Beginner’s Guide to Archaeology: Human Remains and Archaeology

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archaeology, Beginners Guide, education, Leicestershire, Loughborough, WEA

In our last session of ‘A Beginner’s Guide’ we looked at the topic of human remains on archaeological sites.

In this episode of ‘Material World’ from BBC Radio 4, the presenter interviews two archaeologists about the impact of the Burial Act 1857 upon archaeology.

Further reading which may be of interest includes:

• Human Remains Advice (English Heritage)
• Human Osteoarchaeology (English Heritage)
• Human Remains (Church Care)
• BAJR guides including a Basic Overview for the Recovery of Human Remains from Sites Under Development and A Field Guide to the Excavation of Inhumated Remains
• Burial Act 1857 (Legislation.gov.uk)
• Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981 (Legislation.gov.uk)
• The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) (US National Parks Service)

The Human Journey: Neanderthals and Denisovans

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archaeology, education, Human Journey, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, WEA

In our last session we looked at Neanderthals and Denisovans:

• Who were the Neanderthals? (Natural History Museum, London)
• Homo neanderthalensis (Smithsonian)
• Why am I Neanderthal? (National Geographic)
• Neanderthal (Encyclopedia Britannica)
• Why am I Denisovan? (National Geographic)
• A world map of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry in modern humans (Science Daily)
• Mum’s a Neanderthal, Dad’s a Denisovan: First discovery of an ancient-human hybrid (Nature)
• Ancient child from Siberia was Neanderthal and Denisovan hybrid (Natural History Museum, London)

This short video clip summarises recent research published in Cell which showed that remnants of two distinct waves of Denisovan admixture have been identified in modern-day East Asian populations in a new study from Browning and colleagues.

What’s the meaning of Stonehenge?

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archaeology, Britain, Bronze Age, education, Places to Visit, prehistory, stone age, Stonehenge, WEA, Wiltshire

In this episode of Curator’s Corner by the British Museum, Neil Wilkin is joined by Susan Greaney, Senior Properties Historian for English Heritage to discuss the history and importance of Stonehenge. Going into the heart of the monument and looking at some related Bronze Age objects, Neil and Susan explore the connections between Stonehenge, the rest of Britain and the continent.

The Human Journey: Early Homo species

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archaeology, education, Human Journey, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, WEA

In this week’s session, we looked at some of the early species of the genus Homo: Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis and Homo naledi.

We also looked at some of the first evidence for tool making with the Oldowan industry. A couple of episodes of the BBC’s ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ series looked at these tools: Olduvai Stone Chopping Tool and Olduvai Handaxe. These podcasts can be listened to online or downloaded to be listened to in your own time.

Other webpages that may be of interest are:

• Homo naledi, your most recently discovered human relative (Natural History Museum, London)
• Homo naledi is only 250,000 years old – here’s why that matters (New Scientist)
• Homo habilis (Smithsonian)
• Homo habilis (Australian Museum)
• Homo rudolfensis (Smithsonian)
• Homo rudolfensis (Australian Museum)
• Homo ergaster (Australian Museum)
• Homo erectus (Smithsonian)
• Homo erectus (Australian Museum)
• Homo heidelbergensis (Smithsonian)
• Homo heidelbergensis (Australian Museum)

The Human Journey: Australopithecines and Bipedalism

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archaeology, Britain, education, England, Human Journey, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, WEA

In our last session of ‘The Human Journey’ we looked at the Australopithecines and how bipedalism can be identified in the fossil record.

This short video by the California Academy of Sciences compares the distinctive gaits of a chimpanzee, Australopithecus afarensis, and modern human, highlighting the trait of upright walking that the latter two share.

Further reading can be found at:

• Hominin Species (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
• Australopithecus (Encyclopedia Britannica)
• Australopithecus and Kin (Nature)
• Human Evolution (Australian Museum)

The Jewry Wall Walking Tour & App

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archaeology, Britain, England, Leicester, Leicestershire, Places to Visit, Roman, Roman Britain, technology

Those of you who are interested in the archaeology of Roman Britain may wish to take a look at the walking trail around Roman Leicester, which is free to download from The Jewry Wall website. There is also a free app (available for both iOS and Android) called ‘Jewry Wall – An Adventure in Time’ which aims to bring Leicester’s Roman bath site to life in a way never seen before. Join Jenny and Javid for a mission to discover the past using fun, interactive games and activities for the whole family.

Exhibition: Nottinghamshire Unearthed: Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme

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archaeology, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Places to Visit

The national Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) records archaeological objects found by the public in England and Wales. This year it celebrates its 15th anniversary with more than 13,000 finds from Nottinghamshire recorded on the PAS online database, including coins, tools, weapons and jewellery. It is an important source of information for researchers and for everyone with an interest in history, archaeology and heritage. This exhibition at Lakeside Arts will highlight some of the finds from the county and examine the important contribution they have made to our wider understanding of Nottinghamshire.

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm
Sunday 12noon-4pm
Closed on Mondays

To find out more, check out their website.