Jeff Spanbauer, PhD

The joke is on them because being an AI teetotaler while they're offloading critical thinking skills to the sycophantic, planet-burning, plagiarizing algorithm only makes me smugger. My smugness could power an entire data center and only needs 64 ounces of water a day.

Well done.

'Landmark' elephant bone finding in Spain may be from time of Hannibal's war against Rome An elephant bone discovered in Spain may date to the time of Hannibal's battles against the Romans.

The discovery of an ancient elephant bone in Spain is the first "direct archaeological testimony" of war elephants being used from Hannibal's time, a new study reports. 🏺🧪🐘

Follow up after vet confirmation, it was osteosarcoma, bone cancer, on the femurs and sockets of pelvis.

Dog domestication, from the fierce to the feisty Quantitative analysis of canid skulls points to an earlier origin of dog diversity

Very happy to contribute to this excellent paper on #dogs by @carlydigsit.bsky.social & collabs showing that dog appearances were changing far far earlier than Victorian era breeding. 🏺🧪🦣 🐕 #zooarchaeology

Dog domestication, from the fierce to the feisty | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Thanks for the thought!! I'm learning as I go here.

That's what I was thinking? Or just horrendous osteoporosis. Crazy.

Pathology dammit

Red fox femur with abnormal pathologies.

I don't know my pathologist (self taught #zooarchaeology ) but something is telling me that this red fox had some major issues and owwies with its femurs. #animalbones #archaeology

"WE'VE ARRANGED A society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don't know anything about it?" "Science is more than a body of knowledge, it's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along."

I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.

History is not "stuff that happened in the past"

History is the explanation for "why are we like this right now?"

It's ongoing. It never ended.

Re-upping this in hopes someone's got some tidbits. #history #archaeology #freemasons

A cat with big eyes giving a begging look.

Hey #archaeology #eighteenthcentury historians hiveminds...anyone run into evidence of freemasonry at frontier forts and settlements in Colonial North America? I'm searching through archy reports for suggestions of masonic iconography or items. DM if you've stumbled across/references-pretty please.

😱😱😱

An archaeological unit featuring a decaying tree stump, roots and tools.

After. Few finds but important to delineate the reach (and possible disturbance of lower levels beneath) of the old tree, in the search for the bottom of this unit. #sexyarchaeology

Archaeological excavation with stones and large tree base and roots throughout unit.

Started a couple weeks stint volunteering at Colonial Fort Michilimackinac. Excited to help w this long-running dig but am not happy with this tree.

I should point out, this is a community college.

We do pay adjuncts a slightly higher course rate, but for full time, Yep. That's the overload rate. One summer it amounted to about $9/hour of actual work, with 25 students in the course. Good times.

If it makes you feel better, my take-home pay for an overload course this summer (online, 8 weeks) will be about $1800. :-) (I know it doesn't help, but am with you in the pain of it all)

I told you we’d be back

BBC News screenshot shows a woman working at a computer: “Teachers can use AI to save time on marking, new guidance says” Getty Images “The government says Al should only be used for "low-stakes” marking””

-chefs can use ready meals to save time on cooking
-zoos can use stuffed toys to save money on animals
-bars can serve piss and cut out the middle man

Re-upping this due to recent experiences making it even more relevant.

Scene from the movie "the princess bride" where a grandfather tells his grandson that they are in the pit of despair part of the book.

Applying for intro-level archaeology jobs as a....more "mature" early career researcher/field tech only to not even qualify for interviews. Welcome to Illinois archaeology. How does one get experience without getting a job (yes, I've done field schools, volunteered weeks on end, etc)?

Me too. And for how 33% of a nation can have this impact so far outside of their own country.

Me too. And I'm there.

Cut marks on a cow rib

Bone pathology on a cow phalanx

Sheep mandibles w a tiny fragment of pig maxilla

Roman Era animal bone assessment for today's project.

Orange and white pottery

Variety of orange pottery pieces

Dark grey pottery with pattern

A roman Callander maybe?

I've been at University of Leicester Archaeolgical Services for the past week and change trying to learn more about post ex and environmental archaeology. Thought I'd share some nifty Roman (and others) pottery I've gotten my hands on. #archaeology #olddognewtricks

Cereal grains through a microscope

And now, grains!

Snail shells

Small animal bones

Tank with water to separate small biological finds like seeds and charcoal.

Taking an opportunity for some post ex skills training at university of Leicester Archaeological Service. Environmental archaeology is interesting work.