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Archaeology/Questions Answered by Expert John J. Shea
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Is archeology a good career option? | 11/23/2011 |
| Q: This is a concerned mother of a 12 year old boy who is very keen on being an archeologist when he ... A: Gopal, I'd encourage him to go on an excavation, just to broaden his intellectual background, as ... | |
| Indian Stone Tool / Weapon | 11/14/2011 |
| Q: I found this stone today, laying on top of the ground next to a tree, while hunting deer. In ... A: It looks like a hoe or an axe. The surface is kind of weathered, though and the chipping at the ... | |
| stone artifacts | 9/28/2011 |
| Q: These two stone artifacts were found on our family farm many years ago. We have no idea what they ... A: They are not stone tools. They are bits of limestone that have been shaped by erosion. They are ... | |
| high school classes | 8/18/2011 |
| Q: Shea I have a couple questions for you. I have almost always wanted to be a archaeologist, help in ... A: In high school it is way too early to specialize. Take a wide range of classes, but be sure you ... | |
| Egyptology | 5/18/2011 |
| Q: I really would love to focus on an Egyptology degree or somewhat close to that. I love Egypt and all ... A: Chris First, read as much as you can about the subject in the professional literature. Look for ... | |
| Egyptology | 2/24/2011 |
| Q: I'm a High School Junior, and i wanted to know what is better to major in for Egyptology, I was ... A: Kody Best to take a mix of classes as an undergrad, including archaeology, anthropology, history, ... | |
| can i study archeology even iam a computer science student | 12/22/2010 |
| Q: !! iam very much passinated towards archeology .i want to procced my career towards archeology.as ... A: Akhila You certainly can pursue and have a career in archaeology! Much of what archaeologists do ... | |
| Ancient archeology | 11/19/2010 |
| Q: I was wondering what it is like being an archeologist and also experiencing different cultures. I am ... A: Christopher, I'll answer briefly, for I have to limit time spent on this forum in order to do my own ... | |
| archaeological facts | 9/13/2010 |
| Q: In Ancient World Archaeology, how precise is the dating of the cities? For example, if Archaeology ... A: If the dates are written as BCE, that implies they are calendar years. This further implies either ... | |
| stone tool | 9/9/2010 |
| Q: I found this in my yard while digging just a little for regrassing. Can you identify it? It is made ... A: Could be a grinding stone, but natural processes can weather stone into such a shape, too. This is ... | |
| Origin of Archery | 6/16/2010 |
| Q: I have recently read a new paper by Marlize Lombard named: "Indications of bow and stone-tipped ... A: I am unfamiliar with any formal proposal that the branch snare was a precursor to the bow, but it ... | |
| native stone tools | 5/24/2010 |
| Q: Shea. 27 yrs ago i inherited from my father many arrowheads and stone tools. with the help of the ... A: I have never seen an arrowhead like this. It is also far larger than any credible projectile point. ... | |
| Identifying an era by a description | 4/3/2010 |
| Q: John, thanks for providing this free service. Quite nice of you. I am wondering at what point in ... A: No problem, and certainly no apology necessary. I have only a limited amount of time to do this ... | |
| Archaeology and College | 4/2/2010 |
| Q: Shea, I am a junior in high school and I'm considering majoring in archaeology. My firstis there a ... A: Most of the differences in training between Classical Archaes (Greece/Rome) and studies of other ... | |
| Identifying an era by a description | 3/23/2010 |
| Q: John, thanks for providing this free service. Quite nice of you. I am wondering at what point in ... A: I seem to have missed the cue to follow up on this. Much depends on the phrasing of the question. ... | |
| Identifying an era by a description | 3/23/2010 |
| Q: John, thanks for providing this free service. Quite nice of you. I am wondering at what point in ... A: Scavenging was probably never a major part of any recent human diet, but otherwise, what you ... | |
| 3 Archaeology/Anthropology questions related with schooling | 3/11/2010 |
| Q: I have known I wanted to be an archaeologist since I was 9. I have a 3.857 GPA, am quite involved ... A: Ariel I don't usually do college advice, but I'll make an exception for you because you've clearly ... | |
| odd rock formation | 3/6/2010 |
| Q: I am a fossil collector and i have come across an odd rock/fossil. Can you tell me what this is? ... A: I have forgotten the name of these things, but they are natural. Basically, they are formly big ... | |
| High School Students and digs | 1/29/2010 |
| Q: How can a high school student get in on an archeologist dig? Is there something that I should be ... A: Look into the website of the Archaeological Institute of America -www.archaeological.org They have a ... | |
| Neanderthal predation etc. | 12/17/2009 |
| Q: I just came across an article about the Neanderthal predation theory which states that Neanderthals ... A: I think people read more into my blurb on the book than I intended. The publisher's press release ... | |
| archaelogy | 12/13/2009 |
| Q: I am middle school student interested in an archaeology career. Do you anticipate there will be a ... A: I wouldn't say there is a growing need, so much as a need to replace the aging population. A lot of ... | |
| archaeology | 10/18/2009 |
| Q: I want to know the Standard ancestor choice the stone to use. A: In Pleistocene times, when people made stone tools mainly by controlled conchoidal fracture. So, ... | |
| Origins of Archery | 8/17/2009 |
| Q: The discovery of a bone projectile point at Sibudu cave in South Africa seems very interesting as it ... A: I am convinced the bow and arrow were initially developed in Subsaharan Africa, coming into ... | |
| Ground levels | 5/18/2009 |
| Q: A friend and I were wondering why archaeoloical finds (e.g. Roman roads) are always located so far ... A: Julia Things like roads get buried in several ways either -sediment erodes onto them from higher ... | |
| Rate of decay - dating method? | 3/4/2009 |
| Q: Shea, I appreciate the time you take to answer questions and just want to say thank you in advance. ... A: Mitch 1. In principle, yes. If you had clothing samples of sufficient age to date them with ... | |
| Possible moa skeleton | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: my name is Jenus. I have a question that I hope you can answer. Attached is a photo of a skeleton ... A: This shows the importance of context in archaeology and the perils of making assumptions. On the ... | |
| Links between salmon exploitation and Cave art | 2/3/2009 |
| Q: Jochim's suggestion that there is a link between cave art and salmon exploitation in the ... A: I think this study is part of his book Paul G. Bahn 1984 Pyrenean Prehistory. I am not sure, though. ... | |
| Links between salmon exploitation and Cave art | 2/3/2009 |
| Q: Jochim's suggestion that there is a link between cave art and salmon exploitation in the ... A: It's not necessarily the case that the art depicts the food source. In fact, I think Paul Bahn some ... | |
| Paleolithic Humans | 12/16/2008 |
| Q: We know a lot about the hunter-gatherer diet of Paleolithic humans, but I'd like to find out how ... A: This is one of those questions one has to answer with a non-answer. Essentially we just don't know. ... | |
| ancient oil lamps | 12/10/2008 |
| Q: Greetings! Okay...I feel a bit foolish for even asking this question, but here it goes. I have ... A: If they are intact, they are almost certainly fakes. It is simple enough to make a cast based on a ... | |
| Futures in Archaeology | 11/7/2008 |
| Q: I've been searching through all previous questions but none of them seem to help me... In the past ... A: Sara It is indeed common for students to go into archae. from history, albeit usually they focus on ... | |
| K/T boundary | 10/22/2008 |
| Q: Shea, I'm a truck driver in the USA and I drive all over the US and I notice a formation in the ... A: but the K/T boundary concerns an event 65 million years ago, much earlier than the focus of my ... | |
| Neanderthal | 9/18/2008 |
| Q: If we are, as recently realized, much further separated from Neanderthals, is it not possible that ... A: Erin All species have morphological features that signal potential mates. Such differences could ... | |
| Nibiru - is it true? | 8/24/2008 |
| Q: I have this question on my mind and with your expertise, perhaps you can clear this one up. I have ... A: This Nibiru is a mish-mash of "lunatic fringe" readings of Maya and Sumerian literature. These ... | |
| history of dating of cave paintings | 8/19/2008 |
| Q: When Altamira was discovered in the latter part of the 19th century it was assumed to be a hoax. ... A: Michael, The simple answer is that they found pieces of the walls with paint on them as well as ... | |
| religious wingnuts - radiocarbon dating | 8/18/2008 |
| Q: I am 80, a secular person, a subscriber to Scientific American for more than 50 years! With lies, ... A: Sorry for delayed response. I had to go to Kenya last week. Science has proven the validity and ... | |
| Getting a Doctorate in Archaeology | 8/7/2008 |
| Q: I have bounced around between several fields and Universities and I never had any guidance in career ... A: No need to start over as an undergrad. You might want to try an MA/MS in archaeology (or anthro) ... | |
| Archaeolgy/chemistry | 8/5/2008 |
| Q: I just started getting into chemistry because of my passion in Archaeology I was wondering if ... A: Chemistry is absolutely crucial for archaeology. It underlies many of the geological and biological ... | |
| fossil found | 6/4/2008 |
| Q: Years ago I found what appears to be a tooth on a beach in Florida. Now, I do not think it is a ... A: Jim I am not a paleontologist, but I'll have a look. Shark teeth are common on the beaches of ... | |
| Palaeolithic diet | 5/21/2008 |
| Q: There are two palaeolithic diet theories. One states that the meats from wild animals was lean, ... A: There are a lot more than two theories about paleolithic diets, but anyhow.... The fat content of ... | |
| paleo-man's features | 3/30/2008 |
| Q: I am curious about the features of paleolithic man. Were they region-specific physical ... A: Jaime For the most authoritative answer to this, look up Nina Jabolnski's new book about the ... | |
| city under the sea? | 3/30/2008 |
| Q: my father was just talking about some show he saw on the discovery channel about an undersea city ... A: Richard Can't say much because I haven't seen the program, but my guess would be that you are ... | |
| What Highshool classes should I take?? | 1/23/2008 |
| Q: John. I need help knowing what kind of highschool classes i should take that will help with my ... A: Kyra Hard sciences (chem, bio, physics) and languages are the most important classes. History and ... | |
| Truth to the rumors | 1/22/2008 |
| Q: my name is Brandon and I've always been fascinated with the field of archaeology, and most other ... A: Brandon The idea of a lost civilization like our own is a popular theme in science fiction. There ... | |
| Safe Education Path | 12/27/2007 |
| Q: Hey John, I've been reading past questions and answers on your page and they have been very ... A: Archaeology straddles the academic divide between arts and sciences. Your best course of action is ... | |
| bible archaeology | 12/19/2007 |
| Q: Shea, There are some groups of evangelists that argue that archaeology in some way probes bible or ... A: Sebastian This is, as you can image, a controversial issue. I will give you my opinion based on ... | |
| colleges with a great archaeology program | 11/19/2007 |
| Q: I'm a junior in high school and I've always wanted to have a career in archaeology, but i'm having ... A: Wash. Univ. in St. Louis has an outstanding program in archaeology (in its Anthropology Department). ... | |
| "Sun" Stopping? | 2/14/2007 |
| Q: In the book of Joshua it says Joshua stopped the sun for almost a 24 hr. period. I was having a ... A: 1. There are no other records of such an event ever having occurred, even though there were plenty ... | |
| Statues without noses | 1/27/2007 |
| Q: Why do so many statues lack a nose? Were there times when people broke the noses of statues for a ... A: The nose on sculptures of the human head are weakly supported, and thus easily damaged. So, a fair ... | |
| A College for archaeology | 1/4/2007 |
| Q: I am specifically interested in middle eastern archaeology because I am of semitic desecent and I ... A: If you look over the answers to other people's questions, you will see I have answered this question ... | |
| Archaeology "title" | 10/16/2006 |
| Q: Could you tell me what qualifyies the title as an archaeologist? Can anyone that has performed ... A: There is no universal set of criteria as to who can call themselves an "archaeologist". It is ... | |
| Archaelogy Career Paths | 10/9/2006 |
| Q: Good morning Mr. Shea, I just read your response to a young person asking about Archaeology college ... A: I have been getting a lot of career-oriented questions lately. Regrettably, the time I have to ... | |
| Archaeology/Anthropology? | 10/3/2006 |
| Q: I'm a Senior in high school this year but I have had problems finding what I would like to do more, ... A: There is a subfield of archaeology, called bioarchaeology, that involves the analysis of human ... | |
| archaeology undergraduate programs | 9/28/2006 |
| Q: What are the best schools for archaeology? I want to concentrate on Europe, Near East, and Asia but ... A: Kayla I have received several questions lately that are essentially the same as your. Have a look ... | |
| Archeology | 9/2/2006 |
| Q: I am only a freshman in High School and i was wondering what kind of classes would be good to take ... A: Jared, Have a look at the last 5-10 questions I have answered for Allexperts. I think you will find ... | |
| What colleges should I apply for? | 8/28/2006 |
| Q: I am going to be a high school senior this year. Just let me tell you that ever since I was ten ... A: Jessica, I have received several questions similar to yours in the last couple of weeks. You might ... | |
| College Archaeology Programs | 8/17/2006 |
| Q: Out of curiosity, is it possible to specialize in more than one field of archaeology (specifically, ... A: Sarah It is certainly possible, indeed advisable at the undergrad level, to study more than one area ... | |
| Anthropology major? | 7/14/2006 |
| Q: Hey John, it seems like many archaeologists are supporting undergrad studies in Anthropology before ... A: There are some programs whose explicit mission is to conduct research to support the intelligent ... | |
| scope of computer science in this field | 7/3/2006 |
| Q: ! i m doing engineering in computer science. i have great interest in this field. can you tell me ... A: There are, as you will discover, a lot of possibilities for computer science applications in ... | |
| College archaeology programs | 4/19/2006 |
| Q: I am a high school junior and I contacted you earlier about college archaeology programs, and now I ... A: Some of the best include Univ. of Penn, UCLA, Brown, BU, Bryn Mawr, NYU. This is really kind of ... | |
| Palaeolithic Cave Art | 3/25/2006 |
| Q: me and my collegues at hartpury college, gloucester, uk have to do a presentation on a subject ... A: The best-documented cave art sites are Lascaux, Altamira, and Chauvet. Many images from these sites ... | |
| College archaeology programs | 3/24/2006 |
| Q: I am a high school junior interested in a career in archaeology. Is it better to major in ... A: This is a tough one to answer. I myself majored in archaeology at Boston University. I thought I ... | |
| Health of Palaeolithic Man | 2/20/2006 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could give me a number of references to online articles as well as your own ... A: I do not have the time to do a web search for you. Log on to Google and type in ... | |
| Aviram Oshri Bethlehem of Galilee | 1/18/2006 |
| Q: I was wondering if you are aware of the published findings of Aviram Oshri. I had a couple of ... A: This is not my main area of expertise, but from what little I know about Biblical Archaeology it ... | |
| DNA analysis of past and present populations | 1/18/2006 |
| Q: Are modern Europeans the direct biological descendents of Paleolithic inhabitants of Europe? A: DNA samples extracted from the Cro-Magnon fossil and other Upper Paleolithic humans are ... | |
| General Career Questions | 1/16/2006 |
| Q: I am a high school student doing a research paper on archaeology and was wondering if I could ask ... A: I hope this reaches you in time. I am basing my replies on my own field experience, mostly ... | |
| going into archaeology | 1/15/2006 |
| Q: hey! I am a grade 11 high school student and I want to go into history and archaeology of the ... A: If possible, in high school, try to take courses in the languages and literature of the Classical ... | |
| anthropology | 1/14/2006 |
| Q: What are the differences between The Socirty For Applied Anthropology and The American ... A: The Society for Applied Anthropology is a subset of the larger American Anthropological Association. ... | |
| Prospective Archaeology Major | 10/11/2005 |
| Q: I am an American, 22, and currently in the US Navy. After separation from the military I plan to ... A: I do not know much about the details of Australian universities' archaeology curricula. For these ... | |
| Cave paintings/drawings | 8/26/2005 |
| Q: I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to share your expertise with me. It was a wonderful ... A: You are most welcome. There are some good websites on general aspects of archaeology at About.com ... | |
| Monumental Architecture | 4/21/2005 |
| Q: I just have a few questions about monumental architecture. why is monumental architecture a ... A: Archaeologists have focused a lot of attention on monumental architecture for several reasons. 1. ... | |
| Neandertal culture | 4/4/2005 |
| Q: It appears that most of the evidence which may show that Neandertals had culture (pollen and animal ... A: I would say this evidence indicates that Neandertals had a symbolic capacity (no surprise there, ... | |
| infering behavior from stone tools | 3/5/2005 |
| Q: I'm a college freshman writing a paper focusing on the pbs documentary, "The Mind's Big Bang." I ... A: What archaeologists know about early tools reflects about 100 years of (1) ethnographic observations ... | |
| related sciences | 3/2/2005 |
| Q: I am a student of Archaeology studying in Cornwall, England im thinking about doing a project ... A: This isn't really my speciality, but I think two references that could assist you are Stephen ... | |
| ancient cities | 2/22/2005 |
| Q: I don't know if this falls under your domain or not, but the other day I saw on the news about how ... A: Sorry if this is a repeat message. I thought I answered it, but found it listed as "pending" when I ... | |
| a career in archaeology | 1/25/2005 |
| Q: What do you think the best and worst things about archaeology are? What made you decide on this ... A: Please understand this is my personal "take" on these questions, other archaeologists may feel ... | |
| DAting Methods | 12/29/2004 |
| Q: I asked a creationists about current dating methods and this is what he said, is what he's saying ... A: There are so many things wrong with this, I scarcely know where to begin. The cardinal assumptions ... | |
| ancient marble columns | 10/27/2004 |
| Q: John, This may not be your area of expertise,but perhaps you could refer my question to another ... A: Some columns were built of smaller segments held together with metal pins, but the ones you describe ... | |
| radiocarbon dating | 10/17/2004 |
| Q: What are some pros and cons of radiocarbon dating, if you know any that would be great, or if you ... A: The best source of information on this would be any college-level introductory textbook on ... | |
| TL Dating | 9/27/2004 |
| Q: Would you happen to know of any websites, or books, that will tell me where TL Dating has been used ... A: Karl Have a look at C. Renfrew and P. Bahn (2004) Archaeology: Theories, Methods & Practice, pages ... | |
| Fire and Cooking | 5/17/2004 |
| Q: In "Consciousness Explained", Daniel Dennett says that our ancestors learned to cook root vegetables ... A: The evidence for plant foods is usually carbonized plant tissues (seeds, leaves, etc.). There is a ... | |
| Fire and Cooking | 5/15/2004 |
| Q: In "Consciousness Explained", Daniel Dennett says that our ancestors learned to cook root vegetables ... A: Rollo The earliest putative evidence for fire is burnt bone from Swartkrans Member 3, which dates to ... | |
| The Ark in Ararat | 5/11/2004 |
| Q: The idea that Noah's Ark has been located in Mt. Ararat has come up in a recent conversation. I ... A: Alexandra As near as I can make out from my reading, this business of a boat on Mt. Ararat is a hoax ... | |
| Isolated advanced cultures. | 3/5/2004 |
| Q: John - are the remains of early settled people at (for instance) Catal Huyuk and Lepenski Vir, ... A: The human remains from Catalhoyuk (new spelling), Lepinski Vir, and most other European and West ... | |
| palaeolithic period | 11/26/2003 |
| Q: was the upper palaeolithic a time of unprecedented innovation? A: Tara, Yes, by any objective standard, the pace at which new behaviors appear in the archaeological ... | |
| Ancient Near East fortifications during the Neolithic Period | 10/7/2003 |
| Q: Was the Neolithic period the first time that retaining walls were used in the Ancient Near East? A: Derek In the Levant, some late Epipaleolithic sites (Mallaha/Eynan, Hayonim Cave) have ... | |
| Ancient migrations | 9/28/2003 |
| Q: John Has there been any concerted effort to map ancient migrations/origins using DNA technology ... A: I'll recommend two books. Brian Sykes' (2002) Seven Daughters of Eve and Steve Olsen's (2002) ... | |
| Prehistoric Europe | 6/13/2003 |
| Q: John - Re the Skara Brae settlement and Newgrange and other Irish and Scottish pre-Celtic sites - ... A: The most recent comprehensive scientific reference for this period is Alastair Whittle's book, ... | |
| Career in Archaeology | 5/25/2003 |
| Q: Mr. Shea, I have to interview an archaeologist for a career assignment from my reading teacher. ... A: I was interested in archaeology at a very young age, mainly, I think, from learning to read from ... | |
John J. Shea
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Questions about Old World prehistoric archaeology (mainly Europe, Near East, and Africa during the Paleolithic period/Pleistocene Epoch). IMPORTANT: I do not give advice about colleges. I do not appraise the value of artifacts or fossils.
Experience
University professor of anthropology/archaeology since 1991. Dozens of publications in peer-review anthropology journals. Director of archaeological-paleontological expeditions and excavations in Israel, Jordan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya. See my main profile under Allexperts` "Anthropology" section. Professional website: http://www.sunysb.edu/anthro/staff/jshea.shtml Personal website: http://www.sunysb.edu/anthro/Shea/Shea%20pers%20webpage.htm
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