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Aardvarchaeology

Martin Rundkvist's blog. Archaeology, skepticism, Sweden. And books and music and stuff.

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Martin Rundkvist Dr. Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist, journal editor, public speaker, skeptic, atheist, lefty liberal, bookworm, and father of two.

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September 30, 2008

Donkey Shot

Category: Gaming

I'm reading Steven L. Kent's engrossing 2001 book The Ultimate History of Video Games, and of course it reminds me of a lot of games I played as a kid. My first real video games were played on the...

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September 29, 2008

New Swedish Fantasy Novel

Category: Books

My erudite friend Florence Vilén (historian of religion, haiku poet, aficionado of gems and classical music) has published her first novel in Swedish. Tungelblodet ("Blood of the Moon") is high fantasy set in a northern archipelago where wind-witches help fishermen...

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Chatbot Conversation

Category: Humour

I was contacted on Yahoo Messenger today by a chatbot named Alexandra Buford. She greeted me in a foreign language, so I thought it polite to reply likewise.Alexandra: yhneb martinrund Martin: yhneb Alexandra: Hi martinrund. it's Alexandra. Martin: yhneb Alexandra:...

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September 28, 2008

Notice Board Screed

Category: Poetry

For decades, Stockholm has been the turf of photocopy artist Renate Bauer. She paints too, but her main mode of expression is hand-written prose-poetic screeds covering every square centimeter of the paper. These she photocopies and fixes with sticky...

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September 27, 2008

Another Career Whine

Category: Archaeology

I've painted myself into a reasonably well-funded gentleman-scholar corner.

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September 26, 2008

Notability Discussion on Wikipedia

Category: NOIBN

There is a discussion going on at Wikipedia regarding certain facets of the on-line encyclopedia's controversial notability policy. At heart, it's about where the line should be drawn between notable subjects (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and non-notable ones (Shitty Arnie, my...

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September 25, 2008

Fighter Plane Ammo

Category: Archaeology

Cartridges are large chunks of brass, which would make them obtrusive even if they were just spheres.

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September 24, 2008

Sättuna Fieldwork Summary

Category: Archaeology

The dig closes eight days earlier than planned.

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Anthro Blog Carnival

Category: Blogging

The fiftieth Four Stone Hearth blog carnival is on-line at Yann Klimentidis' Weblog. Archaeology and anthropology, and all about Belqas, a town in the north-western corner of the Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Belqas comprises in its jurisdictions the well known resort...

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September 22, 2008

Four Stone Hearth Call For Submissions

Category: Blogging

Everybody with an interest in anthropology and archaeology -- it's time to contribute good new blog entries to next week's Four Stone Hearth blog carnival. You needn't have written them yourself: if you've found something worth reading recently, submit it...

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Mad as a Potter from Lead Stalactites

Category: Archaeology

"Inside the tinned food we found so much lead, that it hung like icicles inside the cans".

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September 21, 2008

Finntroll Bonus Track Lyrics

Category: Music

Sättuna excavation team member Peter Forrester is a big fan of Finnish folk metallers Finntroll. The other day he played me a funny untitled bonus track from the group's 2007 album Ur jordens djup ("Out of the depths of...

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Dong, Bong & Gong

Category: Humour

I take a childish pleasure from the fact that Shanghai International Airport is named Poo Dong -- snigger, snigger. Now, reading about tea, I find my scatological spot tickled further by the Poobong Tea Company in Calcutta. Poo bong. Stick...

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September 20, 2008

Jonathan Coulton - "Still Alive"

Category: Gaming

My son just played me a song he can't get out of his head, "Still Alive". It's the closing-credits music of the 2007 computer game Portal, sung by a heavily vocoded Ellen McLain. As it turns out, the song...

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September 19, 2008

Second-Worst Possible Fieldwork Result

Category: Archaeology

Like winning a year's supply of something you have absolutely no use for and cannot sell.

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September 17, 2008

Stripping a Field

Category: Archaeology

We finished machining away the ploughsoil today, and I reckon we've uncovered about 800 square meters. I have a permit for 1200 sqm, but I stopped here. The landowner doesn't want us to expand in the most interesting direction...

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September 16, 2008

Sectioning Anonymous Pits Again

Category: Archaeology

We may be dealing with traces of late-pre-Roman activity.

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September 15, 2008

Digging Starts at Sättuna

Category: Archaeology

Every little bit has fallen into place as planned.

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September 14, 2008

Two D&D Virgins

Category: Gaming

With kudos to Mattias who sent me the link, here are Stephen Lynch & Mark Teich performing a fine song about being a 14-y-o D&D-playing young man. To those of our readers who currently fit that description, let me...

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September 13, 2008

Home Owner

Category: Homeownership

For the past ten years, I've lived with my family in rented apartments in a 1970s housing estate that covers the erstwhile infields of the poor tenant farm of Fisksätra. Yesterday, my wife and I signed a contract to...

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September 12, 2008

The Journal of the North Atlantic

Category: Archaeology

A new on-line archaeology and environmental-history journal published in Maine.

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September 11, 2008

Anthro Blog Carnival

Category: Archaeology

The forty-ninth Four Stone Hearth blog carnival is on-line at A Hot Cup of Joe. Archaeology and anthropology, and all intended to recreate the lost 1921 short drama film The Great Day!CastArthur Bourchier - Sir John Borstwick Mary Palfrey -...

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Following the Letter of the Law

Category: Humour

"When the fence is symbolic, the structural elements are often symbolic 'doorframes' made of wire."

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September 10, 2008

Radiocarbon Dating Ancient Grease

Category: Archaeology

The problem was that most sherds with characteristic decoration have no food crust.

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September 9, 2008

"Sapiens" Is Not A Plural

Category: Biology

It is an adjective ending in an S, just like erectus, afarensis and neanderthalensis.

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September 8, 2008

The Copper Mine of Falun

Category: Archaeology

The copper mine of Falun was once a major part of Sweden's economic backbone.

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September 6, 2008

Djurhamn Sword Measured

Category: Archaeology

Us boy archaeologists like to measure large phallic objects.

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September 5, 2008

Swedish Pitfalls

Category: Language

Swedish has many subtleties to keep furriners from learning the language of glory and heroes.

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September 4, 2008

Swedes Produce Hot Water, Dump It Into Sea

Category: Environment

For historical reasons having nothing to do with engineering or rationality, Swedish nuclear power plants dump a lot of warm cooling water into the sea. In a revealing blog entry, Paddy K offers an estimate of just how much energy...

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Queen Christina's Quarter Coin Again

Category: Archaeology

In their day they were the largest issue yet in the history of Sweden.

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September 3, 2008

My Weird Camp Counselor

Category: Children

A memory. A lot of Swedish middle-class kids get sent to confirmation camp when they're 14. It's basically a crash course in Christianity and ends with first communion. My brother went through his course and then refused the wafer &...

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September 2, 2008

In My Earbuds Lately

Category: Music

Lately I've been listening to the following albums:Apples in Stereo -- New Magnetic Wonder (2007) Delays -- Faded Seaside Glamour (2004) Funkadelic -- Funkadelic (1970) MGMT -- Oracular Spectacular (2007) Motorpsycho -- Let Them Eat Cake (2000) Sleep -- Jerusalem...

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September 1, 2008

Stockholm Blogmeet 1 September

Category: Blogging

Just back home from a lovely evening in the company of friends. Good food, good drink and good conversation with (left to right) Tor, Felicia, Kai, Åsa, Pat, Anders and Lars & Thinker who left before I thought of...

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