flintdibble - Network

Hi all,I've decided to migrate my Mastodon account to the archaeo.social server. I'll miss my colleagues on fediscience, but I think...

Hi all,

I've decided to migrate my Mastodon account to the archaeo.social server. I'll miss my colleagues on fediscience, but I think it'll fit my goals better to easily promote a larger network of archaeologists and our research

Sorry for spamming a few repeat posts after I migrate (like my introduction), but ofc any boosts are appreciated to share #archaeology more widely with students, the general public, and colleagues in different fields

Hi new #Mastodon followers interested in #archaeology!I also have some good videos for the general public and students on YouTube. For...

Hi new #Mastodon followers interested in #archaeology!

I also have some good videos for the general public and students on YouTube.

For example check out my video "The Landscape of Early Greece" that explores the impact of climate change at the end of the Pleistocene on human behavior

https://youtu.be/o_fpskZGtCE

Anyone else struggling with #Mastodon #groups like @histodons that simply boost all toots that mention the accountThe problem is that each...

Anyone else struggling with #Mastodon #groups like @histodons that simply boost all toots that mention the account

The problem is that each reply to a toot also mentions the #group and then disjointed threads show up in my timeline

Greeted by a nice rainbow as soon as we got back to Cardiff

Greeted by a nice rainbow as soon as we got back to Cardiff

Is your child texting about #archaeology?ASAP Always Sort All PotteryBRB Bucket Right BehindLOL Lithics Or Lick-itTTYL Time to Trowel Your...

Is your child texting about #archaeology?

ASAP Always Sort All Pottery
BRB Bucket Right Behind
LOL Lithics Or Lick-it
TTYL Time to Trowel Your Layer
NVM Need to Visit Museum
WTF Where's The Finds?
FTW Fabric, Temper, Ware
IDC I Dig Context
CYA Contextualize Your Assemblage
IMHO short for Imhotep
OMG Open My GPS
TMI Too many inclusions
TBH This Bone's a Humerus
GR8 Grid R8

If your child is using these common archaeology abbreviations, you should check their pockets for sharpies, bags & tags!

Glad being home for my brother's wedding let me vote in personHeaded back to Cardiff now

Glad being home for my brother's wedding let me vote in person

Headed back to Cardiff now

Oh and if anyone has suggestions on cross posting threads between Twitter and Mastodon, that'd be usefulThis attempt failed (using the...

Oh and if anyone has suggestions on cross posting threads between Twitter and Mastodon, that'd be useful

This attempt failed (using the cross posting tool) and I had to do it manually. While I think my interactions should be platform specific, I'd like my curated #archaeogy threads to easily post on both

I've turned this thread about the #Archaeology of Ancient Athenian Democracy into an essay for those who might want to share off of...

I've turned this thread about the #Archaeology of Ancient Athenian Democracy into an essay for those who might want to share off of Mastodon

https://medium.com/@FlintDibble/the-archaeology-of-athenian-democracy-5567a6e574be

If you want to read more about the Archaeology of Athenian Democracy, check out http://agathe.grMost photos here come from http://ascsa.net...

If you want to read more about the Archaeology of Athenian Democracy, check out http://agathe.gr

Most photos here come from http://ascsa.net (the archive of
@ASCSAthens
Athenian Agora Excavations)

Go Vote! I'll be handing out potsherds near the polls
/end

We look back at ancient democracy and like to see something akin to ours, as if we’re part of a tradition moving from Solon through George...

We look back at ancient democracy and like to see something akin to ours, as if we’re part of a tradition moving from Solon through George Washington to our “I voted” stickers

But, in reality. We do what we do, and we need to protect our vote if we want to keep it
/20

Imagine itSelection Day 2022. You get the phone call. Your number came up. You’ll be a US Senator for the next year. You’ll be paid well...

Imagine it

Selection Day 2022. You get the phone call. Your number came up. You’ll be a US Senator for the next year. You’ll be paid well and wined and dined. Make important decisions and schmooze with Perikles
/19

The Council (“Boule”) was the most important political chamber in Athens. Like the US SenateIts members weren’t elected. They were...

The Council (“Boule”) was the most important political chamber in Athens. Like the US Senate

Its members weren’t elected. They were selected by a machine

The fairest way to protect Athenians from casting influenced votes was to select political representatives randomly
/18

The Athenians realized that the only way to protect democracy from voting was to ensure that not everything came down to a voteIn fact, how...

The Athenians realized that the only way to protect democracy from voting was to ensure that not everything came down to a vote

In fact, how the Athenians chose their “Council” is downright strange by our own notions of democracy
/17

The Athenians recognized this. Ostracisms were only common during the 480s and afterwards were rareThe last was held in 417 BCE where the...

The Athenians recognized this. Ostracisms were only common during the 480s and afterwards were rare

The last was held in 417 BCE where the two most powerful politicians (Alkibiades and Nikias) allied at the last minute. To protect themselves, they united against Hyperbolus
/16

A close look at handwriting shows that the 190 ostraka naming Themistokles were written by only 14 different peopleOstracism was an...

A close look at handwriting shows that the 190 ostraka naming Themistokles were written by only 14 different people

Ostracism was an imperfect solution to protecting the vote, because it was a vote that could be influenced by the powerful
/15

In another instance, 190 ostraka were all found together on the slope of the Acropolis that named Themistokles (the politician who led the...

In another instance, 190 ostraka were all found together on the slope of the Acropolis that named Themistokles (the politician who led the Athenians against the Persians)

They’re produced identically: on the round feet of drinking cups
/14

There’s clearly some sort of organization to the production and even the deposition of these ostraka4,000 ostraka voting for Megacles...

There’s clearly some sort of organization to the production and even the deposition of these ostraka

4,000 ostraka voting for Megacles (ostracized 486 BCE) were found in a group. All dumped together. Archaeologists would call that a “structured deposit”
/13

Fortunately, scratched potsherds survive for us today, and archaeologists have excavated over 11,000 of these “ostraka” that give us an...

Fortunately, scratched potsherds survive for us today, and archaeologists have excavated over 11,000 of these “ostraka” that give us an inside look at this practice

The large numbers let us find some patterns
/12

If 6,000 people showed up & voted, the politician with the most votes was exiledMany famous & powerful Athenian politicians were...

If 6,000 people showed up & voted, the politician with the most votes was exiled

Many famous & powerful Athenian politicians were ostracized. Their Assembly speeches were persuasive and led major policy votes; however, that power was a double edged sword during ostracism
/11

Athenian cancel culture or “ostracism” is certainly famous todayThe rules were simple. A vote was held once a year over whether there...

Athenian cancel culture or “ostracism” is certainly famous today

The rules were simple. A vote was held once a year over whether there would be an ostracism vote.

If yes, then people returned with a potsherd (“ostraka”) on which they scratched name of a hated politician
/10