Trips to museums, shrines and Neandertal caves notwithstanding, what we are doing as part of Total Archaeology at Tel Akko, a joint project of Penn State and the University of Haifa, is archaeology plain and not so simple. We dig, screen dirt, record locations, analyze whatever we find and try to piece together what the site looked like during the Persian, Hellenistic, Phonecian or Canaanite times. We find artifacts that might tell us what people then were doing, where they did it and how. And perhaps someday we will be able to understand it all. For now, a simple glimpse of life at Tel Akko.
Category Archives: Society & Culture
Parallel Universes
Last weekend we had a trip to a series of varied, but interesting, locations. I found myself unable to walk the distances necessary at some of the sites, but that did not mean my trip was any less enjoyable.
First stop was right here in Akko, at the Bahá’í Shrine. If anyone is at all familiar with Bahá’í locations, it is probably with the shrine in Haifa dedicated to the Báb, founder of the Bábí faith and forerunner of the Bahá’í faith. The Bahá’í faith, begun by the Bahá’u’lláh, a follower of the Báb, in Persia during the 1800s, is a world religion based on universal acceptance of all religions as valid and a belief that all religions believe in the same divinity. Bahá’u’lláh, unlike the Báb who was executed in Persia, was simply exiled to the Ottoman Empire. He settled in Akko, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. He was also arrested and imprisoned for more than 15 years in the Akko prison and spent the rest of his life under house arrest here, all because he proposed a new religion. So Akko is the holiest place in the world for a member of the Bahá’í faith and there are many Bahá’í followers in Akko. Continue reading Parallel Universes
Origin (and Demise) of an Idea
For a few days now I’ve been helping with some archaeobotany. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t really like biology, being more of a physical sciences kind of gal, but, this is interesting. We take soil samples that are “floated” to find any seeds, and other organic remains. In the process, there is a portion of the sample that falls to the bottom of the tank of water, the heavy fraction. I’ve been sorting through the heavy fractions. We find shells, pieces of pottery, bronze, lead and bones. On some of the samples, when we run a magnet over them we get pieces of slag, the remains of iron ore processing, and hammer scales, the remains of iron tool making. These are tiny blobs of iron that are forced off when the hot metal is struck. The samples are sort of a grab bag of the areas we are working as part of Total Archaeology at Tel Akko, a joint project of Penn State and Haifa University.
Shadows and Ghosts
Here we are in Akko, Israel, at the Marine Academy and up on Tel Akko excavating an archaeological site that has already uncovered parts of Greek, Persian and Phoenician settlements. We are in our sixth season of Total Archaeology at Tel Akko, a project of Penn State and Haifa University joined by other universities including University of Massachusetts Amherst, Trinity College and the Claremont Colleges. Continue reading Shadows and Ghosts
20 Companies on Fortune’s Most Admired List That Get Social Media
Researchers found that many companies on Fortune Magazine’s list of most admired companies had lots of room for social media improvement.
But according to Marcia DiStaso, who is an associate professor of public relations at Penn State, and her fellow researchers, there are companies on the list that are killing it on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. According to DiStaso, these companies are using best social media practices to get the word out about their companies on social media, but more than that they are creating relationships that can turn customers and consumers into brand advocates. Continue reading 20 Companies on Fortune’s Most Admired List That Get Social Media