Four Stone Hearth: "A New Hope" Edition

Oh yes, you read that right... a new hope! Hot on the heels of last week's US presidential inauguration and in the spirit of embracing our best inner citizenship, we gather 'round the Four Stone Hearth tonight and peer intently towards an uncertain, hopeful future, waiting with bated breath at the boundless possibilities it might bring...

Speaking of the US presidential inauguration, you could do worse things than jump across the Atlantic and check out what the fine folks of the Moore Group have to say about Obama Archaeology. You read that right, but you may not read what you expect if you read the post!

And over at Aardvarchaeology, Martin offers some good thoughts about how the new administration's desire to restore science to its rightfully place can profitably be integrated in cultural heritage management policy.

Not all is good and well archaeologically in the land of Uncle Sam, however, as the UPenn Museum is apparently slashing and burning its archaeological research program! Want to hear more about this? Even better, want to try to make a difference? Then by all means, heck out what Alex at Anthrosite and Mike at Publishing Archaeology suggest you can do it about (I've signed!).

On the other hand, if you prefer being bummed out about how to best manage and understand our collective human past, make your way to Afarensis' somber assessment of what the Discovery Channel may be encouraging with some of its new programming.

But let's drop the long faces, shall we? Instead, why don't you take this as an opportunity to look back to cherished moments of our past, nice memories... like your 'first time.' Oh yeah, what an experience that was, no? The awkward fumbling as you try to figure out how to handle it and exactly what do to with it... you don't remember? Well, Metin at The Real Eolith certainly does.

Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter!! What the hell did you think I was talking about? Shameful, truly! But hey, if that kind of thinking floats your boat, you might just want to consult Greg's post at Neuroanthropology wherein he explores 'What these enigmatic women want.' And while you're there, why don't you take the time to explore that fine, fine blog some more. Don't know where to start? How about Daniel's post on 'Subjectivity and Addiction: Moving Beyond Just the Disease Model' where he discusses how how cultural models and causal thinking get in the way of understanding addiction.

Ah, but now, you've whetted you appetite and you want more blogs to keep you full of interesting anthropological tidbits? An easy way to satisfy your burning craving might be to mozy on over to Middle Savagery and see what Colleen has to suggest you check out.

After consuming that feast of technologically-mediated information, why don't you pause a second and ponder the relationship between language, media, culture and technology, with some help of my good friend Steve at Glossograhpia. Good stuff that.

What? That's too 'here and now' for you? You want more old stuff? How about some new reflections about the recent paper on the cranial morphology of Homo floresiensis, courtesy of Jordan over at On Being Unexceptional? Or Greg's post on the fantastic mystery of the Younger Dryas? What, you want older? Then how about Terry's reflections on the 'Out-of-Africa' model of modern human origins over at Remote Central? Older still? Seriously? Ok, ok, I got you covered... over at Babel's Dawn, Blair offers explores whether abstract thought predates Homo sapiens.

And that's it for this Four Stone Hearth. And after all of that is done, the embers of the hearth will burn and dim into the night, until the campfire goes out altogether... only to be lit again in two weeks' time when Colleen gets her anthro fire on and hosts the next FSH at Middle Savagery.