Annie Mason

I explore this story in MIGRATIONS, my book on ancient dogs of the Americas. It’s a journey through genetics, archaeology, and myth—tracing the pawprints of the first friend to cross into the New World. #AncientDogs #DogHistory #Archaeogenetics #Migrations #CanineOrigins

#Zooarchaeology doesn't just study bones: it reconstructs relationships, emotions, and alliances. From the 'Stories of Millennary Dogs' series, In this episode, we follow the trail of ancient #dogs through excavations, myths, and millennia-old silences. #art #archaeology #ancientdogs

After a postponement due to a thankfully erroneous major health scare, followed by a week or so of checking if the application portal has opened, I have pressed submit on my PhD application!

My pooches new dating app profile picture!

Carved rock art just south of Kilmartin.

Yes, you can stand on it (although the universe did decide that I was taking too many photos and not looking enough, and I fell on my b*m)!

Had a great day wandering around one of my favourite islands, yesterday.

Broch, castle, and 14th century grave markers on Lismore.

Kilmartin Glen

#StandingStoneSunday

Sideways Scottish sunshine (this was about 1.30pm) giving an excellently dramatic look to the stones at Kilmartin.

Lovely day visiting Kilmartin Glen.

Rock art, standing stones, and burial cairns.

What a brilliant trip to Edinburgh that was.

The archaeology dept is gorgeous, and all the staff I met were really kind.

I could happily spend months rummaging around in the NMS collections.

Even spotted some canid bits from here in Oban!

Hi! Do you mind if I message you to ask you a few questions about the canid collections?

Collage of images from the INCA Scot gathering in Orkney © INCA Scot

A brand new website for the International Network for Contemporary Archaeology (INCA Scot) is launching soon!

Join us on the 17th March for a virtual gathering to celebrate the new home for Contemporary Archaeology in Scotland.

Click here for more information: bit.ly/41sRwaD

The sun is up, and I am reminded why I moved to Scotland.

The temperature has plummeted as I have travelled inland, but it is astoundingly beautiful.

(Apologies for poor quality photo - it was taken through the window of a moving train.)

Ok! Although it may come as a surprise, as I have never met the chap!

About halfway through the morning's train journey; getting to grips with some reading (and a much needed flask of coffee!)

Blue-gloved hands handling chicken bones, with the text 'Zooarchaeology, Antiquity'.

Check out our #Zooarchaeology collection, with tons of FREE and #OpenAccess content such as:

🐎 Iron Age horse sacrifice in Siberia
🐓 The first chickens in Europe and north-west Africa
🦴 Bone tool production in Neolithic China

& more! 🔗 https://buff.ly/4hDdjCg

Very early start to catch the 5.11am train, but I am off to Edinburgh for the day!

I am going to be exploring the archaeology department and the NMS collection centre.

Very sleepy.

Very excited!

I am very proud of my little sister for winning 2nd place for Best Novel Opening!

I went to an excellent Dig Ventures excavation a few years ago, and their t-shirts have "It's Ritual" on the front!

Love a bit of self-deprecating humour 🤣

Everything is going to be ok!

I have spoken to my potential supervisor, and the key differences that I have identified are sufficiently... well... different!

Thunderbirds are GO!

Discover the Astounding Secrets of Scotland's Stone Age Settlements In the Orkney Islands, archaeologists close the chapter on a legendary excavation, capping two decades of remarkable Neolithic discoveries

'The Neolithic mind is unknowable. We are so like and yet so unlike those people. We can walk within their buildings, pick up their tools, look out over the same water and hills as they once did, and yet how they saw their world, on a deeper level, is beyond us.' 🏺🧪

Took a moment to find my photo of it, but yeah, it is BIG! As a fully grown human who has topped out at a bare smidge over 1.5 metres, it is very intimidating!

There is an articulated skeleton of one of these giants at Bristol Museum, and I have been alternating between unnerved and terrified of it since I was a very small child!

Dogs: Mankind’s Evolutionary Partner for All Time Your dog is more than a pet, companion or best friend. He or she is your evolutionary partner in a conjunctive venture stretching over millennia through glaciers, floods, pestilence, famine, war, m…

Your dog is more than a pet, companion or best friend. He or she is your evolutionary partner in a conjunctive venture stretching over millennia through glaciers, floods, pestilence, famine, war, migration and domestication. wp.me/p3vuOO-3k1

Looking forward to reading this. It could be game changing for archaeological practice and how we treat archaeological remains. "Rather than collecting material, she maps and studies each item in place" #ethicalcuration #zooarchaeology #museums #archives #postexcavation

A venn diagram. The three circles are labelled: The Archaeologist The Pirate The Dog The area where all threel overlap is labelled: Loves digging things up Dog/Archaeologist overlap is labelled: Gets excited by bones Pirate/Archaeologist overlap is labelled: Good with maps Dog/Pirate overlap is labelled: Buries things for later

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.bsky.social

After a 10-minute meltdown, followed by a good old cuppa and a think, I've identified the key differences between what I want to do and what has already been done.

I can build on this, which I guess is a lot of what academic research is.

I'll discuss it with my supervisor-in-principle, tomorrow.

That sinking feeling when you come across an article, published a decade ago, which comes dangerously close to your proposed PhD topic.

🤔

Today's seriously excellent article!

A VERY recently published look at large canids (wild and domesticated) in Alaska.

Right up my street!

🐕🦴

It is a small thing, and only a start, but my research proposal draft is currently sitting at a very pleasing word count!