As part of my new position at ATU, I am directing the Center for Heritage and Culture. The webpage will be for the public. I want to include info about research projects (broader topics) & highlight student projects (conference presentations, etc.). What else can I share on there?

This was found during one of my stone sourcing field studies. It's a mix of Potato Hills Chert & quartzite/silicified sandstone. Examining artifacts as part of my diss, I have found one biface with a mix of chert & quartzite. The stem was quartzite while the blade was chert.

1/ These pics may not seem like a big deal but it is in my research area. XRF results of two different raw material (stone) types that have been difficult to distinguish. These results were repeated on different specimens each examined 3 times. This can be repeated to address-

Taking photos of different lithic raw materials, followed by more pXRF tonight and tomorrow.

Working on a chapter of my diss. An extensive part of it is about stone sourcing - including pXRF and tracing fluvial deposits to see where & how cobbles are being transported. This goes in distinguishing between if some were traded or locally available.

Now that it's official, I want to share that I have accepted an Assistant Professor position at Arkansas Tech University. I'm looking forward to preparing students for careers in CRM and directing the Center for Heritage and Culture to continue my research in the southeast.

The field school excavations at Spiro have come to an end. I wasn't able to excavate this year, but was able to visit several times and do some artifact identification. These are some photos from the field school but you can check out more at: www.facebook.com/share/16QWWF...

There is a bird nest on the porch. This little one fell and was hiding behind a box that got delivered today. They are fine and back in the nest now.

Wood charcoal (and matrix) from the site I excavated as part of my dissertation. Unfortunately, due to the situation with federal grants, I won't be able to get it dated.

Conducted some fieldwork today. Goal was to determine the level of disturbance (from looting) at the boundaries of the site. Recovered a lot of debitage and a biface fragment - based on fracture it was damaged during biface reduction.

Using pXRF today to look at stone sourcing and lithic acquisition strategies.

Here is an example of Potato Hills Chert. This high-quality material with vibrant colors has a very limited source range. This material isn't highly traded, but instead seems restricted to groups in a particular river valley. My dissertation looks into why this might be.

I am doing Bayesian statistics this weekend. It's been said that there was a 150-200 yr gap where FM people stopped using a site type and then returned with pottery. Have ~200 C14 dates from 13 sites to see if that holds up. #ChangingtheNarrative

Really exciting news from the Ozarks! A bag of seeds dating to the Pre-Contact Period in North America was found and donated to the University of Arkansas museum. Absolutely amazing find and you can read more about it here: www.reddit.com/r/missouri/c...

Watch the Zahi episode while I am doing Bayesian statistics this weekend. It's been said that there was a 150-200 yr gap where FM people stopped using a site type and then returned with pottery. Have ~200 C14 dates from 13 sites to see if that holds up. #ChangingtheNarrative

Chase Earles is a Caddo potter. He makes traditional Caddo pottery, but he also makes some amazing pieces that mix traditional Native American themes with modern pop culture. Here are a few pieces he did. You can follow his page at: facebook.com/caddopottery

Will have a YT short out this week (~3min video). Its just some of the archaeological process. The hope is to demonstrate some of the process & allow people to ask questions along the way. In the future, I am making a full series on an excavation of my family's site (historic).

Went to visit local landowners and survey areas for sites on their property. Located petroglyphs and black earth. Can't share photos of sites or artifacts but here selfie from me hanging sideways from a tree to get a photo of some erosion occurring.

Excited for this tonight. The event is open to anyone interested in attending!

All moved into the new house. Still have a lot to unpack. Hoping to get back to working on my dissertation research soon.

The SAC will be hosting the first of our speaker series on March 10th at 5pm central/6pm eastern with Dr. Andrew Johnson! He is the lead historian for the new Civilization game! Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/097f5a...

We'd informed a few people, such as the State Archaeologist, about the specific point type (Evans) of which we were initiating a morphological study but kept it quite so nobody could rush in & do a quick study ahead of us. That was why formally making an announcement at the meeting was important.

1/ As promised, key topics from the paper I gave this past weekend. I examined settlement patterns in the Pine Hills of Mississippi. Cluster analysis identified 5 distinct groups from the Late Archaic to Late Woodland Period. In this, I did initial density, ecological, and social

Process of using ArcGIS for archaeological research: 1-3 hours of data clean-up 8-12 hours of troubleshooting why the geoprocessing tools won't work 2 minutes to run analysis

Have a few YT shorts coming. I talk/show some of the objects found during the fieldwork and & how it relates to my research. Will hopefully have those out soon. Still plan on doing my other video about common alt history questions & my opinions but in the process of moving.

Had a great talk yesterday with one of the guys about my new ISP. Guy liked Ed Barnhart and we had an amazing talk about the archaeology of the Americas. Guy was super excited to ask questions. Love that kind of enthusiasm. Keeps me wanting to do public engagement.

Fieldwork went well this weekend and we identified features. Was able to include private landowners, university faculty, OAS archaeologists, tribal members, and locals into the fieldwork and helping highlight the importance of the work being done.

Signed a new lease today. Not quite the small town I was hoping for in OK but it's a good place to be the next year and I get to live with my wife, so that's a plus.

Tim Perttula long-time North Texas archaeologist, consultant for the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, uncompromising perfectionist, and good friend, died this week. Can't think of a better tribute to him than to say: This is a reminder to all you archaeologists out there to FINISH YOUR DAMNED REPORTS!

The last few days archaeology and Native American studies lost some champions in the field. RIP Lance Foster and Tim Perttula.

SAA is currently looking for a DEI Specialist. If you are interested, you can apply at: careerhq.asaecenter.org/jobs/2091556...

One of the stupidest things is that I am getting auto-disqualified from renting properties because my dog is a German Shepherd.

Beau has been enjoying the snow.

It's gonna be cold but some fieldwork for my dissertation still planned for this weekend. Don't have signal, so will update everyone after I get back.

Excavations planned for next weekend. Putting in some test units to look at stratigraphy, raw material variability, and potentially features. These are some bifaces found by the property owner in the past.

Next video (talking about the big topics in Alt history) will be up in the beginning of January. May not have a video in February because I will be moving.

Archaeology today: Lithic analysis (if you haven't noticed yet, I do it daily), excavation planning, and sample prep for XRF.

And ready to bake! Replicating Gravettian iconography in cookie dough. 🦣🏺

Thinking about catfish in Minnesota archaeology- rock art image from a cave and an effigy mound likely depicting catfish, both from southeastern Minnesota near the Mississippi River where catfish are still common.

Archaeology work today: lithic analysis and developing methodology for testing hypotheses about what lack of trade of goods but still social interactions would look like in the material record.

My next video on YT will be me talking about the common questions that show up with fans of alt history topics. Such as the study of the Pre-dynastic vases, excavations at Gobekli Tepe, Flood myths, and astronomical alignment of sites.

Anyone know of an episode of Ancient Aliens that focuses on eastern NA? Since most students are more familiar with that show than Hancock, I want to review the show's episodes on the region. I cover the show's arguments about the Maya but not sure what they say about eastern NA.

1/ I believe I realize now why UnchartedX keeps saying the results of the chemical analysis of the vase pieces aren't oxides. When he shows the results of the analysis he says "With very little oxygen" and talks about the peak with the Titanium. It seems like he thinks that

Less than 50 subs away from hitting 500! Thanks everyone that has subbed already!

I have a new video up on YouTube discussing archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and prebunking a coming "criticism" that misunderstands how archaeologists study food remains. Give it a watch and a share! 🧪🏺🐡 youtu.be/OhHIajRbqiI

Only need a little over 100 more subscribers to hit 500! Hopefully, I will hit that before too long. Thanks y'all!

My video about the research I did at Poverty Point is now up! Please check it out and I'm more than happy to answer any questions about it! youtu.be/D1w2U6xZ_4E?...

Video releasing tomorrow at 3PM CST. Discussing my research (new and will be published later) at the Poverty Point site. Hope everyone tunes in for it!

I think this is a continued reason that Rogan should speak with archaeologists in a non-debatr format.