#archinked

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

#ArchInk prompt day 1 was "decoration", and I was inspired by the famous Scythian tattoos. This year I'm trying my hand at watercolours - it's not something I have a lot of practice in, but I'm hoping by the end of this month to have improved a bit. . Because the practice of mummification was common in Scythian culture, and the mummies were often frozen in the cold climate of Siberia, archaeologists have discovered beautifully preserved bodies which still have clear evidence of tattoos on their skin. The majority of these tattoos are stylized animals, such as the deer I copied here, but there are also groups of dots which some have associated with acupuncture. . We know that tattooing was prevalent in many cultures in the past. Tattoos have been found on other preserved bodies, such as Ötzi the Iceman, descriptions from ancient Romans discuss the "painted tribes" of the Picts, which many have interpreted as describing tattoos, and historic and ethnographic accounts of Inuit and Maori traditions in the 16th century describe a rich tattooing culture that is being revived amongst their descendants today. In most cases, these tattoos were not just simply decorations, but had a deeper meaning or significance. . How do you picture an average prehistoric person? We have relatively few well-preserved bodies from prehistory, but many of them were tattooed. Nowadays, tattoos are often seen as something forbidden or scandalous, but perhaps in our past it was a normal part of daily life to decorate your skin, and was considered part of how we presented ourselves as active members of human society. . Do you have any tattoos? . #tattoos #AncientTatoos #inktober2022 #ArchInk2022 #inktober #watercolours #scythian #scythiantattoo #decoration #painting #archaeology #archaeologistsofinstagram #ArchaeologyLife https://www.instagram.com/p/CjNrABmqJof/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[formerlyroyal]

The one good thing Pedo Andrew has done is wiped the Harkles off the map. I can't imagine Charles & Will tolerating their tantrums for a second. They can put out stories about Archinks cooking his own organic food - nobody cares.

She ‘wanted to be left alone’ so stew in it. We don’t care.

[urbandesign-lab]

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Photoshop Masterclass: Decipher the secrets of Urban Mapping and Visualisation One of the best ways to present an urban project is by through mapping. Thus, Urban Design Lab brings you a course, where together we will create multiple maps, all the way from basic and small to large scale complex maps with integration of Photoshop, AutoCad and SketchUp. More than just lessons The masterclass will not only be a learning experience but along with the hands-on workshop session the participants will also be provided with multiple resources that can be used in their future projects: • E-certificate for all participants • Workshop manual (detailed process, tips and techniques) • Working files will be included (all base files and incorporated material) • UDL Photoshop Library (diverse PNG collection of more than 100 elements) • Assorted collection of costom brushes & textures Early Bird Registration ends on 8th September, 2021 🔗 Registration link in bio 🔗 Limited seats available Register now! Event Date: 12th September, 2021 . . Urban Design | Landscape | Architecture ▪️Follow  @urbandesign.lab ▪️Get featured  @urbandesign.lab ▪️Turn on post notifications . . . . . . #mapping #3dmapping #actofmapping #aerialmapping #visualmapping #allofarchi #arch #archdaily #archidaily #archigram #archillustration #archisource #archilovers #architektur #architettura #architizer #archolution #citylab #illustrarch #masterplan #masterplanning #newurbanism #townplanning #urbanarchitecture #urbanist #urbanlandscape #urbanspace #crazy_architecturee #learnupstairs #archinked (at Prague, Czech Republic) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTPPvOXHvAb/?utm_medium=tumblr

[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=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

I was planning to do a big post this weekend with all the #ArchInk submissions I haven't shared yet, but I thought this prompt from yesterday - "re-create" was too appropriate for all the stories I've shared today not to post now. . I was trying to show some of the tools and stages or creating a collection of replica bone needles, which I've been doing as part of the final project in my PhD. Here you can see a burin, a scraper, a pre-form roughout, and a finished needle. . To simplify the process as much as possible: First you want to cut the bone down to a roughly rectangular roughout. You then use the burin to cut grooves in this roughout to create the next stage of needle preform. But, you don't have to cut all the way through, but can use the "groove and split" approach where you cut most of the way through from both sides, and then split the remainder with a wedge. Once your final preform is free, you then use the burin to create the eye (the hole at the end), and then can use a scraper or blade to shape the final needle. Sometimes cultures also used grinding stones in this final shaping phase, and sometimes the needles were also polished before use. . It's a pretty straightforward process with bone. With the ivory needles, it took a lot longer and was much more effort, as the ivory is significantly harder than bone and doesn't have a nice hollow section with a marrow. There is some hollowness, but still creating a roughout from that was much more difficult than from a bone. . Have you ever made bone needles? What was your method? . #BoneNeedles #bone #ivory #IvoryNeedles #inktober #ExperimentalArchaeology #archaeology #archaeologist #ArchaeologistsOfInstagram #phdlife #painting #watercolours https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj8znv1jiOK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

#ArchInk day 9 - annoyingly the colours weren't captured very well on my phone so I've tried to edit this closer to the original but it still looks a bit too bright... Today's prompt was "hearth" and as coincidence would have it, this immediately reminded me of my podcast episode with Ash from @ashwoodcandles . The episode title was taken from a quote from Ash in response to a question along the lines of "and why are candles so relatively unchanged since their initial development?" And her response included a phrase like "Fires and hearths have always been at the heart of the home and the centre of the soul. So to me a candle is a little flame from my hearth to yours." I just thought that was so beautiful. . Unfortunately this picture doesn't capture that idea nearly as well as I was hoping - I might have to do another attempt at some point when I have time. Maybe adding a kind of vignette? . If you'd like to listen to the podcast episode, it's available on all podcasting platforms under the title "Tea-break Time Travel" (episode 2). Subscribing / sharing / liking/ downloading would be much appreciated! . #candles #hearth #inktober2022 #flame #podcaster #TeabreakTimeTravel https://www.instagram.com/p/CjgbGzdLQU7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

The joys of the weekend means that I could complete today's #ArchInk picture during the day rather than in the evening. Today's prompt was "exchange" and I thought about the many different exchange networks throughout Europe in the Bronze Age. . Although there were countless different trade networks in Europe at this time, two of the biggest materials being exchanged were amber and tin. Amber was found mainly in Baltic deposits in the northern areas, while tin was mined in more southern regions. To maintain networks between an ever-growing population and increasingly complex social groups, trade was therefore established in both these materials between the northern and southern regions. (I should say that I use the terms "north" and "south" very loosely here - the exact locations of the raw material sources were scattered throughout these larger regions and could be concentrated in the eastern and western parts too). . The reason I chose these two materials is because they were apparently considered particular valuable in the Bronze Age. Ornamentation had been around for a long time, but ornate necklaces and other forms of decoration made from amber beads and carvings became particularly prominent around the late Neolithic / early Bronze Age. Additionally, tin soon became a much wanted resource as the production of bronze increased, for example to create the beautiful bronze swords so typical of this time. . I've talked a lot on this platform about how people in the past weren't just living in static and uncommunicative groups, but were aware of the world around them and the other cultures that inhabited it. Evidence of exchange in materials between different regions and cultural groups is a perfect example of this. If people thousands of years ago were open to interaction and communication between cultures, then I would hope that social development has gotten us to the stage today where we are even more interlinked, however current events show this is not always the case. . Maybe we should bring back amber bead necklaces and bronze swords... . #exchange #BronzeAge #prehistoric #prehistory #archaeology #ArchaeologyLovers #ArchaeologistsOfInstagram #inktober https://www.instagram.com/p/CjdPbCHjEw0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

#ArchInk day 7 prompt is "safety", and I was inspired by our first @archaeobookclub reading of The Dig by John Preston, and more specifically the description of the trench collapse on top of Basil Brown. . In the old days of archaeology, excavators thought nothing of digging as deep as they could, and if the occasional trench would collapse on some of the workers then that was an unfortunate accident. Nowadays, there are many different safety procedures in place to make sure that such things don't happen, like not digging deeper than the trench is wide. . Have you ever participated in or visited an archaeological excavation? How did you find the experience? . #archaeology #inktober #painting #watercolours #archaeologistlife #archaeologylovers #archaeologicalexcavation #excavation #digging #thedig https://www.instagram.com/p/CjbcmPRj6sU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

I'm a day behind on #ArchInk but an determined to catch up so here's yesterday's painting for the prompt "dirt", which immediately made me think of post holes. . If you're lucky, an archaeologist site will produce an amazing range of artefacts and features. Generally, they produce something that you can at least physically touch, even if it's just a stone wall. But in some countries even this is rare - especially if you're excavating prehistoric sites - and the only trace that is left behind to show that someone was there thousands of years ago is a circle of slightly different coloured dirt. . These are known as post-holes, and occur when a wooden post - used for example to create the main frame structure of a Neolithic long house - breaks down over time to eventually become what is essentially compost. Aka, a different kind of soil. I tried to capture this decomposition over time in today's picture. . What is interesting is that then often, the only evidence that you have of a house from this period are a series of circles on the ground, which you then have to try and interpret in terms of a frame for a house. There have been lots of experimental studies on this, looking at how many different house designs you can build based on the same layout of post-holes. . #archaeology #ArchaeologyLife #ArchaeologyLovers #dirt #inktober #archaeologist #prehistoric #prehistory #Neolithic #longhouse #ExperimentalArchaeology #PostHoles #ArchaeologistsOfInstagram #painting #watercolours https://www.instagram.com/p/CjYsNPjroQC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

The prompt for #ArchInk day 4 was "patina", and I was inspired by the idea of bronze statues that are touched or handled so much that they get shiny - the perfect example of a kind of usewear that is visible to the naked eye. To illustrate this point, I attempted to depict the adorable story of the bronze state dedicated to Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh. . Bobby was a Skye terrier in the 19th century who belonged to a policeman called John Gray. When John Gray died, he was buried in the Greyfriars church yard, and Bobby would allegedly visit his master's grave every day. He soon became famous, to the extent that the Lord provost of Edinburgh paid for the Bobby's dog license and gave him a collar. Bobby guarded his master's grave for 14 years until he himself died in 1872 and was also buried inn the Greyfriars church yard. On hearing this story, Lady Burdett-Coutts commissioned a drinking fountain topped with a bronze statue of Bobby, which stands proudly to this day opposite the entrance to Greyfriars. . The cutest part of this story (although there are many cute parts) is that so many people pat the statue as they go past that bronze Bobby now has a very shiny nose. However, at some point this was getting too much and the council had to restore the nose because it was wearing away so much. So if you do happen to pass Bobby when you're next in Edinburgh and fancy giving him a pat, keep it very gentle! . Have you ever visited Bobby? . #GreyfriarsBobby #Edinburgh #Scotland #inktober #BronzeStatue #painting #inktober2022 #greyfriars #patina #usewear #painting #watercolours https://www.instagram.com/p/CjTc-tcrcHW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

I'm not as happy with today's #ArchInk - mainly because of the grass. The texture and colour is just not right (although in my defense the latter is because my green paint tube was completely done for...). Today's prompt was ▢, which I interpreted as an archaeological test pit. . I will admit right now: I am not one of those archaeologists who dreams of digging. Many of my colleagues can't wait to be back in the field, and while I am happy to participate in excavations as and when required, and may even enjoy myself for at least the first couple of days, I much prefer to sit in the warm, dry post excavation lab doing analysis. . However, I do accept that excavation is generally the backbone of archaeological research. And it could be said that the test pit is the essential starting point for any fieldwork season. It's basically a way to check whether there is actually anything of interest in the ground. Generally, you already know that there must be something buried below, either because its presence has affected the growth of grass on the surface, or because you have some historic or other evidence. . So you dig a 1x1 metre pit to have a little peek, using your trusty trowel, gloves, and bucket. Every time you got a new soil layer, you clean off the surface of the pit and take a picture, generally using a north arrow to show orientation, a measuring stick to show scale, and a little board saying which pit you're in and what this photo is showing. . If you then find something more robust, like the lovely feature seen here, you work your way through all the soil layers (taking pictures and measurements as you go), until you hit the bottom of the pit or the bottom of the feature. Then you can decide to follow the feature by digging another test pit, in this case for example to the right would be the most likely option. . In this measured and methodical way, the excavation continues, test pit at a time, layer by layer, until eventually you might have revealed the complete feature. Slow and steady! . What's your opinion on excavation? Yay or nay? . #archaeology #excavation #inktober #TestPit #ArchaeologyLife #ArchaeologicalExcavation #ArchaeologyLovers #painting https://www.instagram.com/p/CjPyBl9KanG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

#ArchInk day two prompt was "matter", which I interpreted as the question "why does archaeology matter?" . I have spoken at length about this topic on all my social media platforms, so I hope that especially if you've been following me for a while, you'll know immediately why archaeology and understanding the past is still relevant in the modern day. If you're new to this account, you'll soon learn! . For this painting, I decided to focus on a representation of protests, be it #EveryChildMatters #BlackLivesMatter #MahsaAmini - there are a lot of issues in modern society, and all of them can be traced back to events that happened not just in recent history, but sometimes rooted even further back. In order to understand and work towards resolving issues in the present, we first have to acknowledge and examine what happened in the past, in order to work towards a brighter and more positive future. Things shouldn't be swept under the carpet, and investigating past events through disciplines like archaeology help to highlight why these issues might occurred, and even sometimes how we can start on the path to resolve them. . I tried a slightly different style of watercolour for this painting - I'm not sure about it but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. . #inktober #protests #revolution #PastPresentFuture #ArchaeologyMatters #archaeology #archaeologist #ArchaeologyLife #ArchaeologyLovers #painting #watercolourpainting #watercolour https://www.instagram.com/p/CjOT4RvL4Nq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

Apologies for the radio silence - it's a busy time here in the Teacup household at the moment! To make it up to you, here's my favourite #inktober prompt from the last week: "Choose your own adventure". . A lot of archaeology is guesswork, albiet scientifically informed guesswork. You always have to provide evidence for your final conclusions, but nevertheless sometimes the same evidence can be interpreted in remarkably different ways. . Take a prehistoric grave, for example. In it lies a person with a shield and a sword. Classically, this grave would then immediately be heralded as having belonged to a "Warrior Chieftain", with the associated assumptions of noblr fighters, elite heirarchies, and male domination. . This might indeed be the correct interpretation, but there are many other possibilities. For example, perhaps the person buried was indeed a chief, and wished to be remembered as a great warrior, but was actually pretty pathetic and considered a subject of ridicule amongst their peers. Or maybe it was a great warrior, but was a woman, as with the famous Birka grave that was assumed to be male when excavated in 1889 (simply because of the associated grave goods) but was actually shown to be a woman after a DNA study undertaken in 2017. . Of course, none of these interpretations might be the true one. Perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree entirely. That is something that I love about prehistoric research; although we can make educated guesses based on empirical evidence, at the end of the day we will never really know for sure if we're right. And if anyone ever did invent a time machine, I'm not actually sure that I'd want to go back and check... . What about you? Would you want to travel back in time? . #Archaeology #archaeologydrawing #archink #drawing #Archaeologist #archaeologylife #prehistory #prehistoric #interpretation #chooseyourownadventure #stoneage #deadandburied #October https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQHploqSUq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thearchaeologiststeacup]

Definitely running behind on #inktober posts. This one's from a few days ago but I was so pleased with it that I wanted to share it before I forgot. It's also a pretty appropriate theme alongside the current rebrand of Stone Age Monkey into The Archaeologist's Teacup. . I assume that the prompt - "archaeology is a brand" - was inspired by a book of the same name, which I've actually featured in an earlier post. The central message of the book is that archaeologists should embrace the stereotypes associated with archaeology - aka the publically perceived "brand" of archaeology - and use them to share correct information and therefore hopefully mould the brand into something that is more representative of what archaeology really is. . I agree with the author's point to a degree, but there are some stereotypes that to me are just too incorrect to humour, even for a long term benefit. For example, that we study dinosaurs, or that we're like Indiana Jones. Archaeology might also involve the excavation of old bones, but that is where the link with palaeontology ends, as we are focused on researching the human past, which as much as I would wish to believe the Flintstones, doesn't include dinosaurs! And, as much as I love the Indy films, I have never swung from whips while avoiding bullets during fieldwork, and certainly don't want to steal revered artefacts that allegedly "belong in a museum". . In reality, archaeology is an incredibly diverse field. Speak to someone who calls themselves an archaeologist, and they may indeed dig sites at excavations, but they might also do microscopic analysis post-excavation, or do drone surveys pre-excavation, or be specialised in illustrating the finds, or interested in the theory behind the site. The list goes on... . So the next time you're speaking to someone and they say they're an archaeologist, why not impress them and ask what kind of archaeologist they are. (Although be prepared to sit there while they enthuse about their specialisation!) . #archaeology #archaeologist #brand #academicsofinstagram #archaeologylife #prehistory #indianajones #scicomm #drawing #painting #archink #archaeologydrawing #rebrand #prehistoric #dino https://www.instagram.com/p/CVDM9pYKj3q/?utm_medium=tumblr

[formerlyroyal]

Oh dear god! Markle is going to dole out crayons and old clothes of Archinks (she has every size!) and walk around like Mother T (except that her hair will look like she's been in a mixer) smiling at the peasants. This will be a cringe fest and I'm already embarrassed for her.

I keep refreshing hoping to see pictures of this mess coming to Africa. And why advertise you’re donating baby clothes, we all do that..nothing special about used baby clothes that are donated. Even poor women share their baby clothes when done.