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Spain’s Move to Decolonize Its Museums Must Continue

Sapiens

In Asia and Oceania, Spanish rule for over 300 years introduced Catholicism and centralized governance in places like present-day Guam , the Philippines, and Taiwan, deeply altering the identity and languages of these regions. Without a clear understanding of what lies within their vaults, museums cannot fulfill this duty.

Museum 128
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How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa

Sapiens

Archaeological evidence and Oral Histories show people in what is today Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonial powers and the widespread trade of enslaved people changed everything. I felt compelled to share this story as an example of the power of archaeology to shift perspectives. It’s the year 2065.

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The Vanishing Traces of Our Earliest Ancestors in Indonesia

Sapiens

This site has thankfully been spared from destruction by the regional government when it was earmarked as a possible tourist attraction. While we were grateful that this impressive midden has been preserved, the government official accompanying us pointed out shells littering the landscape several hundred feet away.

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The Ancient Lifelines of Mesopotamia: How Newly Discovered Irrigation Canals Rewrite History

Anthropology.net

For centuries, our understanding of early irrigation in Mesopotamia has relied largely on indirect evidence, such as cuneiform texts and archaeological remains of later canal networks. If researchers can match specific canals to textual references, it would provide an unprecedented look at how these systems were governed. Lang, D. &

History 95
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Uncovering Arabia's Slow Urban Evolution in the Bronze Age

Anthropology.net

Archaeology and the Role of Social Complexity in Early Arabian Towns The modest urban organization found at al-Natah and similar sites suggests that early Arabian communities functioned as social and trade centers without the hierarchical systems common in more complex urban societies.

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Tracing Ancient Roots: How Iron Age Britain Centered on Women

Anthropology.net

Anthropologist Dr. Martin Smith describes how these findings add depth to archaeological interpretations: “Rather than simply seeing a set of skeletons, hidden aspects of these people’s lives and identities come into view as mothers, husbands, and daughters.”

Ancestry 105
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Digging Into an Ancient Apocalypse Controversy From a Hopi Perspective

Sapiens

In a memo sent to tribes in the region in March, government administrators expressed concern but said they were unable to deny the permit request. In fact, it is because of the ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni people, and the Pai Tribes, that archaeological sites exist in the Grand Canyon. Tribal officials objected.