae – unlike mammalian bones – grow in a layered manner, much like tree rings. Isotopic analysis of the layers can tell us about the environment, growth patterns and behaviour of the fish across their entire lifespan. This vertebra is from a cod that was 95 centimetres in length, hence the size and clarity of the rings, and has been used for carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis.”

via Cambridge University’s Bluesci

ancientart: As a New Zealander I thought it was high time I...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:54:54 +0100

ancientart:

As a New Zealander I thought it was high time I posted some archaeology a bit closer to home.

A very important Pacific archaeological site located on the south eastern coast of Raiatea, French Polynesia -the Taputapuatea Marae.

For those of you who don’t know, a marae is a sacred religious gathering place in Polynesian societies. This particular marae was already established by 1000 AD, and was once known as the religious centre and central temple of Eastern Polynesia. Here, people such as priests and navigators would meet to share knowledge and preform sacrifices to the gods.

Member of the Moari iwi Te Rangi Hīroa (anthropologist, politician), upon visiting the site in 1929 was overcome with grief due to the state of the once great marae, and consequently wrote:

I had made my pilgrimage to Taputapu-atea, but the dead could not speak to me. It was sad to the verge of tears. I felt a profound regret, a regret for — I knew not what. Was it for the beating of the temple drums or the shouting of the populace as the king was raised on high? Was it for the human sacrifices of olden times? It was for none of these individually but for something at the back of them all, some living spirit and divine courage that existed in ancient times of which Taputapu-atea was a mute symbol. It was something that we Polynesians have lost and cannot find, something that we yearn for and cannot recreate. The background in which that spirit was engendered has changed beyond recovery. The bleak wind of oblivion had swept over Opoa. Foreign weeds grew over the untended courtyard, and stones had fallen from the sacred altar of Taputapu-atea. The gods had long ago departed.

(ref: D. Hanlon, Voyaging Through the Contemporary Pacific)

Fortunately, as of 1994, the archaeological remains of Taputapuatea has been restored, and is currently being pushed to become a recognized United Nations World Heritage site.

Photos courtesy & taken by Pierre Lesage.

odditiesoflife: The Hanging Coffins of Sagada The people of...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:44:19 +0100

odditiesoflife:

The Hanging Coffins of Sagada

The people of Sagada in the Philippines follow a unique burial ritual. The elderly carve their own coffins out of hollowed logs. If they are too weak or ill, their families prepare their coffins instead. The dead are placed inside their coffins (sometimes breaking their bones in the process of fitting them in), and the coffins are brought to a cave for burial.

Instead of being placed into the ground, the coffins are hung either inside the caves or on the face of the cliffs, near the hanging coffins of their ancestors. The Sagada people have been practicing such burials for over 2,000 years and some of the coffins are well over a century old.

theolduvaigorge: Saving ‘generation jobless’ by Tony...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:33:09 +0100

theolduvaigorge:

Saving ‘generation jobless’

by Tony Featherstone

“A group of journalism students took my undergraduate university course on entrepreneurship and innovation. They were bright, creative, fun to teach and strong communicators. What a pity most will never work in a newsroom, such is the pressure on media companies to cut costs.

How many other university disciplines educate far more students than needed? How many marketing students are needed as technology drastically cuts marketing costs? How many graduate accountants, lawyers or technology students will be needed as firms outsource work offshore?

How many PhD students will find work as full-time academics as the Federal government cuts university funding and if massive open online courses reshape higher education?

Will there be a point where the supply of university graduates exceeds demand by so much that students no longer see sufficient value in spending three of four years at university, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, and finding their degrees count for less upon graduation?

And what will happen to a potential glut of university graduates in certain industries?

I thought about this issue while reading The Economist’s excellent report on global youth unemployment, or “generation jobless”. It reported OECD figures showing more young people are idle than ever and that the number without a job has risen by 30 per cent since 2007.

Thankfully, Australia’s labour market is stronger than most. But even here the number of teenage males (aged 15 to 19) looking for full-time work was 23.9 per cent in March 2013, up from 21.8 per cent a year earlier, latest Australian Bureau of Statistic labour force data shows. It was 29.8 per cent for females” (read more).

(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald; via @ANU_RSAT on Twitter; image: Craven’s World)

g-erti: Every Series, Every Episode! StarTrek.com has made...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:22:18 +0100

g-erti:

Every Series, Every Episode!

StarTrek.com has made every episode available for streaming on their website! (and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that its only temporary!)

Have a series you’ve been meaning to watch? Can’t afford Netflix? No problem! Go forth; all of Star Trek is now at your disposal!

jangojips: averagearchaeologist: bellaesprita: im-an-odd-soul:...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:11:51 +0100

jangojips:

averagearchaeologist:

bellaesprita:

im-an-odd-soul:

SKINGRAFT - VERTEBRAE BRACELET

Vertebrae bracelet made of white bronze. Can be worn as one bracelet or stacked on wrist to create beautiful spine effect.

want!

Oh. My. Gosh.

GET ON MY WRIST.
Suzy, are you seeing this?!!

xmorbidcuriosityx: Museums Confront the Skeletons in Their...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:49:33 +0100

xmorbidcuriosityx:

Museums Confront the Skeletons in Their Closets

BERLIN — Rows of gaptoothed human skulls and formaldehyde-soaked brains stock the Museum of Medical History here, where the popular exhibition “Beneath the Skin” can be so grim that visitors will occasionally swoon to the cold stone floor.

For more than a century, the museum has exhibited assorted limbs, bones, tubercular lungs and fetuses, all in the name of science and enlightenment. Yet lately the curators are re-evaluating the principles that govern their displays as they confront a growing debate over what cultural organizations should be doing to preserve the dignity of the dead.

Many of the world’s grand museums are hearing increasing demands for the return of human remains from former colonies or conquered peoples. Some are giving back bones and skulls that were once viewed as exotic trinkets and were traded by native peoples for calico or plundered in the late 1800s by scientists exploring racial differences.

(Source: The New York Times)

Photo

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:38:30 +0100

theossuary: This is a Sator Square. From Wikipedia: The Sator...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:27:52 +0100

theossuary:

This is a Sator Square. From Wikipedia:

The Sator Square is a word square containing a Latin palindrome featuring the words SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS written in a square so that they may be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, and right-to-left. The earliest known appearance of the square was found in the ruins of Pompeii, which was buried in the ash of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

moshita:

skull with magic quader 16/17th century

Sator Opera Tenet

Archaeologists Say 400 Animal Species Were Offered to Gods in Tenochtitlan | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:16:49 +0100

Archaeologists Say 400 Animal Species Were Offered to Gods in Tenochtitlan | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com:

Mexican archaeologists have identified more than 400 animal species in some 60 offerings made to the gods at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, including molluscs, fish, birds, reptiles and mammals, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, said.

The scientists have recovered, “for example, fish from coral reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, reptiles including crocodiles, snakes and turtles, as well as birds like toucans and quetzals, and large mammals from the tropics like the jaguar,” INAH biologist Norma Valentin Maldonado said Friday.

“Such fauna has been found in sacrifices to the rain god Tlaloc and to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, from the fourth to the seventh stages (1440-1520) of the Great Temple’s construction. The animals are alway exotic species, spectacularly beautiful, or with rough, spiny hides, sometimes dangerous or venomous,” she said.

Valentin said that several of the animals were the object of a kind of ancient taxidermy, in which some of the bones were left inside to maintain the shape of the skin and keep it from ripping.

As for the large mammals, she said that around six wolves, two jaguars, 13 pumas and a single bone from the back leg of a wildcat have been identified and studied.

According to the expert, “molluscs have the greatest presence in the Mexica offerings; in just about all the sacrifices at least one of them is found, so that some 300 species have been reported in the Great Temple from both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.”

“Next in abundance are 60 fish species, chiefly from coral reefs,” she said.

The ritual use of all these animal species and their symbolism will be presented beginning June 8 at a round of conferences at the recently opened Gallery 6 “Flora and Fauna” in the Great Temple, adjacent to the capital’s principal square, the Zocalo.

From The Scotsman: Concern is growing for an Edinburgh...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:21:00 +0100

From The Scotsman:

Concern is growing for an Edinburgh University student who has been missing for over a week.

Yulia Solodyankina, 22, a Russian national who has been studying physics in the Capital for four years, was last seen leaving The Wee Red Bar at Edinburgh College of Art just after 9pm on the night of Thursday 6th June.

On Friday at around 2pm she sent a text message to a friend and also contacted her boyfriend through Facebook messaging, but has not been heard from since.

Friends first noticed something was amiss when she did not turn up to perform at Musselburgh Children’s Gala Day on Saturday. She was scheduled to perform with dance group Anansi, of which she is a member, at around noon. When friends tried to contact her, her mobile phone was switched off. It was later discovered along with her laptop in the South Clerk Street flat she shares with two other people.

Yulia’s family is understood to have come over to Edinburgh from Russia and are aiding the police with their enquiries.

A spokesman for Police Scotland confirmed that Yulia had been reported missing and that enquiries were ongoing. Anyone with any information about Yulia is encouraged to call 0131 311 3131 immediately.

Sharing this here in the hopes that someone on tumblr will have some information about her disappearance. While I do not know Yulia personally, we do attend the same university and her disappearance has the whole campus very concerned for her safety. If anyone who sees this has any potential leads to her whereabouts or even possible sightings of her, please get in contact with the Scottish police through the above number as soon as possible.

Additional images of Yulia, updates on the investigation, as well as plans for vigils, and Missing Person postering sessions can all be found here.

osteocentric: Cow mandible with honeycomb network of abcesses...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:11:50 +0100

osteocentric:

Cow mandible with honeycomb network of abcesses from actinomycosis infection. Actinomyces bovis is a gram-positive bacteria that leads to granulomatous abcessing of infected areas of the head and neck in cattle which can destroy bone. A related bacterium A. israelii causes a simillar but more rare condition in humans. In cattle the condition is referred to as “lumpy jaw.” Untreated, the infection will produce copious amounts of pus which discharges from the skin. Actinomyces were one thought to be a fungus because of their branching filamentous structures.

feinbein: Capuchin crypt in Brno (Czech Republic) containing...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:33:12 +0100

feinbein:

Capuchin crypt in Brno (Czech Republic) containing mummified corpses of monks and noble men wealthy enough to afford the privilege. Supposedly being all dried up and buried close to a member of the clergy brings you closer to god in some twisted Christian logic. Great business model for the monastery though!

jangojips: tundrakatiebean: I just had another man ogle me so hard he crashed his bike. That makes...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:22:19 +0100

jangojips:

tundrakatiebean:

I just had another man ogle me so hard he crashed his bike.

That makes two in my adult life.

Bitch, I’m fabulous.

This happened to me once too…only it wasn’t a grown man it was a 12-ish-year-old boy. It’s been 6 years and he still isn’t legal yet. That’s the level of pubescence we are talking about.

A little kid biked past Suzy the Red and I as we attempted to take this selfie of ourselves, shouted “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen” at the top of his lungs, and then rode his bike into an industrial dumpster.

Read More

I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen that picture before, but yea, that was totally what was happening when it was taken…Kassie being hit on by a child. I feel like he circled back to us at least once while we were sitting there, but we kept laughing every time he did.

(also, is that hyperlink supposed to go to Neil Patrick Harris’ Tony opening?)

theolduvaigorge: Human Genes Can’t Be Patented, Supreme Court...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:11:53 +0100

theolduvaigorge:

Human Genes Can’t Be Patented, Supreme Court Says

by Rachael Rettner

“Human genes cannot be patented, according to a Supreme Court Ruling released today…In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court said the company Myriad Genetics Inc. could not hold patents on two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are linked with a increase in the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad had argued genes were patentable, because when researchers “discover” genes and patent them, these genes are isolated from the human genome.

But in today’s ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas was quoted as saying: “We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent-eligible merely because it has been isolated.” Thomas added, “To be sure, [Myriad] found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.”

Thousands of genes have been patented since the mid-1990s. But some argued that gene patents hinder genetic research because researchers fear they will infringe on a patent by conducting further research on a patented gene.”

See also:

4 Ways the Gene Patent Ruling Affects You

7 Diseases You Can Learn About From a Genetic Test

Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones

(Source: Live Science)

About damn time. The patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2 made it almost impossible to do any sort of medical test or research with these genes because the company that held the patents charged a ridiculous amount for every individual test that that involved either gene (up to $4000 depending on how the gene was being used). So, this is a pretty important ruling for a lot of different reasons, not the least of which it means that much more effective cancer research should be able to take place without being extremely hampered by paying for ridiculous patent licenses.

There’s more info about this lawsuit and patent battle here.

theolduvaigorge: humanisticscience: theladygoogle: zomganthro: styxxus: Hey guys, Wow I never...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:48:00 +0100

theolduvaigorge:

humanisticscience:

theladygoogle:

zomganthro:

styxxus:

Hey guys,

Wow I never make text posts on here this is crazy.

I’m only following a couple blogs, and my dash is pretty much empty. If you post aboutAnthropology, Archaeology, History, Architecture, or anything along those lines, like or reblog this post so I can follow you! :)

You know what to do, everyone.

oh hello

theladygoogle, you’re my favorite. Also hello styxxus!

Come on over and see me some time.

To the OsteologyMobile!

drfrankscali: Paget’s disease/possible post-radiation...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:16:44 +0100

drfrankscali:

Paget’s disease/possible post-radiation osteosarcoma: (secondary osteosarcoma)

theolduvaigorge: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:49:38 +0100

theolduvaigorge:

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in pre-Columbian North America: Evidence from the eastern Tennessee River Valley

by Maria Ostendorf Smith, Jessica R. Dorsz and Tracy K. Betsinger

“Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH or Forestier’s disease) is a pathological condition of unknown etiology characterized by the exuberant antero-lateral flowing (‘dripping candle wax’) ossification of the anterior spinal ligaments. Clinical data indicate it is a progressive male-predilected pathology manifested in middle age, which steeply rises in prevalence after aged 60. It has become paleopathologically relevant because it has been clinically associated with an affluent lifestyle. Archeological examination of the prevalence of DISH is often undertaken on European samples and frequently in monastic contexts. There are no prevalence data for pre-Columbian samples from North America. The present study establishes baseline information from four prehistoric Late Mississippian period (AD 1300–1600) samples (N = 389) from the upper Tennessee River Valley. Two probable cases and one possible case of DISH (all male) are identified, reflecting less than one percent of the adult sample, and 1.2 percent (2/172) of males. The low prevalence compared to European monastic samples and non-New World cemetery contexts suggests socioeconomic or interpopulational genetic differences that may be tested with subsistence and community health-status controlled osteoarchaeological comparisons within and outside of North America” (read more/open access).

***For the palaeopath people.

(Open access source: International Journal of Paleopathology 3(1):11-18, 2013)

tiny-librarian: How rickets affected even the wealthy in the...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:16:59 +0100

tiny-librarian:

How rickets affected even the wealthy in the 17th Century: Bones from Medici children show they suffered from malnutrition

Bones from nine Medici children have been found to have signs of rickets.

Despite all their riches, a poor diet is blamed as one of the prime factors.

Archaeologists make their discovery after secret entrance to tomb is discovered.

Being rich and powerful was little protection to the children of the Medicis who, to the astonishment of scientists, appear to have suffered from rickets.

The Medicis were among the most powerful families of the Renaissance, being patrons to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but their children still suffered malnutrition, research has indicated.

Rickets is closely linked to malnutrition and poverty yet the bones of the remains of nine Medici children analysed by osteoarchaeologists reveal that they also fell victim to the condition.

Read More

theolduvaigorge: Ötzi the Iceman’s Dark Secrets: Protein...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:05:53 +0100

theolduvaigorge:

Ötzi the Iceman’s Dark Secrets: Protein Investigation Supports Brain Injury Theory

“After decoding the Iceman’s genetic make-up, a research team from the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), Saarland University, Kiel University and other partners has now made another major breakthrough in mummy research: using just a pinhead-sized sample of brain tissue from the world-famous glacier corpse, the team was able to extract and analyse proteins to further support the theory that Ötzi suffered some form of brain damage in the final moments of his life.

Two dark coloured areas at the back of the Iceman’s cerebrum had first been mentioned back in 2007 during a discussion about the fracture to his skull. Scientists surmised from a CAT scan of his brain that he had received a blow to the forehead during his deadly attack that caused his brain to knock against the back of his head, creating dark spots from the bruising. Till now, this hypothesis had been left unexplored.

In 2010, with the help of computer-controlled endoscopy, two samples of brain tissue the size of a pinhead were extracted from the glacier mummy. This procedure was carried out via two tiny (previously existing) access holes and was thus minimally invasive. Microbiologist Frank Maixner (EURAC, Institute for Mummies and the Iceman) and his fellow scientist Andreas Tholey (Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University) conducted two parallel, independent studies on the tiny bundles of cells. Tholey’s team provided the latest technology used in the study of complex protein mixtures known as “proteomes.” The various analyses were coordinated by Frank Maixner and Andreas Keller.

The protein research revealed a surprising amount of information. Scientists were able to identify numerous brain proteins, as well as proteins from blood cells. Microscopic investigation also confirmed the presence of astonishingly well-preserved neural cell structures and clotted blood cells. On the one hand, this led the scientists to conclude that the recovered samples did indeed come from brain tissue in remarkably good condition (the proteins contained amino acid sequence features specific to Ötzi). On the other hand, these blood clots in a corpse almost devoid of blood provided further evidence that Ötzi’s brain had possibly suffered bruising shortly before his death. Whether this was due to a blow to the forehead or a fall after being injured by the arrow remains unclear” (read more).

***Comments, anyone?

(Source: Science Daily; bottom image: National Geographic)