Archaeology prof at @SFU. BA from Sheffield Archaeology (since destroyed by the management). PhD from Liverpool Anatomy. Trainee Canadian. From Essex, UK.
Vancouver, Canada
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Whilst in Lyme Regis, I was very pleased to finally see the statue of early palaeontologist Mary Anning that resulted from the 'Mary Anning Rocks' crowdfunding campaign. It's a really nice piece. Very dynamic. You can read more about the campaign (and Ms Anning) here: maryanningrocks.co.uk/
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Some photos taken yesterday on a walk between Lyme Regis, Dorset, and the Ammonite Pavement, which is part of England's 'Jurassic Coast'.
The first looks towards the Ammonite Pavement.
The second shows the remarkably clear stratigraphy in the area.
The third shows the fossilised remains of a large ammonite.
The fourth was taken near the Ammonite Pavement, looking back to Lyme Regis.
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I had my hiking boots resoled a few months back. I’ve used them maybe six times in the intervening period. Today, this happened whilst looking for fossils near Lyme Regis, Dorset. 😬
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I happened to be close to the tomb of Sir Richard and Lady Isabel Burton in Mortlake, London, this morning, so I paid it a visit. It’s pretty nifty.
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Mark Collard retweeted
Surely one of P.G. Wodehouse's finest sentences:
'It was often said of Archibald Mulliner that, had his brain been constructed of silk, he would have been hard put to it to find sufficient material to make a canary a pair of cami-knickers.'
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Mark Collard retweeted
I was invited to comment on the new paper by Julia Gresky and @drleeclare regarding the intact burials discovered at Göbekli Tepe. A very interesting study that helps situate the site within the broader context of the Neolithic period in SW Asia science.org/content/article/…
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I was in a pub in Kew, London, a few hours ago and encountered some interesting wallpaper in the unisex toilet. The theme was exotic birds and several of them featured representations of specimen-tags engraved with the names Darwin, Audubon, Turing, or Plato (see the bird at the top-left). I asked the barmaids about the wallpaper and, perhaps predictably, they looked at me as if I was mental. I then asked ChatGPT about the wallpaper and it identified the designer within 60 seconds and even told me the cost of a roll (88 quid, since you’re asking). The power of this technology really is quite wild.
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I should add that I didn’t even do a reverse image search. I simply typed in ‘wallpaper, birds, Darwin, Audubon, Turing’. Its first response was to generate a potential design for wallpaper. Then, when I explained I was looking at some actual wallpaper, it found the wallpaper in question, the designer’s name, etc on the next attempt. So, two short prompts between wondering about some interesting wallpaper in a toilet in a random pub in London to reading about the designer and her decision to include Alan Turing as well as Darwin and Aududon (she wanted to celebrate important scientists not just bird specialists).
I’m not 100% sure of the time saving relative to pre-AI, probably many minutes, maybe an hour. But relative to pre-internet, it’s in the order of multiple hours to days, including, almost certainly, a visit to at least one specialist wallpaper shop. That’s a remarkable reduction in search time in just a few decades.
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Mark Collard retweeted
"I found a field already sinking into a quagmire of epistemological conflict [... ] and drifting in a direction that would make it increasingly difficult to develop theories capable of addressing social and economic problems"
vanderbilt.edu/principles/st…
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This seems like a remarkably shortsighted set of cuts, especially the ones targeting Scotland-related courses. Even if such courses have low enrollment, a large university like Edinburgh must be able to subsidise some strategically important courses — and surely Scotland-related courses must fall in that category for one of Scotland’s top universities?
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Mark Collard retweeted
The male-biased sex ratio in humans and its role in the transition from promiscuity to pair bonding
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
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This is a good piece by @drianpace.
“When academics seek to preclude external commentary, we should ask whether the boundary being defended protects the integrity of knowledge, or professional pride and intellectual vanity from unwelcome challenge. Academic freedom protects scholarly inquiry from improper direction; it does not place academics’ work or institutions beyond external accountability. Academic autonomy is not academic immunity.”
ianpace.substack.com/p/ragin…
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Mark Collard retweeted
The security situation for Jewish Canadians has been bad since October 7. The once safe decent & delightful Canada is becoming notorious for bigotry and menace towards its Jewish citizens. @markcarney & his govt sound sympathetic but the reaction and stand against violence & hate is weak. That is a real worry
Last night, on the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville.
A police officer was shot and the community has been left shaken.
Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish lives. Canada’s government will do everything in our power to support law enforcement in ensuring that the perpetrator is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
My thoughts are with the injured officer and his family, and the entire Jewish community.
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Here's a version without the paywall.
archive.is/LCBKu
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Mark Collard retweeted
Burials inside Italian Paleolithic cave date to medieval period, 1302-1489 CE, radiocarbon dating shows
Three people buried inside Grotta Romanelli in southern Italy lived during the medieval period, new radiocarbon dates show...
More information: archaeologymag.com/2026/09/b…
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