#archaeo notes

[er-cryptid]

[yawnbrendan]

[Signing up]

Tumblr: what are your interests?

Me: um, films?

T: [making note] queer cinema

M: it doesn't necessarily have to be qu- I mean yeah sure

T: what else? You interested in cars?

M: well I do like racing games

T: [making note] gay cars, check. Here, look at these accounts.

M: car accounts are gay on here? Ok yeah this stuff is fun

T: what else?

M: archaeo- ... Gay archaeology

[sic-semper-hominibus]

#it's archae-OP-teryx #not archeo-teryx

technically its archaeo-pteryx, meaning "winged animal (old as shit)"

note the similarity to ptero-dactyl, meaning "[edward] winghands"

paleontologist specializing in archaeopteryx who stubbornly insists on referring to herself as an archaeologist specifically because it confuses people

[jacensolodjo]

i’m ready to stop feeling like shit and to stop feeling like everyone is tired of putting up with me and i’m ready for my hip and back to stop being like they are  because i have to do stuff. and recently i’ve felt like i shouldn’t talk to people about anything whatsoever and ugh. just ugh

it’s mostly why my blog has been pretty dead lately. i’ve also lowered the frequency of my queue posts exactly because i don’t stick around long enough to fill it properly like i usually do. not that it matters i guess lmao

(tho like if people do want to talk to me they’re free to i’m still checking in from time to time with disco/skype/tumblr IMs/asks i just right now i feel weird initiating lmao)

[corpsoir]

so funny when both izzy and i have archaeo essays to write and instead of doing that we are sending each other 6 billion voice notes yelling and laughing about being insane about characters

[askmalal]

ARCHIVE M: Transmission 3

No. 3120

SECURITY STATUS: Absolute Secrecy

TYPE: Document/Bound/Book

RECOVERY: [REDACTED]M31

ACQUIRED BY: [REDACTED]

ACQUISITION CONDITIONS: Great Crusade, [REDACTED]

PROVENANCE: Human, Date Uncertain

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR OBSERVATIONS:

Subject is a bound leather (Calfskin?) book, about twelve inches tall by eight inches in depth, with a thickness of approximately 24” non inclusive of bindings. Trace markings on the cover indicate title painted in gold or orichalcum leaf, but condition was too heavily damaged to make any conclusions regarding title.

Subject’s pages are vellum, very high quality, thick. No title page. No author. Ink iron based, greyish, but in this case quite legible. We have been unable to determine identity of the writer, but the language is Low Gothic/Late Albian, so fairly easy to translate. Writing style is at first neat, in same hand throughout, but neatness of writing degrades over time.

<<Archival Note #3120a:

Subject’s author may have aged over writing period, may have suffered injuries or mental illness impairing fine motor skills. Seems to be suggestion inferred by original investigating authorities, but with incomplete records, who knows? -K>>

This is essentially a gigantic list of names and/or titles. It begins with a a large heading in what is admittedly quite beautiful handwriting:

Being a Record of His Names

Each page denotes a series of names. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands. Every so often, a red “cross” shaped marking is placed opposite the last letter of the entry. We are unsure as to the meaning of this. [REDACTED] and I believe that this may indicate a “dispute” of sorts over the nature of the name/title.

Some names and titles are clearly recognizable from Old Terran mythology or from pseudo-Terran mythologies post First Empire. However, some are utterly foreign. Many have the “look” of human names, but of uncertain provenance. Civilian Archaeologist-Remembrancer [REDACTED] was permitted to briefly view selected, hand copied passages. She agreed with our assessment that many of these were “human like,” but admitted that even with her training in Archaeo-Linguistics she could not properly place them. Suggested they were corrupted names, perhaps lost in transliteration?

ABBERANT PROPERTIES:

Subject would, by all appearances, seem to have limitless pages. Over a dozen attempts have been made, at time of writing, to count full number of pages and record all content. In every instance, the number of pages seems to grow larger, and the “names” within seem to increase, or upon occasion, even decrease in number. At last count, there were well over one thousand names recorded, with the largest number being recorded, in Examination #7, at two thousand five hundred and eleven.

<<Archival Note #3120b: A list of the names most consistently present according to remaining records has been attached to this report.- K. >>

Research Note 1:

Repeat tests have shown that subject has no discernible psychic properties. Exact nature therefore disputed.

Encrypted Note #1a:

<broken code string> suggests likelihood, Warp origin. Most of <broken code string>gree.

Research Note 2:

Leather tests show similarity to extinct Terran bovine species designed #332y by Ministry of Agriculture, last sighted M22. Ordo Ceres has requested permission to use test strip for genetic sequencing.

Addendum 2a:

Request denied, Administratum.

Research Note #3:

Three individuals: two Legionaries (#01, #02) and one Mechanicum Adept (#03) were asked to select randomly numbered pages, marked via electronic tracking, noting names on pages selected. In all cases. A fourth individual, Control A, had last known pic-scan, all pages.

#01 reported eighteen names, pages 332-33. None varied from pages as recorded and referenced by Control A.

#02, a Chaplain, referenced pages 50-52. Reported pages 50, 51 blank. Does not match pages as recorded and referenced by Control A.

#03, Techpriest, referenced pages 500-510. Only forty percent of names matched original as recorded and referenced by Control A.

Encrypted Note #3a:

I did not track, nor did I record, a page 510 when the document was prepared for examination. Nevertheless, tracking device was present.

<ORIGINAL FILE ENDS>

ATTACHMENT 3120a:

Database Entry: Psi/ ETA

To: Praetor Gyges, 32nd Cohort

From: Optio Valens, Archives Cohort

Captain:

I have gathered the following data at your request. Research is ongoing, and will be updated as new data is gathered.

As of M39, the following names for the entity in question are the most commonly encountered on two hundred dataslates of information (and counting.)

Amatsu-Mikaboshi

Anansi*

Apep*

Asmodeus

The Black Pharaoh

The Bloated Woman*

The Bloody Tongue

The Bull of Chaos

Boethiah

Caine*

Camazotz

Chronus

Clavicus Vile

The Crawling Chaos

The Eleven Elevenths

The End

The Faceless

The Faceless God

The Faceless Sphinx

The Fifth Path

The Great Betrayer

Hundun

Hypnos

Ishku

Janus

Kali

Kronos

Malal

Malice

Medjed

Merenkantur

Mordred*

Morgoth

The Nameless

The Near and The Nigh

Nemesis

Nyarlathotep

Odr

She Who Betrays

Sutekh*

Tchuculca

The Thousand Faces

The Thousand Masks

Tiamat*

The Watcher at The Threshold

*=Disputed in some sources.

TRANSMISSION ENDS...

DOWNLOAD COMPLETING...

DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE? >>No.

ENCRYPTING...

>> >>

>>THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

"They have us surrounded.

Those poor bastards." (Vulkan)

>> >>

ENDS

[lilbittymonster]

MSQ 99, a little past the 99 trial

Zoraal Ja got hands. It's definitely going to take some practise getting used to the shifting sword tile mech. But Estinien got the LB3 and Kitali got the final blow, so all around win for the battle couple 😌. Once again, I fear for what the extreme version of that trial is going to look like.

How many more villains are we going to have to deal with that want to destroy our world for the sake of their own? Personally I think that Alexandria was also on the 13th, I'm not sure where Y'shtola got the "it's not a voidgate bc it doesn't go to the 13th" from. Souls as payment for services rendered, the extreme parallels between Archaeo Alexandria and Baron from Durante's memories, the persistent umbral aether....idk maybe the writers are just running out of ideas but there's a few too many similarities for me to just brush it off as "oh but Y'shtola said it's not the 13th so it MUST be true."

In further "expansion for me" news...

My actual fucking reaction when VRTRA AND DRAGONS HOLY FUCK HI HELLO. I wish they had stuck around in the overworld for us to say hi to, I miss him. Proud of Alphinaud and Estinien for helping to negotiate that alliance. I would have loved to be a fly on that particular wall.

I am really annoyed at the further pushing of "we're all family now :)" from Wuk Lamat. I really don't want to dislike her, bc fuck knows we need more characters like her, but this is the same issue I had with the Exarch, and it's getting increasingly difficult for me not to resent her presence. So many of these split the party storylines can happen exactly the same without Kitali being there. And for my purposes, they are. I have to be dragged along for video game exposition reasons, but so much of this whole arc is entirely OOC for Kitali. Wuk Lamat can preach her "let's all be friends" spiel all she wants, and that's fine for her, but Kitali is strictly there on intelligence gathering and is just quietly observing. That scowl and arms folding that the WoL does in the final cutscene before leaving Solution 9 has been her stance the entire fucking time.

Very catered to with this option, though.

Going through the Origenics and reading all the information terminals felt like something I would find in a Fallout game. I'm pretty sure that was actually part of an entire dlc. If we weren't already sure that there were The Baddies, then I guess the compounding horror of finding Ambrose's experiment notes and then fighting him would have really driven the point home.

New DRG artefact gear is nice. It looks like they tried to reimagine the 70 trueblood armour but slim it down which. Looks fine, I guess. Not bad, not mindblowing, just yet more plate armour that's gonna get glamoured over anyways.

(I just noticed Aymeric in the background of that second shot. He is also cheering his wife on lol)

I think today is going to be the final stretch of MSQ and I am midldly nervous at just how much plot there is left before we hit MSQ 100. I am assuming that there's still going to be plenty of meat left in the patches and that's where the real resolution will be a la Heavensward, but.......we shall see.

Before I get back into the game I wanted to get down my first impressions of the first branch.

So I chose Kozama'uka for my first path, because I loved the Vanu and the Hanu seem like the same big friendly bird types. And they are! The village designs are very thoughtful about their environment and the worldbuilding with all the sidequests concerning reeds are great for my lore whore brain.

The MSQ is......kinda boring. Boring in that it feels like we, specifically, do not need to be there. Wuk Lamat does not need The Warrior Of Light, she needs someone who is significantly more worldly than her to lead by example. And the twins can do that just fine, Alisaie especially. It felt like half the time I was there just to have someone for Alphinaud to rubber duck off of. I can fully have Kitali not there and spending time with her husbands in the cabin and not miss a single thing.

The element of having locals gossiping nearby to give us more insight to the Turali view of the plot is interesting. Feels very organic as a way to reveal more information instead of just interrogating random locals.

I wonder how long it will be before we see Thancred and Urianger, since we the audience know they've been helping Koana, but our little group has only just been given the clue of "Archon allies". And what is the next weirdly coincidental appearance Estinien will make? Hello shiny husband nice to see you too. Our husband is currently relaxing and recovering from seasickness in our cabin, do you need a place to stay?

She's gonna pounce.

He's so fucking pretty. I wanna chew on his ears.

Once posing crimes come back I am just going to be living in these cabins. This is what I had in mind for what Kitali and Estinien had in Rads before we got the canon view of Estinien's bachelor pad lol.

Though, "comfy feather bed" my ass, these are solid planks of wood with a single layer of hide and a burlap pillow. I put her to sleep on the deck chair because that actually looks comfortable. The three of them will likely be sleeping on that gigantic couch until she can make a feather tick mattress topper or something.

Today's plan is to get Urqopacha tackled and possibly the first dungeon.

[ailingwriter]

FOSSIL FIGHTERS HEADCANONS PART 5 I NEED TO GO TO SLEEP WHY

Lotta spoilers for the first game. You have been warned!

Archaeo are just. Brats. They aren’t nearly as bad as some vivosaurs but they are some of the most high-energy vivosaurs and they seem determined to make this everyone's problem. Not a good pet.

Terata, along with the other Trilobites, are able to function in and out of the water. They do prefer having the option to be in the water, though. Terata are good with kids and rather calm.

Dikelo are... less so. They're rather timid guys and will burrow into the ground if something startles them. They don't like being inside because they can't really burrow. Be sure to give them sheets that they can hide under, or they'll stress themselves out.

Note on a previous hc: Duna is apparently canonically 14, not 16.

That works. I can work with this.

(This makes the idea of Duna being Just That Tall all the more hilarious.)

There are enough dinaurians to repopulate the species and then some. They were thorough. Their ship is lorge.

Only a small fraction of Dinaurians tried to become agents. Even fewer succeeded. Duna was the youngest.

Dynal still has nightmares of seeing his planet die.

He was only a prince of 14 years of age when they got the news.

A galactic lifeform was headed toward the planet of Dinauria.

One that they had picked up recordings of from an alien race half a decade prior.

A single holo device showing the last moments of that planet shown from afar as it got devoured

And a strange creature speaking strange pleading words that nobody could ever decipher.

They had seven years to prepare, if that.

There was chaos.

Eventually one kingdom's scientists managed to make one single ship able to hold a stable population's worth of dinaurians in stone sleep.

Along with this came the technology to direct evolution, and ai to monitor it.

Project: Mother Earth had begun.

Most other kingdoms considered this a sham.

Dynal thought it was a sham. His parents weren't the most honest folk.

(He only realized too late that when things came down to it, they acted in defense of their people - as true rulers.)

(His greatest regret is being unable to say how much he loved them)

They accepted any dinaurian who wished for this one desperate hope, regardless of nation. The king and queen were hoping to get enough volunteers to fill up the ship.

They never got the chance.

A maid had found them in their chambers, dead.

The queen, Theria, bloody and torn, died like the warrior she'd been.

The king, Dynal XV, soaked with blood, his throat slit.

The assassin was caught and executed but the damage was done.

19 years old and barely an adult, King Dynal XVI was crowned.

It was only weeks after that the news came.

Guhnash was upon them two years early.

Dynal knew what to do.

Even if it was a sham, it would give his people hope, if only for a moment.

It wasn't full to the brim but it still held a stable population.

Once everyone who had volunteered along with a few others had boarded, Dynal gave the order to blast off, not expecting for it to work.

It did.

It was only when the ship was many hundreds of miles away that Dynal realized

It wasn't a sham.

And he broke down crying, as Dinauria was consumed.

(They had loved their people just as he did.)

They searched the stars for eleven years. Most of the populous, including a nine-year-old Raptin, were in the newly developed stone sleep.

Raptin still remembers Dinauria. He resents the humans for what he sees as taking away his only chance of getting back his home.

Duna, on the other hand, was born during the voyage, the daughter of a scientist and a security guard. She only knows of Dinauria through stories and holotapes.

She was all of four years of age when Earth was discovered.

It took only a year for the next few phases of Project: Mother Earth to go underway.

The seeds were planted and the remaining populus went into stone sleep.

They expected to be woken by news that the Dinaurian People had been revived.

(On Earth, a young scientist and his sponsor are exploring an ancient craft when one of them presses a button.)

(A distress beacon calls out, and ancient failsafes spring to life.)

The Dinaurians wake up to very different news.

[art-thropologist]

Hiiii! Fellow archaeologists and current graduate student here! I was wondering if I could run my thesis idea/question by u and get ur opinion. I was thinking about dog burials in NC &SC & was going to do an archaeo and ethno history of the woodland period here and compare it with other dogs in religions across the world during this time to try and find an answer to the question “why did people bury there dogs this way?” Since there is no evidence of butchery/food from these dog bones. Whatdya think? Is it good? How can I improve it? Any input is accepted, just plz don’t be hateful, thanks!!! 🙏

Interesting idea. My only critique would be to toss out the comparative aspect. While it is worth noting that other religions have canine burial practices, unless you are saying there was influence from contact between these religions going on, it’s not really adding to your argument. You could fill a chapter on other contemporary indigenous practices, but again be careful about how you frame it so you don’t imply causality when it is likely correlation.

Since you are looking at a specific area and population, I would play with the idea of looking at the practice across time.

Hope this helps! Let me know how it fleshes out!

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Thanks for the tag, @sanspatronymic!

rules: tag nine people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer those questions

last song: “Blow Ye Winds in the Morning,” from the Revels Maritime Concert David Coffin performed this summer. I have long loved his voice (although I miss him having a festival crowd to do the choruses with him) am fucking entranced by the backdrop to that stage. 

last movie: The Half of It. Thank you to all the people who were reblogging it a while back as something special and worth my attention, but how come no one said it was Alice Wu’s second outing as a writer/director? (Her first being Saving Face.) I particularly enjoyed its opinions on the classic Cyrano plot: those two ARE the pairing who have natural chemistry in that plot; yes, the plot’s victim would have opinions about all of this; and hell yeah, everyone has a lot of work to do before they can build anything that’s going to go anywhere. On a more local note, we all laughed at the idea of hot springs right off the road like that that somehow everyone in town doesn’t know about, and also “Wenatchee” has a short ��a’ like ‘hat’.

currently reading: I’m currently stalled out in Curse of the Blue Tattoo (the second of the Bloody Jack novels), because it seems to be implying that boys’ institutions are full of brotherhood and fun, but girls’ institutions are full of Mean Girls. Dishwashing read-aloud is Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (because @grrlpup wanted to know about the pirates); currently we’re in the second story and Hornblower has once again just gotten his kit off for a naked deck shower. The Fighting Temeraire for fic research; unfortunately it is overdue -- not that the library is open in this smoke -- so I’ve skipped ahead to Trafalgar before I have to give it back. And Braiding Sweetgrass is my bathroom book, which I am loving very much.

currently watching: The new Sanditon miniseries. So far there has been naked people in every episode, which delights me. That said, I am feeling cheated, for while our heroine has caught a full frontal eyefull of Broody Dude Going Swimming, our view of Broody Dude Going Swimming was cut off at his navel and we got an eyefull of nothing. Which is a shame, because as near as I can tell, the only thing Broody Dude has going for him is his physique. 

currently craving: A walk. Fresh air! The smoke has been almost continuously above 400AQI since last Friday or so, and I have stepped out of this house exactly twice in the past week: once to pick up takeout for @bookherd‘s birthday, and once to take her to the airport. Other than that, it’s been these three rooms, the air filters running on high, and burning eyes and/or a sore throat and a cough. I AM SO STIR CRAZY I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU.

tagging: @archaeos, @beanarie, @phoenixfalls, @probably-impossible, @quipxotic, and anyone else who would like to play!

[poppibranchlover]

Nine Lives, One Fight - Part 33

The story: Deep in the forest of Troll Town, there lies a mysterious tiny purple mushroom that has a secret magical ability. King Peppy calls this mushroom forbidden for all Trolls to go near it. One day, while Branch is out in the woods doing his survival research studying, he encounters it and, not knowing it is a regular mushroom, decides to harvest it and bring it home. But in the next morning, its magic effects transform him into a small blue cat! After being sent to the animal pound, his girlfriend, Poppy, finds him and decides to adopt him, although not recognizing it is Branch. Desperate to finish his research project due for a special event invented by Poppy, Branch is forced to learn how to behave like a pet cat and must figure out what caused him to become one.

You already seen what had happened in Part 32. Now get ready for Part 33!:

Poppy placed Branch on the ground and knelt down beside him. Then she began apologizing. “Listen, Branch. I’m really sorry for not recognizing you,” she said, struggling to find the right words as she nearly wept. “But I read your note and realized! How can you respond to me this way?”

Branch shook his head and started meowing. “Meeeeeoooooowww!!! Meow, meow! Meow!” It was clear as if he’d understood that it wasn’t her fault for not recognizing him since the first time she saw him like this in the pound.

Seeing how her boyfriend got so scared the whole time, Poppy let go of her worry and caressed his hair. “I know you don’t want to see the shame in my face, but look, I had the mushroom.” She held up the Archaeo morphisis mushroom in her hand and showed it to Branch, who was thrilled to see it. “I hope I will turn you back any second.”

Branch felt a little better. With the mushroom found at last, he can finally change back quickly.

Suddenly, before there is any chance to use the mushroom’s magic, Biggie pointed out to the sky, which is now clearly turning orange. “Poppy! THE SUN!!!” he cried.

At the sound of his words, Poppy and Branch looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun has risen.

“Oh no!” Poppy gasped. “The final sunrise!”

The rest of the Trolls watched as the sun slowly began to rise up to the sky. Since they have found the missing Archaeo morphisis, no storm clouds were seen.

Smidge squinted her eyes to take a better view at the sunrise. “But…how come it isn’t raining?” she asked, confused.

Poppy rubbed her chin. “I don’t know,” she replied. This doesn’t make any sense. If they really had the mushroom, the last sunrise had already arrived, and it could have rained so that the mushroom’s magic can be active.

She looked down at Branch, who stumbled backward and put a paw to his forehead. “Usually the Archaeo morphisis’ magic produces storm clouds in the sky, but after it affected Branch,…I think I know what that means.” Then she looked down at the purple mushroom, which is now slowly wilting. Something was very wrong.

Branch stared at his cat body as he listened to her explanation. He struggled to walk, but his legs are too heavy that he stumbled right next to her. He clutched tightly onto her dress, looking very distressed all of the sudden.

“Are you okay?” Poppy asked, having no idea what to do to help him. She had a very bad feeling. “You’re staggering! What’s happening to you?”

“Meow! Meeeeeeooooww!! Meeeeeeeoooooowwwww!!! Meow!” Branch moaned as the pain is coming back to his mind again.

“I think his consciousness was about to disappear, Poppy,” Guy Diamond explained. “It’s the last day where it stayed in his brain.”

Poppy’s eyes widened in alarm. “What? Your mind is disappearing! No, no, no. This can’t be happening!”

Branch looked down at his little body. He was sure what it meant, and knew one thing. “Meow, meow!” he pleaded. He was scared.

Poppy was struck by fear on his face as she began to understand what was going on. If Branch’s consciousness will disappear, then his memories of spending time with Poppy and her friends will never exist. She fell to her knees before him, suddenly terrified but trying not to show it.

“No, no, no!” Poppy cried. “It’s okay. It’s alright.” She pulled Branch into her arms, holding back tears. “You’re not leaving me, Branch. Not ever….”

“Meeeeeooooowww!!” Branch said as she held him close. He looked up at her with a gentle smile. “Meow!”

Poppy swallowed hard as a single tear slid down her cheek. She pulled him closer and hugged him tight. “Oh, Branch. You’re more than my best friend I could ever ask for…” she told him. “…and you always will be. Please don’t leave me. You’ll never forget about our happy times together, and I’ll always love you.”

Touched, Branch returned her embrace, wrapping his paws around her shoulders. “Meow! Meow, meow! Meow! Meeeooow!!”

Poppy choked on a sob, not wanting to accept what was happening to her boyfriend as she placed him down on the ground. Branch crawled closer to her and purred against her side. “PUUURRRRR….PURRRRRR….PUUUUUURRRRRRRRR…PURRRRR…PURR…”

Soon, Poppy was nearly crying, afraid of losing the most important person she’d ever loved in her life. “I love you, Branch,” she said quietly.

As the sun came up high in the sky, Branch stopped purring and walked away from her. He sat down to look at all of his friends and family for one last time as his eyes start to glint in the sunlight.

“Poppy, I promise I will never forget about you…” he said his final words to everyone. A second later, he slowly closed his eyes as he scrunched up his face to consume the pain left inside of him.

After a moment, Branch opened his eyes, revealing bold cat-like eyes that stare up at all of the Trolls. He mindlessly looked around and meowed like a normal cat, with no recollection of remembering his friends. “Meow!”

Poppy knelt down, concerned. “Branch…?”

But he didn’t respond. Instead, he walked away from her and started cleaning himself. Overwhelmed, Poppy burst into tears. Her beloved Troll that she had loved for all these years was gone forever.

“He can’t hear me,” she sobbed. “I’m too late.”

The rest of her friends looked down at Branch in extreme sorrow. King Peppy emerged from the shadows and saw his daughter in great distress.

“Poppy, what’s going on?” the king asked as he ran up to her and embraced her. “Is everything alright? You found Branch?”

Poppy hugged her father tight, trying to hold back tears. “Oh, Daddy! I was too late to get to him!” she wailed. “The magic didn’t even work! I’m so sorry! I was…I was so concerned to get to him before the sun rises! I didn’t know what to do!”

King Peppy stared down at Branch, who was sniffing around. His eyes were completely kittenish right now as a result of the final day coming to an end. The old king tried to comfort Poppy. “Come here, sweetie,” he said gently. “It’s going to be okay. I believe there’s no other way we can save him.”

“But how can we save him?” Poppy asked. “The mushroom was supposed to work, but there was no effect.” She held up the dead Archaeo morphisis mushroom in her hands. Her father took it and examined it carefully. All of its magic have disappeared since its first use on Branch. He hung his head, understanding that Poppy was right.

“So sorry, Poppy,” Peppy told her sadly. “This was the last existing mushroom in Troll Village. Ever since it is gone for now, there won’t be any cure to get Branch back.”

Poppy took a second to wipe her tears away to think for a solution. “What am I going to do, Dad?” she asked. “I’m unable to follow the wise Troll’s words. If only it works…”

King Peppy looked at her with love and empathy. He didn’t want his daughter to be upset for a long time. “Poppy, ahem…as king, I have one reason to live but survive in the highest hills,” he said, stepping forward. “I think it’s for the best that I can give you something.” He held up a small blue blanket with pink outlines and gave it to Poppy.

“Where did you find this?” she asked, taking the blanket from his hand.

“I found it in your pod,” Peppy said. “It’ll just remind you of Branch whenever you want to think of him.”

Poppy stared at the blanket, examining every detail of it. Unfurling it, she saw a familiar symbol; two hearts, one is blue with a “B” that stands for Branch, and the other was pink with a “P” that stands for Poppy.

Poppy’s eyes widened. “Wait. I’ve seen it before…” she said, looking at the symbol. Suddenly, a flashback started playing out in her mind.

Poppy went to visit Branch in his bunker. He saw him sewing something with a sewing machine on a table.

“Hi, Branch!” she said cheerfully. “What’s up?”

“Oh! Hey there, Poppy!” he said, quickly pushing a button on the sewing machine to turn it off. “I’m working on something!”

Poppy noticed what he was doing. “What is that?” she asked, with a teasing look on her face. “May I see what you’re making?”

Branch hastily hid the sewn object behind his back, completely hiding it. “It’s not done,” he said, embarrassed. “I’m not really ready to show it to anyone yet. Besides, it’s actually my first homemade security blankie.”

“Aw, come on!” Poppy said, grinning. “Gimme a sneak peek!”

“Well…..” Branch said, hesitating. “Okay, but I promise you won’t laugh!” He slowly brought his homemade blanket out from behind his back.

“I won’t laugh, no way! What kind of blanket is this?” Poppy asked eagerly. “Is it something for Satin and Chenille? Ooooh!”

Branch rolled his eyes. “How is that even possible? I learned from their sewing skills, and that’s why I made this for you.”

“With experience from any Troll, ANYTHING is possible!” Poppy enthused. “So…what did you just say?” She still didn’t catch what Branch was trying to say.

He shot her a look. “Okay, you don’t get it. I made this for you, and I hope you will love it,” he said, openly revealing his secret blanket to show it to Poppy. “Here it is!”

To Poppy’s surprise, Branch had just made her a small cute-looking blanket that is colored blue and has pink outlines around it. The symbol in the front of it had a blue heart with a “B” and a pink heart with a “P”.

“Wow!” Poppy exclaimed, unable to believe her eyes. She was completely speechless at his brilliant work. “Branch, you made this for me?”

“Yep!” Branch said, grinning as he held up the blanket with one hand. “I thought I could use it for your bedroom! What do you think?”

Poppy smiled gleefully and answered “What do I think? I love it!” She ran up to Branch and gave him a big hug. “You’re so sweet, giving me everything for me!”

Branch blushed at her compliment. “Oh, don’t be so cheerful on trying to hug me,” he told her. “It’s something I wanted to give to you as an early birthday gift.”

Poppy smiled. “Aw, Branch. Thank you so much!” She hugged him tight and kissed him in the cheek.

Then Branch proceeded to give the blanket to her. She held the blanket in her arms. “I want you to treasure this as your only companion,” he told her. “But you know, our love can’t be separated if you lose it. Happy birthday, Poppy.”

He leaned down and gave her a kiss in the lips. Awestruck by his words, Poppy returned his favor by kissing him back.

The happy memory faded away when Poppy realized the origin of this blanket. “Hold on, Dad. That was my present from Branch,” she said. “It’s a symbol of our love and generosity. Why did you give me this?” She held the blanket up for her father to see.

“So you can remember him dearly,” King Peppy replied, putting his hand to her shoulder. “I know he can’t live without you but I trust how you treat him.”

Poppy stared down at the homemade blanket, unsure of what that meant. “But with Branch gone, it is totally worthless. I’m not sure if this will help me.”

Studying the symbol in the blanket carefully, Poppy tried to remember Branch’s touching words. “Our love can’t be separated…” she whispered to herself.

Soon, an idea began to struck her. She rubbed her chin with one finger to think about it. If the blanket was a symbol of her love for Branch, would it be her last hope to bring him back? She hadn’t thought that wrapping him up with his unforgettable gift for her would do the trick.

“Or would it work? Let me find out.” Poppy began to walk towards Branch to give him the blanket. She would be certain that it will work because it represented their love.

Near the bunker, Branch was resting on his mat when he heard Poppy’s voice.

“Hey, Branch!” she said, approaching him while holding out the love blanket. “Remember you give me this?”

Poppy showed the special blanket to Branch. He stared at her blankly, and then he crept closer to it and sniffed.

“I want to give it to you in return!” Poppy told him. She threw the blanket around Branch, covering his little cat body with it. Wrapped in the warmth of this blankie, he silently stared down at it.

“What do you think? You like it?” Poppy asked with hopeful anticipation. “Can you recognize me?”

Unfortunately, Branch still didn’t answer. He stared up at her as if nothing has happened. “Meow!” he said.

Poppy was shocked to see no effect on the blanket. Every attempt she had come up to get Branch back to normal had been failing. “No…no… I don’t understand,” she cried. “I thought mending the bond is supposed to work. My blankie is a trademark of our relationship.”

She looked down at Branch for a response, but he just stood there and kept staring at her with his big cat eyes, saying no word at all. With a sigh, Poppy buried her face in her hands and began to cry, kneeling down in front of him.

She felt her legs give out from under herself and she landed on the floor, staring at Branch’s still figure. Her cheeks grew damp as tears fought to escape. Poppy didn’t care if she cried anymore. She didn’t want to fight it back. She slumped down beside him and let the pressure release, unable to notice that storm clouds are already appearing in the sky.

Poppy lifted her head, wiping away the tears as best as she could. She had owed him everything, but could only offer him one. “I can’t believe I lost my true friend I once loved. He will never come back, no matter how brilliant, crazy, adventurous or good-hearted he is,” she cried. “I tried my best to help you, but it was never enough. I looked through every scrapbook, followed every lead, and always came up short. I failed you.”

Through every sob and every tear, Poppy saw those same memories from her dream play back to her. That happy, carefree face. Sometimes curious, sometimes a little crazy, always intelligent and kind. Every smile, every laugh, every delighted reply, everything… gone.

Gone. This was reality, and Branch was completely gone from her life.

Branch walked up to her and nosed at Poppy’s dress. She refused to hear no word from him as she tearfully wrapped her arms around him.

“You’ve always been there for me. You’ve never given up on me,” Poppy pleaded, choking through her sobs. “I just want you back. Please come back to me.” As she spoke, rain began to pour down, echoing the moment.

Branch listened to her words and stared at his friends and family, who hung their heads with sorrow. Even Wiggles, the baby rabbits and some of the animals that escaped the pound did the same, mourning the loss of their fallen hero.

Saddened, Poppy’s friends hung their heads at their loss. Biggie clutched to Mr. Dinkles tightly as he sobbed quietly.

The rain dripped down at everyone as they mourned for Branch. Poppy held him close as tight as she could, giving the little cat all the warmth he needed.

“I want you back, Branch,” she whispered. “I miss you.”

As soon as she said it, Branch’s mouth barely opened, seemingly responding to her. He purred against her side in order to keep himself warm in her hug. “PURRRRRR….PUUUUUURRRRRRRRR…”

Then, as if something unusual is happening, magical waves of light started to engulf around Branch, and he began to grow. Poppy didn’t even notice this as she had her eyes closed with her arms still wrapped around him.

“I love you,” she murmured, gently letting go of him and placed her hands on her lap.

Soon, the magical light faded away when Branch stopped growing. Poppy needed a few minutes alone as she tried to process everything that had happened. How would she ever feel happiness again when deep down she knew Branch was gone forever?

Before Poppy had no choice but to look away, a blue arm embraced her, taking her chin with a hand and raising her face to look up at who was comforting her.

“Poppy, don’t cry,” Branch’s voice said to her. “I’m here…”

Poppy’s eyes widened when she saw a familiar face looking down at her. She blinked quickly, her brain denying what her eyes seemed to see. It couldn’t possibly be Branch talking to her…but it really was.

She was speechless to see Branch kneeling down in front of her, holding up his hand with a desire to offer an embrace. He was not a tiny little cat anymore, and the warmth of the blue blanket seemed to transform him back into a Troll! He smiled at Poppy, still waving his hand.

“Is…is it really you?” Poppy asked, not sure what to believe.

Branch smiled widely as he nodded and held her hand. “Poppy.”

Overjoyed, Poppy hugged him tightly. “BRANCH!!! You’re back!” she cried happily. “I thought I lost you!” Tears ran down her face.

“Lost me?” Branch asked, pushing his girlfriend’s hair bangs away from his face. “You saved me! I always knew that blankie is useful!”

Poppy looked up at him, not knowing exactly what Branch had meant. But she was even more surprised to find out that the blanket did helped break the spell. She returned his embrace with tears of joy, kissing every part of his face. Branch giggled.

“I knew you’d came back!” Poppy cried without believing it. “You’ve changed!”

Branch chuckled. “Poppy, we both have changed and matured!” he said. “We always do this together, and we will continue to do our part. Our love isn’t fragile.” He held her close and kissed her in the lips. She responded warmly by kissing him back.

As Poppy and Branch kissed, all the Trolls shout with joy, celebrating the bunker Troll’s amazing return happily. “YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!!”

“Hooray!” Biggie cheered to Mr. Dinkles. “Branch is back!”

King Peppy couldn’t help but laugh. He approached Poppy and Branch with a wave of relief washing over his face.

“Thank goodness you’re okay, Branch!” he said. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Poppy and Branch looked at the old king. The blue Troll wrapped the blanket around his body as tight as he could and stepped forward to him, feeling so apologetic at the moment. He began to think about what he wanted to say to the king before he openly confessed to him. “King Peppy, I’m sorry I blew up at you before. I didn’t mean it,” he said, looking so ashamed of himself. “Now I understand it’s a dangerous mushroom that I should not pick.”

King Peppy placed a hand to his chest as he listened to Branch’s sentence. “It’s okay. At least you learnt your lesson,” he told him with a smile. “You just need to listen to others despite your unintentional curiosity.”

Branch and Peppy smiled at each other for a moment, until Poppy noticed that her boyfriend is clearly naked under the blanket.

“Oh my god, Branch!” she cried, putting her hands up to her mouth. “You don’t have clothes!”

“What?” Branch looked down at his body and quickly covered it entirely with his blanket, embarrassed that he had noticed that he wasn’t wearing anything. “Awww, are you kidding me?! I’m naked! Little bit awkward, huh?” Then he smelled himself and asked absentmindedly “Am I the only one craving catnip?”

King Peppy was surprised. He turned to the Trolls and opened his arms wide, blocking Poppy and Branch in front of them. “Everyone, back your eyes!” he told them. “Show some respect!”

Some of the Trolls tried to look away from the scene. In response, Biggie covered his pet worm’s eyes.

As King Peppy was distracting the Trolls from looking at Branch, Poppy pulled out his green vest and his brown shorts from her hair and offered them to him. “Lucky for you, I planned ahead,” she said, grinning.

Branch quickly took his clothes from her hands, relieved. “Oh, thanks!” he said. “Otherwise I won’t look like a hobo at this point.”

“Branch, it’s me! Wiggles!” Poppy and Branch heard their little bunny friend shout in astonishment. They turned as Wiggles ran up to them, excited to see his best friend. But he wasn’t a rabbit anymore, and he turned back into a Troll as well. To prevent being naked, he wore a grassy hula-like skirt he found in a bush around his waist.

“Wiggles!” Branch exclaimed, happy to see him. “You’re back to normal too!”

He opened his arms, and Wiggles hugged him tightly. The two of them are delighted that they are no longer animals.

Poppy giggled at their embrace. “Uh, Branch,” she said. “I forgot to tell you that this Troll’s real name is Tommy, and he used to work at a carrot restaurant!”

At the sound of that, Branch pulled away, feeling slightly out of place. Then he quickly looked over the pale green Troll, confused. “Ooh, sorry. I thought you were someone else,” he muttered.

Tommy smiled. “That’s okay. Choose between “Tommy” or “Wiggles”. My name is totally a different person!”

But Branch already knew who this Troll used to be. He wrapped his hands around his shoulders, overjoyed to see his true form. “But I can call you “Wiggles” if I want to,” he told him with a grin.

“Eh…calling me those silly nicknames would be fine as long as you see me through my chores,” said Tommy, dropping his fake skippy little bunny tone and speaking in a completely different accent that is more like a farmer’s.

Just then, the little baby rabbits hopped toward Branch, surrounding him and giving licks and nuzzles to his feet. They squeaked happily as they are able to recognize the two Trolls. Some of them started chewing on the blanket covering Branch’s body.

Tommy began to laugh and grabbed one of them, cradling it in his arms. “Alright, you guys!” he said. “Please stop picking on his towel!”

Branch giggled and petted the happy bunnies, bringing them close to his two legs.

As the celebration went on, Clayton rushed to Garth and helped him get back on his feet. The Animal Control worker groaned as he sat up.

“Garth! Are you alright, bro?” Clayton asked frantically. “Did you get him?” He looked around. “Where’s the cat?”

Garth scratched his head and thought for a moment, still dazed from the knock of Cooper’s Forget-Me-Stick. “Argh…what cat? I don’t know which cat did I catch…” he groaned, having no recollection of the little cat he was trying to catch. However, his partner has been searching all over the woods and didn’t come to the bunker to get Branch.

Clayton stared at Garth in disbelief. “But the cat must be around here somewhere…” As he talked, he gestured to the crowd of Trolls near the bunker, who were all staring at them with mild confusion.

The two Animal Control officers’ eyes widened with shock as they stared at them, unable to believe what is going on here.

“Uh, Clayton?” Garth asked his partner. “Why do I see two Trolls naked and wearing towels?” He pointed at Branch wrapping the blue blanket around his body and Tommy with a grass skirt on his waist.

“Um, I don’t know,” Clayton replied nervously. “Let’s just look away from what we saw.”

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, the two Trolls began to back away from them. Suddenly, Cooper jumped up to them, holding his Forget-Me-Stick.

“I can fix that!” he said proudly. Then he smacked his bat at the Animal Control officers’ faces, knocking them out cold.

WHAM!!!

“Nothing to see here!” Cooper laughed, glad that he’d finally solved this problem once and for all.

                                              To Be Continued…

                        Stay tuned for the last part of the story: Part 34!

Note: So Branch is back to normal in this part, and I’m really glad about it. I think the last part will be the epilogue, and I hope this will definitely conclude the rest of the story very soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Part 34 will be the final part of the story, so stay tuned for any updates! 😊

MAJOR UPDATE: Sorry if I had to post this part again because I wanted to make further changes on the text after I wake up. But today I had to. If you guys saw this already yesterday, please delete the previous copy and reblog and like this part again. Today I had to get started on the last part, so please enjoy this for a moment! 🥰

[scotiaeire]

OLD IRISH ONLINE

“ The First Celtic-Speaking Peoples

Because there are many remarkable archaisms preserved in most of its dialects, Celtic seems to have branched off quite early from the Proto-Indo-European parent language. But the Celtic languages known from the early Middle Ages introduced quite a number of striking innovations, most of which can be accounted for by the colloquial style of everyday spoken language achieving prominence due to a very long period of oral tradition.In particular, we can nowadays assume that the oldest Celtic was spoken in Central Europe and Northern Italy. The language seems to have then spread to the Iberian Peninsula since Celtic remains found there, in particular the dialect from Celtiberia, are slightly less conservative. “

(NOTE: THE THEORY OF THE OLDEST CELTIC BEING SPOKEN IN CENTRAL EUROPE AND NORTHERN ITALY *HAS* BEEN HOTLY DEBATED AND CONTESTED. FOR MORE, HERE’S A LINK TO CHECK OUT: https://www.quora.com/How-seriously-is-the-Iberian-origin-of-the-Celts-theory-taken BUT NO, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS...I’M JUST A HUMBLE FIELD ARCHAEO, NOT A LINGUISTICS EXPERT. ORIGINALLY THE CELTS CAME FROM CENTRAL EUROPE AND MOVED ONTO THE BULK OF THE WEST, INCLUDING SPAIN, THE LOW COUNTRIES, AND ON TO THE BRITISH ISLES, BUT DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH IF YOU’RE THAT INTO LINGUISTIC ORIGINS)

SOURCE AND LESSONS: https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_toc/iriol

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

A bit of #ArchInk catch-up. I've managed to keep up fairly well so far - only a few missed days - so a big improvement on last year. Not sure my painting is really improving, but I'm still having fun! . Pic 1: The prompt was "lamp", which brought to mind the Qulliq - a traditional Inuit lamp made from soapstone and filled with mammal fat for fuel (generally seal, although today commercial cooking grease is more often used), and with little tufts of Arctic cotton used for a wick. The heating ability of these lamps is immense, both for cooking as well as making your tent / igloo nice and cosy. . Pic 2: I had so many thoughts for the prompt "bones", but decided to go with the idea of human bones and whether these are considered objects or people. Originally, skeletal remains were treated the same way as any other exotic archaeological object, but nowadays museum curators must also consider the respect that is due when displaying what is really human remains. But sometimes the distinction is difficult to decide. For example, is a well-used tool made from human bone an object or a person? . Pic 3: I'm always happy to see something like "sub-field". Too often, people assume that there's only one way to be an archaeologist, but there's so much variety in how you can specialise within the field. Take a simple beaker for example: You need field archaeologists to excavate it, conservators to fix it, finds specialists to document it, curators to display it, illustrators to draw it, ceramicists to provenance it, archaeo-scientists to analyse its contents, and many more! . Pic 4: For the prompt "gear" I wanted to share the standard equipment that I generally take with me on research trips to analyse museum collections. The biggest item is usually a metallographic (high power) microscope, as well as my own more portable USB dinolite (low power) microscope. I also have to take a notebook to make details notes during my analysis, as well as calipers to measure each object, and my little portable photo studio to take pictures of them, along with with the ever-important scale bars. . #inktober #archaeology #archaeologist #phdlife #painting #SciComm #ArchaeologyLovers https://www.instagram.com/p/CkFmx7Fq1vW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lipstickchainsaw]

re Joseph Bazalgette, what he did was fucking awesome. That said, it must be noted that he did *better* than archaeo-geek is saying: he doubled the *diameter*. That should *quadruple* the capacity. Man had foresight for centuries.

Sometimes engineers know what they’re doing!

[scotiaeire]

OH, WHAT I WOULDN’T GIVE TO OWN THAT! (PLS FORGIVE CAPS, SIGHT ISSUES) THOUGH I’D RATHER HAVE SOMETHING TO *ATTRACT* THE SIDHE, NOT REPEL THEM, TBH. JUST TO SEE IF THE OLD TALE IS TRUE, THAT THEY WORE THE GLAMOUR WHEN TALKING TO MORTALS BECAUSE FOLKS WOULD BE DRIVEN MAD BY THEIR TRUE IMAGE. TOUCH OF THE LOVECRAFTIAN IN THERE SOMEWHERE...

ON ANOTHER NOTE, I SEEM TO REMEMBER GLASS BEADS FROM EGYPT BEING FOUND IN A MESOLITHIC GRAVE IN ORKNEY ONCE, AND A FEW FINN TRINKETS FOUND IN CELTIC GRAVE GOODS TOO WHICH WERE APPARENTLY LABELLED AS “RITUAL�� (ARCHAEO-SPEAK FOR “WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS FOR”) AND OF COURSE, THERE’S THE NORTH EAST STORIES OF THE FINN FOLKS VISITING IN THEIR “CANOES”, ALWAYS WITH A MAGICIAN/SHAMAN WHO’D SELL SPELLS AND CHARMS.

Elf’s Arrow Pendant from Scotland dated to the Neolithic on display at the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

This silver mounted Neolithic arrowhead was worn as protection against faeries. Prehistoric stone tools were thought to have been made by faeries, who could not use metals. It is a common belief that such folk would be burned by touching metal mainly iron and silver.

In the 19th century, the folklorist David MacRitchie theorised that such objects were used by a race of Pre-Celtic peoples he called pygmies or dwarves that became known as Faeries. He was roundly mocked for these ideas but clearly caught some of the public imagination as objects such as this were made from Neolithic tools found in Scotland.

Photograph taken by myself

[tlatollotl]

For over a month, people wearing neon safety vests have repeatedly inched their way across broken ground in Duluth's Fond du Lac neighborhood, using technology to survey what's beneath their feet.

It's all part of a process experts use to map sites of archaeological significance — though it's a process they prefer to use before, not after, development begins on a site holding cultural resources.

But that didn't happen before a Minnesota Department of Transportation construction project disturbed sacred burial grounds of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. In fact, MnDOT failed to consult with the band prior to construction at all.

On May 26, MnDOT halted a construction project along Minnesota Highway 23 at Mission Creek after the band informed transportation officials they had disturbed gravesites. Jeff Savage, the director of the Fond du Lac Band's cultural center and museum, said the oversight is inexcusable.

"There's no excuse whatsoever for MnDOT not knowing that that site was historical. Time and time again, mainstream culture just denies the reality," Savage said. "You're going to get nothing but anger and disgust out of me because it happens time after time."

It's not the first time construction work disturbed the burial grounds. In 1869, railroad construction unearthed bodies at Mission Creek that later were reburied at the Roussain Cemetery in what's now Jay Cooke State Park. The initial construction of Highway 23 disturbed the grounds again, in 1937.

Now, in the wake of the latest damage, geophysicists and archaeologists are using a variety of methods at the site to recover the remains and determine the extent of the cemetery, said Jim Jones, the lead archaeologist for the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.

MnDOT has hired both an archaeology and geophysics firm from Minneapolis to help identify and recover the remains under Jones' oversight. Both firms continue to train and hire tribal members and other local residents to help with the work.

MnDOT hosted an open house on June 14 and answered questions about the steps they would take in the recovery process.

"No question, disturbing the sacred burial sites was an incredibly horrific event," MnDOT Commissioner Charles Zelle told a crowd at that event. "We do take responsibility. ... We're just beginning to understand the pain and the anger that comes from a disruption that we could have avoided."

People in attendance inquired about the processes archaeologists and geophysicists would use to assess the site and recover the remains.

"Please, please, please, treat them with respect," one woman told officials at the open house.

In the disturbance of unplatted burial grounds, state law requires that the Indian Affairs Council assume leadership in the recovery process if the state archaeologist determines that the human remains are of Native American origin. Tribal leadership must then receive possession of all remains for disposition.

"I am working in collaboration with the Fond du Lac Band and tribal elders and community members to make sure that it is done in the most respectful and best way possible," Jones said of the research and recovery work, at the open house in June.

MnDOT continues to cooperate with the band, the Indian Affairs Council and the Office of the State Archaeologist during regular meetings. The agency plans to host a second open house at a date yet to be determined.

Jones hosted a two-day cultural resources training session earlier this month where he explained the relevant laws and shared replica artifacts — objects they would expect to find in the recovery effort.

Eleven people attended the training session, 10 of whom belonged to the Fond du Lac Band. Jones said the training allows band members to help in the current project if they choose, while preparing them for future projects.

"That went great," he said of the training session. Additional training for band members will soon be scheduled.

Non-intrusive methods

During his 30-plus years of working in archaeology, Jones has watched the growth of non-intrusive technologies in assessing historic sites.

Dave Maki of Archaeo-Physics, LLC in Minneapolis said the technologies have caught on for a reason.

"It's non-intrusive as opposed to traditional archaeology approaches," Maki said of methods such as electrical resistivity and ground penetrating radar. "We can learn something about the archeology without disturbing it and learn something about the cultural significance."

Electrical resistivity is often used when mapping sites of archaeological significance. Maki and Andrew Wise, a Duluth resident Maki often hires, were two of those figures in neon safety vests who have spent weeks toeing at least 2,000 square meters of the historic burial ground's surface.

Every 25 centimeters, Maki and Wise moved the electrical resistivity meter and poked its two metal stakes about a centimeter into the soil. The stakes on the end of the instrument injected an electrical current into the ground to measure the resistivity of the material, or how difficult it is for electricity to move through an area in the ground.

An area of higher resistivity will show up darker on a map charting the data, Maki said, while less-resistant material will show up lighter.

Maki compares his data to how the known location of a remain appears when it's surveyed, and from that he can get a good idea of what is beneath the surface.

Maki said he almost always uses a second form of technology to verify the results of the first. At Mission Creek, his team used ground-penetrating radar, or GPR.

GPR transmits a high-frequency radio signal into the ground while recording the time it takes for a reflected signal to return. This indicates a target's depth and location in the ground.

On a morning in July, one crew member slowly wheeled a box containing the radar antenna along the ground while another crew member watched as the data came in on the attached computer screen a few feet away.

On that particular morning, Maki had help from two crew members as they surveyed a 50-meter stretch of road surface. Maki likes to "oversample" to improve the data, he said. Every two centimeters the GPR equipment transmits a pulse into the ground, but each transmission averages eight readings per pulse. He calls it data-stacking.

Maki has had three men from the Leech Lake Reservation working with him, all of whom have experience with burial recovery and archaeological work, he said — experience they can use to help mentor others.

The archaeological process

Under Minnesota's Field Archaeology Act, state-owned land is subject to an archaeological survey before construction in order to preserve and protect archaeological matter.

"That's another statute that was kind of missed on this project because it should have had an extensive archaeological review and even a records review," Jones said.

Archaeologists refer to this first review as a Phase One survey because it provides a historical overview and answers whether the ground holds archaeological material before a project begins. Projects that use federal money or are on state land require a Phase One survey.

Sigrid Arnott of Sigrid Arnott Consulting, the Minneapolis-based archaeological firm MnDOT hired this summer, specializes in such surveys and is now serving on-site as the principal investigator. Although she does not do the geophysical work, Arnott often works with geophysicists, including Archaeo-Physics, because the science can inform archaeologists where historical objects are located.

She describes her role as the facilitator of all the project's moving parts.

"It's like building a forensics case," Arnott said. "It's not like you get one source of information that solves it all. You have so many parts to the puzzle, but every time we use a method, it gives us a little more information."

Project officials do not yet know when the project nor the Phase One survey will reach completion, but archaeologists and trained band members will recover the remains for the band to then rebury properly.

For Arnott, this project differs from her other archaeological work. Instead of pursuing a research question, she said, the crew is guiding its decisions based on the band's long-term needs.

"It's probably going to help in the future on other sites," Arnott said. "We're developing new scientific methods, and I think everyone is excited about that. It could have a positive effect in the future, or an outcome that would help other people."

Ojibwe occupied

Fond du Lac Band member Matthew Northrup said he was 10 when his father showed him the burial grounds at Mission Creek for the first time. Northrup is the son of the late Jim Northrup, who was a renowned author and Ojibwe traditionalist. He showed a young Matthew the location of his ancestors.

Now whenever Matthew Northrup drives past the site on Highway 23, he rolls down his window and performs the sacred ritual of burning tobacco.

"I've known forever that there are graves here," he said while visiting the site. "I just didn't know this project was happening."

A couple blocks east of the burial site on Highway 23 sits a historical marker that notes "this was the site of a major Chippewa Indian settlement from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries."

To the northwest, on the other side of Jay Cooke State Park, sits the Fond du Lac Reservation created by the Treaty of 1854 that ceded much of the Ojibwe-occupied Arrowhead region to the federal government for mining use.

The area now known as the Fond du Lac neighborhood in Duluth, along the St. Louis River, has served as Ojibwe gathering grounds since the 1600s, but Native Americans started occupying the area thousands of years before.

"A lot of people think Indian Country is only on reservations, but no, this is all Indian," Northrup said as he waved his hand across the entire landscape in front of him.