One of the beauties of modern archaeological technique is the ability to analyse ancient battle, or massacre sites, in a forensic way. This has happened at the famous Teutoberg Forest site in northern Germany, and is happening in the also famous ‘Tollense’, site in north-western Germany. It’s become known as the earliest battle site in… Continue reading Geography and the Bronze Age Battle at Tollense, Germany
Tag: ecology
The antifragile (?) tree-ferns of Omatepe, Nicaragua
“We’ll follow these guys – they’re three local hoodlums”, This from my local guide on Omatepe Island, Nicaragua. I was sitting behind him on his trail bike, and we were burning down the road after walking up Volcan Maderas, the smaller of the two volcanoes on the Island. *** My hostel, Soma, had organised my… Continue reading The antifragile (?) tree-ferns of Omatepe, Nicaragua
The Lost Forest of the Ashley River, Canterbury, New Zealand
A gem in the heart of Christchurch is Riccarton Bush (sometimes called Deans Bush). It’s a patch of original kahikatea forest, just a few hundred meters from the Riccarton shopping center (See Molloy,1995, for pretty much all you need to know about the forest). As anyone who flies in or out of Christchurch, or drives that… Continue reading The Lost Forest of the Ashley River, Canterbury, New Zealand
Aboriginal Paintings of the Kimberley- very old Pleistocene or not so old Holocene?
Many of the real advances in science seem to come from a sudden ‘insight’ ( think Archimedes and “Eureka!”) – and there is often no simple connection between collecting data and that ‘aha!’ moment. The tedious data collection happens, but at some moment, the brain, perhaps quite subconsciously, puts two and two together, and comes up… Continue reading Aboriginal Paintings of the Kimberley- very old Pleistocene or not so old Holocene?
Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Early on a cool Sunday morning I sipped my latte outside Relishes Cafe, Wanaka, and thought the immediate view could be better. In a somewhat typical urban New Zealand fashion, the lake is cut off from the cafe not just by a road, but a car park as well. However, the awesome view behind it,… Continue reading Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Tim Flannery and Megafaunal Extinction Shuffle-puck
Are Australian lives and property being burnt as a result of something that happened tends of thousands of years ago? In 1994 an influential book, ‘The Future Eaters’, was published by the Australian paleontologist Tim Flannery. One of the goals of the book was to explain why an event several thousand years ago (the extinction… Continue reading Tim Flannery and Megafaunal Extinction Shuffle-puck
Estonia – the Swamp and the language tree
Estonia was my first-ever experience of driving, by myself, on the right hand side of the road. I tried to keep it simple. All I needed to do was pull-out from the car hire place (small town, Viljandi linn), negotiate a round-about at the edge of town, then I would be onto a rural road where I could take… Continue reading Estonia – the Swamp and the language tree
Australian Grasstrees – ancient registrars of fire
In Australia there are trees that look like inside-out chimneys. Strong but sensitive – a fungal attack can leave them as a pile of mush within days, and, often as not, they won’t survive being transplanted from the wild. But, you can burn them to a crisp – and they will re-sprout, again, and again,… Continue reading Australian Grasstrees – ancient registrars of fire
Australia’s Fatal Fire-Flume
The first time I came to Brisbane in the hot part of the year – I couldn’t believe how anyone could survive there. The nights were oppressively, putridly hot, and full of bitey-insects. Then I ended up living there and suffered for years. I would cocoon myself in a mosquito net, and poke a fan… Continue reading Australia’s Fatal Fire-Flume