This belongs in a museum!

Friends (at least those of you who have me on your RSS feed and so will actually see this).

I have chosen to break radio silence to bring you tidings of great joy. Click here. Go. Don't worry. I'll wait.

...... did you click? Really? Are you sure? Last chance. OK.

OMIGOODNESSSOEXCITINGIT'SLIKEEVERYTHINGILOVEALLINONESINGLETHING squeeeeeeeeeeee!

Right???? I'm practically at a loss for words and am totally squealing with glee. It's everything I adore, everything that I'm passionate about, every reason I started this blog, all rolled into one pile of AWESOME. I don't even care that it will probably not be very good and disappointing on all levels. It EXISTS!

In all (exuberant) seriousness, the exhibit does raise some really interesting issues concerning the confluence of pop culture and academic science. I'm really interested to see how the curators juxtapose "real" objects with movie props. From the photo slide show, it looks like they picked archaeological objects that are rather similar to some key props from the movies. Will that have the effect of undermining the authenticity of the "real" objects, or make it more powerful? How will they tell the story of scientific archaeology through a leitmotif that bears no resemblance to it in any substantive way? (Except perhaps the common headgear, which is a beautiful example of life coming to imitate the art.)

Also of interest here are the primary partners and sponsors: National Geographic Society, Lucasfilms, and the Penn Museum (a highly credible institution). I brought this very topic up in my Museum Studies seminar this week, and someone wondered who initiated this exhibition concept and why. I immediately, knee-jerk reacted that it must be Lucasfilms (which has also done Star Wars exhibits) and they must be expecting a fair amount of revenue to be generated. But, upon further contemplation I think it's more than that. Indiana Jones has been a gateway for many people to understand what archaeology is and what it does (well...sort of). A museum show is conceivably the perfect forum for Indy and science to be put side by side, so that one may inform the other. The trick, however, will be doing it well. And doing it well will be ever so much more difficult than doing it poorly. But the criteria for success of this exhibit should be to clarify the

Press release-type information is here, as well as a promotional video, for those so inclined. It's pretty interesting stuff. (A nice touch is the "This belongs in a museum!!!" "So do you!" exchange from Last Crusade.)

So, Montreal? Next summer? Anyone? (I will note that Ann Arbor to Montreal is an 11 hour drive, which is only an hour and a half more than some people I know have been willing to drive in order to go to a museum for the weekend.)

Your hero and mine

Packing is a bit all consuming at the moment, but here's a little bit of Indy joy that passed through my email inbox this week.



The AIA made a big deal about HF coming to this huge gala in April. And apparently he didn't show up. Whoops.

"Once we were in danger from fanatical lama priests..."

One of the small joys of my life is listening to Science Friday podcasts on the bus to and from school. All spring, Ira Flatow has been interviewing guests with ties to Charles Darwin in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of The Origin of Species. I'm heinously behind, but this evening on the way home, I learned something very very interesting and important.

Roy Chapman Andrews is the official real life Indiana Jones! And he's from Beloit, Wisconsin, which is a half hour from where I grew up and less than ten minutes from my parents' current house!!!!! Apparently his true gift was in taxidermy, but he worked his way up the ladder at the American Museum of Natural History by taking a position sweeping floors and hitting up Andrew Carnegie for money.
The only problem is RCA (as his society seems inclined to call him) isn't really an archaeologist. He's more a paleontologist/evolutionary biologist, who set out looking for hominid fossils in the Gobi desert but instead ended up finding scores of dinosaur fossils, including the first ever identified velociraptor and dinosaur eggs. When I tell people I'm an archaeologist, and they reply "Wow, dinosaurs!", I helpfully correct them by pointing out that Indiana Jones is archaeology, Jurassic Park is paleontology. Way to not understand the difference, George Lucas.

But, he did wear a fedora and carry a pistol, which, as we all know, are really the only relevant aspects here.

When I have free days this summer at my parent's house, I'm going to go look at his birthplace and grave and maybe, finally, eventually, go to the Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College as I have been intending for years. Pictures to come!

A Very Indy Christmas

This post is only about a week overdue...

So what do budding archaeologists get for Christmas? Indiana Jones merchandise! My family only did "stocking presents" this year (meaning we opened presents for 3 hours Christmas morning, rather than the usual 5-6). Included in my stocking was: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a new Lego set featuring Junior and Henry Jones Sr riding the motorcycle/sidecar, and a Lego Indy keychain.

The reason for only stocking presents is my family's upcoming epic 9 day adventure in Disney World in about a week. Will I go see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and covet many many things in the accompanying gift shop? Why yes, thank you for asking.

In other news, I'm making moderate progress on my thesis paper about glass beads. My adviser and I had a nice impromptu chat about it when I went into the office this week, but she politely asked if I could write up and include about 4 bone beads and a couple shell pieces in the final product as well. It's for the greater good - the final publication version of the paper will be a chapter titled "Beads" and include beads of all materials. Since, just like us, ancient peoples wore jewelry in multimedia, it makes much more sense to discuss all beads and pendants together, rather than isolated by material. It's just... the bone and shell pieces are so boring compared to the glass. But, that's archaeology. It ain't always golden idols and arks.

And finally, my last two PhD applications were officially due today. I, naturally, completed them weeks ago. Unfortunately, one of my recommenders has yet to do the same. For any of the programs to which I applied. Including the one due December 15th. Awesome.