Why not use the IFRAO scale for recording rock art

"Por que no usar la IFRAO SCALE en Arte Rupestre" by José Manuel Pereira Uzal
https://www.jpereira.net/articulos/por-que-no-usar-la-ifrao-scale-en-arte-rupestre/

Lots of good info about heritage recording, multi-spectral photography and photogrammetry in J. Pereira site.

Google translator (Spanish-English):
https://www-jpereira-net.translate.goog/articulos/por-que-no-usar-la-ifrao-scale-en-arte-rupestre/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=pt-PT&_x_tr_pto=wapp
IFRAO standard scale
https://www.cesmap.it/ifrao/scale.html

In Portugal Arbequina and Arbosana were recently introduced in super-intensive orchads. With water dripping irrigation and fertilization the production is huge! But we also have some native varieties like 'Cobrançosa', 'Verdeal Trás-os-Montes', 'Madural', adapted to extremes (--5º to 45º, no irrigation). I believe the only thing olive trees don't support is heavy snow, some cold actually can help. In theory many regions in the Americas will became big producers thanks to climate changes.

We are flooded with posts from IT experts criticizing LLMs. These texts do a poor job because:

* Don’t clarify what LLMs are or how they work.

* Don’t explain that it’s possible to use ethically sourced data to train them.

* They frequently propose banning the technology instead of regulating its use.

Perhaps it would be better to teach the average user how to properly use these tools and how install them on their machines, giving them a true autonomy.

https://hackaday.com/2026/05/04/the-math-you-need-to-start-understanding-llms/

#ai #llm

52 years ago, young Portuguese officers, tired of a fascist regime and a pointless colonial war, rebelled, overthrew the government, and established democracy.

A key figure in the revolution was Salgueiro Maia, who rallied his men with a short speech:

"There are many kinds of States. Socialist States, Capitalist States and our current state.
Tonight we will end the current state we’re in."

Military should always serve the People.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salgueiro_Maia
https://youtu.be/6fxw1tvo8ss?si=U2nxc2IBW_DGXzgS&t=30

#Democracy

“Whenever I have to choose between a brilliant academic who is arrogant and individualistic and a colleague with a slightly less impressive CV but committed and a good team player, I always hire the latter. Field work in archaeology is above all a teamwork.”

A partner of a small archaeology company told me that many years ago. Overtime that company became a commercial and scientific reference in the field. Apparently he made the right choices.

#archaeology

"Heaven's Vault" is an archaeological science fiction adventure game in which you play as a female epigraphist, unraveling the mysteries of an ancient civilization by exploring ruins and deciphering texts scattered across your alien world.

The game was highly praised as one of the few to provide an accurate vision of archaeology and the work of archaeologists, borrowing game elements from heuristics, history, linguistics and epigraphy.

#games #archaeology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY_e15HzJNQ

The new Donnie Darko film really sucks!

🤮

source: https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/2026-white-house-easter-egg-roll-at-the-white-house-in-washington/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX1JDMlJKS0FQUTZWTA

#fascism #deathcult #usa

DürAir

Portable and user-friendly Lidar + high-quality cameras combos are definitely the next step in archaeological documentation.

"DürAir, a mobile augmented reality application for documentation in cultural heritage."

"A limited beta testing program will be opened to heritage researchers and professionals. Registrations will open in Spring 2026."

https://youtu.be/gDHbxLS93YE?si=yru8_6WxaE_hnRFl

#archaeology #lidar

🚀🛸

Despite working daily with the Past, it is quite common to find archaeologists who love quality sci-fi.

The fact that good authors explore the impact of technological advances/ human material culture in social and evolutionary terms may help explain it.

When it comes to BD and cinema, A. Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud (Mœbius) are truly key figures.

Jodorowsky's Dune
https://youtu.be/m0cJNR8HEw0?si=ot_wbIl2PsktADNb

La Caste des Méta-Barons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabarons

L'Incal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incal

#comics #film

Two perspectives on slavery and women warriors in African history (Nigeria/USA)

It's a cliché among many ‘progressive’ American and European intellectuals to claim that it's up to African researchers and artists to write and tell the history of their continent. Yet when they do so, and present religious, economic, and political realities as complex as those found in Eurasia, it suddenly becomes an inconvenience. (🤫sarcasm )
https://youtu.be/RW87asYGq7g?si=anUTj7CM7KCGvmkG
https://youtu.be/3RDaPV_rJ1Y?si=S9_3hqGNspuvhM0t

#africa #history #film

Pandoc 📝➡️📄
https://pandoc.org/index.html

Pandoc is a command-line tool for converting documents between markup formats. It helps standardize file formats and generate documents in multiple output formats. Free Software (GPLv3).

#opensource #archaeology

Low-tech Magazine 🌱☀️
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/

"What is Low-tech Magazine? Low-tech Magazine underscores the potential of past and often forgotten technologies and how they can inform sustainable energy practices."

For archaeologists and historians, there is the amazing section "Obsolete Technology" because, in the words of the editors:

"There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society."