John Walker
@jhonhwalker.bsky.social
Bicycle commuter, Amazonian archaeologist, historical ecologist; Faculty at University of Central Florida | Illinois, Philadelphia, Florida, Orlando, Bolivia, Beni, Santa Ana del Yacuma.
Your astonishing artifact for the week is a crystal clear quartz tool found at a Neanderthal site in France. 🏺🧪
Rock crystal scraper: 45,000-year-old Neanderthal tool that shows they had an 'eye for beauty of form and color'
A chance find of rare rock crystal tools a century ago paved the way for a better understanding of Neanderthals today.
livescience.com
Here's a fun Lego idea I voted for. If it gets enough votes it might become commercially available for real :) ideas.lego.com/product-idea...
Standing Stones Through Time | LEGO® Ideas
Colossal stone circles have stood as silent witnesses to history for millennia, yet we are still uncertain exactly why they were originally built. This modular …
ideas.lego.com
An ACLU report looks at the widespread use of force in immigration enforcement in the first year of President Trump's return to office. Recent fatal shootings in Texas and Maine have brought renewed scrutiny to the agency's tactics. n.pr/4w6xy2b
The use of force has become a 'default tool' for ICE officers, a new report finds
An ACLU report looks at the widespread use of force in immigration enforcement in the first year of President Trump's return to office. Recent fatal shootings in Texas and Maine have brought renewed scrutiny to the agency's tactics.
n.pr
Maxwell: Yet another federal court – led in part by a conservative, Trump-appointed judge – has ruled that Ron DeSantis’ so-called ‘Stop WOKE’ law was unconstitutional garbage. The reality: It’s…
Maxwell: Courts confirm Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE’ law is un-American garbage
orlandosentinel.com
Today is #CowAppreciationDay and not many appreciated cows more than the Kingdom of Kerma, Sudan 🐮 Even as the economic importance of cattle declined, they remained part of funerary rituals, indicating they maintained ideological significance! 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology
Come and get your books signed! Today 1-2pm
Tom Gauld@tomgauld.bsky.social · 4w agoI will be signing at The ARC festival this Sunday from 1-2pm at the @goshcomics.bsky.social table. @arcfestivallondon.bsky.social is an exciting, new, free comics festival in London on the 11th and 12th of July. Come along! www.arc-london.uk
We don’t actually know why armadillos evolved their candy-coated shell. In fact, it might not be to protect them from predators, parasites, or thorn bushes. The armadillo’s armor may just be to protect them from each other! 🧪
Jeremy Goldkorn@goldkorn.bsky.social · 4w agoIn the woods near Nashville this morning:
BREAKING: A federal court permanently blocked Governor DeSantis’ classroom censorship law, the "Stop WOKE Act," from taking effect. The law would've restricted students and educators in Florida from discussing things like race and gender in higher ed classrooms.
“Today, with a few taps on a phone, Americans can buy a baby monkey on social media—no permits checked, no questions asked. Over a period of just six weeks, researchers identified more than 1,600 primates openly offered for sale online in the US.” 🌎 www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/...
America’s Online Primate Trade Is Thriving in Plain Sight–Here’s How to Stop It | Blog | Nature | PBS
Earlier this year, four juvenile spider monkeys smuggled into the US in lunch boxes arrived at a Mississippi zoo, where they can finally begin to recover.
pbs.org
Tomb of 6th c BC Piceni 'warrior-prince' discovered in Italy. 🏺🧪
2,500-year-old tomb of a 'warrior prince' with chariot and helmet discovered on Italy's Adriatic coast
Archaeologists have excavated a royal burial ground of the Piceni, a mysterious pre-Roman civilization in Italy that is not well-known historically.
livescience.com
#BRAvsNOR This figurine, from c400–1200, offers an insight into the Marajoara culture. The figure is female, yet clearly phallic; dual-sexed figures are a recurring motif in Marajoara artefacts. The geometric patterns are thought to represent both tattoos, and snakes, important in their religion.
Maxwell: Free speech? Florida university threatens students’ diplomas for participating in a silent protest where they stood up wearing anti-ICE T-shirts.
Maxwell: Free speech? Florida students have diplomas threatened for silent ICE protest
orlandosentinel.com
I was astounded to learn that Exeter is considering making drastic cuts to their excellent programs in Archaeology, among others. I have long worked with many excellent professors and students from Exeter. John Walker, Professor, University of Central Florida #DefendExeterUni, #ExeterUniversity
Elon Musk says that no one died because of his demolition of USAID, and that "Kristof is lying through his teeth." So here I invite him to join me on a visit to Africa to see for himself: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/o...
Opinion | U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People. That’s the Truth.
nytimes.com
Important conversations in #science 🧪 The process of publishing has become a lot slower lately and I know it's in part because fewer people accept to review. Payment would certainly improve that: I know I would accept more reviews...
David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · last mo.What?! Paying people for their labor works? I’m shocked! Shocked!
This textile fragment depicts the crab man, a mythological figure of Peru's Moche culture. Produced after the Moche culture's supposed end around AD 850, it suggests a sense of Moche identity was maintained even after Wari expansion. 🔗 from 2024 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology
With the EPA on life support, states take the lead: Vermont finally bans Parkinsons-causing paraquat www.theguardian.com/environment/.... Syngenta has been ginning up agnotology for years movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Vermont becomes first US state to ban paraquat herbicide over Parkinson’s fears
Lawmakers cite studies linking weedkiller to Parkinson’s as pressure mounts for a wider US ban
theguardian.com
The editorial boards examine the very troubling record of Florida attorney general James Uthmeier as the 2026 campaign season unfolds.
Editorial: Bullying local leaders while worshipping guns
orlandosentinel.com
⚒️ 🧪 A catastrophic earthquake just struck northern Venezuela. Large buildings have collapsed, and the USGS PAGER is forecasting thousands of fatalities. Our colleague in Caracas, Dr. Frank Audemard, has shared with us what the earthquake felt like and footage from the region. Here’s what we know.
Catastrophic M7.5 earthquake strikes northern Venezuela
Severe damage; collapsed buildings; significant fatalities possible
earthquakeinsights.substack.com
We could grow enough crops to feed the world, but instead many people go hungry. What are we doing wrong?
"You did not paddle through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to participate in a national metaphor. To you, this was not a site of national remembrance, civic pilgrimage, or the weigh-in for a nationally televised cage match bloodsport. It was simply water."
An Open Letter to the Dead Duck Seen Floating In the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
“You did not paddle through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to participate in a national metaphor. To you, this was not a site of national remembrance, ...
buff.ly
Hot take: every streaming service should have a "show me stuff you've never showed me before" button.
Rare medieval notebook found in latrine in Paderborn. #Archaeology
Rare medieval notebook found in Paderborn latrine
Archaeologists have uncovered a medieval notebook in a former latrine in Paderborn. The remarkably well-preserved leather, wood and wax find may shed new light on everyday life in the 13th and 14th ce...
euronews.com
Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
science.org
