Passed my candidacy exam!!

Congratulations to our IPIA scholars @mapsworth.bsky.social, @cultarchaeo.bsky.social, and @archaeomapper.bsky.social, whose article "Saying what we mean, meaning what we say" is within the top 10% most-read 2023 articles in Archaeological Prospection! You can read it (open access) below! 🏺

Yesterday I completed preparing my presentation for my candidacy exam. Now it’s time to practice!

Candidacy exam has officially been booked!

I recently cleaned out all of my course notes and readings for a class I took 8 years ago thinking I would never need them. Now I’m teaching the class and I regret my choices. Lesson learned: never throw anything away.

This is happening tomorrow! Last chance for you to register and last chance for me to slash 10 minutes from my presentation!

I bet they’re all feeling nostalgic for that first storm. At least they had a full sized ship for that one. #HATM

Scrimshaw art! I’ve seen some beautiful examples in museums. #HATM

IPIA Director Dr. Kisha Supernant: "We are extremely disheartened and disappointed by the decision not to renew funding for this work, which is so important to reconciliation and to healing for our people." Read this important statement on the Gov't of Canada not renewing funding for the NAC:

Communties need reliable sources of information and guidance to help support the sacred work of searching for missing children. The defunding of the NAC is a huge setback for the work.

Exciting news - our first Speaker Series Event of 2025 is coming soon! Join @ldagg.bsky.social, @rdwambold.bsky.social, and @cultarchaeo.bsky.social on Feb 27, 3:30 pm MT, to hear about the different ways they examine landscapes in their research 🏺 Hybrid event, reg. required for online attendees 👇

On the International Day of Women in Science a reminder that the US National Science Foundation’s list of words which could put your research grant in trouble includes “Women” and “Female.” You can help resist the rising tide of anti-Science and misogyny by supporting the work of the Trowelblazers.

In the news: Sturgeon Lake First Nation announces archaeological discovery https://www.mbcradio.com/2025/02/sturgeon-lake-first-nation-announces-archaeological-discovery #archaeology #Canada

Hello everyone! It's time for a proper introduction! We are the IPIA, an Indigenous-led institute at the University of Alberta. We are committed to continuing to support Indigenous-engaged archaeological research 🏺 1/5

Celebrating and promoting each other. It’s how we do things in the @uofa-ipia.bsky.social! Go follow Steph by the way, her work regarding the cult of Brother XII and cospirituality is fascinating!

If you're interested in archaeoentemology, archaebotany, and historic archaeology then Solène is a great person to follow! She does cool stuff with bugs, plants, and foodways!🏺 (And she is usually down for my cursed shenanigans, be it books, videos, or fieldwork 🙌)

I learned so much this week from @somag.bsky.social and Dr. Lyons. They set up a fun workshop yesterday and I learned why I couldn’t decide if the charred seeds were canola or mustard (Because they’re both brassica rapa!)

I had a good week in the lab doing final checks on the artifact catalogue. The undergrad volunteers did a great job and I was able to confirm a few cool identifications. Including a horseshoe nail!

I have another book launch coming up! This time it’s for the Routledge Handbook of Gender Archaeology. I coauthored a chapter with @archaeomapper.bsky.social. The launch is online and hosted by the University of Oslo. (Good thing I’m an early riser!) www.hf.uio.no/iakh/forskni...

Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan has discovered a pre-contact settlement dating back 11,000 years. After an archaeologist identified the site, Sturgeon Lake is now focusing on preserving the findings.

Everyone should follow @uofa-ipia.bsky.social. It doesn't matter what kind of archaeology appeals to you, or what kind of archaeology you do. The work they do transcends our discipline and is vitally important.

Ending my week with this comment from a reviewer: “The chapter is beautifully written and well organized.” 🥰

Hello everyone! We are the Insitute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology (IPIA) 🏺 at the University of Alberta! We're new to BlueSky and over the next little while we'll start sharing some info. In the meantime, you can learn more about us at our website: www.ualberta.ca/en/prairie-i...

I have to go to the lab within the next few weeks but I don’t want to do the three hour drive in -30 weather because I am too attached to my space heater.

We used to have a street racing problem in my neighbourhood. It was solved last year after a new police station opened at the intersection they used as a starting line #HATM

Free pancakes, free pizza, and a cool nail in the excavation unit box. I’m living the archaeology grad student dream today!

PhD proposal revisions submitted!

I’m excited to be part of this upcoming online book launch. I’ll be discussing my chapter called “The Landscapes of my Ancestors: Using Archaeology to Tell the Story of Métis Connections to the Landscape”. Register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc...

as LA is burning, a swath of the country is recovering from an ice storm, Alabama is preparing for up to 6” of snow and I’m praying for the TX power grid, a reminder: we don’t need climate action just for future generations, we need it now. the climate crisis is here, all around us

Yesterday was a lab day. I’m so glad I work with other people who are passionate about faunal analysis. It’s definitely not my jam!

Here we have just a little guy, toasty and content as he reflects on his day. 13/10 would try my best not to disturb him

My PhD proposal has 26 revision notes on it. Let’s see how many I can take care of during this morning’s writing session.

Historians at the movies just popped up on my timeline. Although this week’s movie isn’t available on any of the streaming services I have, I look forward to joining for future movie nights! #hatm

Spring on the garage door just broke. I guess I can’t leave the house. Darn. 😆

I successfully had a real rest over the holidays. While I completed some projects around the house, I didn’t do any work for the university. Today I’m back to work and ready to do this!

New Year’s Day raclette and the Princess Bride. Inconceivable!

It’s a good day to organize all the books in this house. Maybe I’ll be able to reduce the number of piles of books and get them on shelves. 10 piles in my office alone!

Time for the annual viewing of Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas.

One of my fellow anthropologists and I formed a competitive puzzle team today. Our first competition is happening in February. I’ll have to make time to get to the lab and reassemble ceramic shards for some puzzle practice!

Having a get-together for friends and family. Will there be 5 people or will there be 50? Nobody knows.

A Christmas Eve toast for everyone! Slainte!

Never a good sign when your Search and Rescue husband runs up the stairs with drone equipment in both hands. Hopeful for a quick search with a happy outcome.

Hey folks! My friends are trying to raise money to get Bakr the life saving surgery he needs - the initial deadline has passed and they are only just over halfway to the goal - can you donate and share so they can reach it ASAP? The next $500 will be matched! tiny.cc/HelpBakr

After being trapped in Early View purgatory for over a year, the article @mapsworth.bsky.social, @archaeomapper.bsky.social, and I wrote together has *officially* been published in a special issue of Archaeological Prospection! Available open access below: 🏺

Revisions to my proposal are back from my supervisor. I know what I’ll be working on for the next few days!

Re-sharing this paper from earlier this year! Still quite happy with it ☺️ #archaeology 🏺

Just got confirmation that one of the sites identified for my PhD research is…a typo! I suspected as much but it’s good to have the confirmation and get the databases cleaned up a little bit.

Thirteen months after my car accident I have finally “graduated” from physiotherapy! At one point I was going twice a week. I still have exercises to do on a regular basis but no more appointments!

Why are all the coolest looking sites “outside the study area of interest”??