Brenna Hassett

Excellence means inequality, in case anyone was wondering what the direct translation is in policy-speak.

& it means people like me, my post docs, my research students, my undergrads leaving homes and communities. Bc yeah we need to concentrate well-funded people more, and offer less opportunity.

Ah but would there be museums in the first place without a bit of robbery…? ;)

Lecture poster. SPMA logo and name. Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture, 18:00, 16 December 2025, York Medical Society. Dr Beatriz Marin-Aguilera lectures on An Archaeology of Radical Tenderness. Archaeology as a discipline is at an ethical crossroad. Claims to be neutral and to depoliticise our practice — or to defend the status of archaeology as an 'objective science'— have alarmingly (re)gained traction. This turn away from humans —past and present—, their suffering, and the ethics of care is the product of unaddressed postcolonial demands that hide our privileged position as (white) archaeologists. Drawing on a long tradition of the social in Latin American arts and scholarship, I propose an 'archaeology of radical tenderness' that combines protest and profound critical thought with deep care, affection, and vulnerability, especially in the face of systemic harm and oppressive political structures. Using the archaeological record and the living experience, the archaeology of radical tenderness challenges inherited power structures and colonial histories offering new alternatives for our discipline as a site of openness, resistance, and relatedness. The archaeology of radical tenderness advocates for an embodied-situated practice and a critical and loving approach to social justice, emphasising collective care, the transformation of communities through shared vulnerability, and the healing needed to birth new (more equal) futures.

Map. Central York. Locations of destination bus stops for services from University of York Campus East are shown. A walking route betwen the York Medical Society and Crescent Community Centre is shown by a dotted blue line. Tuesday 16 December 18:00 Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture at York Medical Society, followed by the Antiquity Quiz and TAG Party at Crescent Community Centre from 19:00.

Join us in York @tag2025york.bsky.social on 16 December for Dr Beatriz Marin-Aguilera's 8pm lecture, 'An Archaeology of Radical Tenderness'.

The @postmedarch.bsky.social's Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture is followed by a drinks reception and seasonal snacks. Then go on to the TAG party!

No!!! But now will!

Picture of small world by jock Crumpton

Saturday is library day and look at this gorgeous choice! @lsmonster.bsky.social we are very excited to take this home for a bit

It was really fun working on this project as a consultant. Very much looking forward to watching it later (my 6yo is DESPERATE), and maybe seeing a couple of cameos of your's truly and @seismatters.bsky.social in the BTS bit at the end!

I mean, are you going to take gendered misrepresentation of archaeology LYING DOWN?

Or will you be mattocking ;)

Greg is so, so good at this. Lucky us!

Before I was cool enough to be too cool 😎

(Also I better hear this story at tag)

Hahahha all I remember was that I flat out refused to go to any show with no doubt on the bill and therefore missed like a billion gigs. SELL OUTS🙄🤘😂

I feel like this about every ska band that played with the aquabats in the 90s (but also don’t ruin my cred and tell anyone I went to ska shows)

Photo of a map of the ancient city of Assur with a section in the middle zoomed in on in a separate box in the bottom right corner. The zoomed in part shows the plan of the house for a goldsmith archive

Well this 2,600-year-old clay letter was a journey.

It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.

Cannot express how here I am for that

YouTube video by York Ideas The Stone Age Runs Wild at Star Carr: An evening with Greg Jenner and Nicky Milner

Hi! You can now watch me and archaeologist Professor Nicky Milner doing our Stone Age & Star Carr double act at York University last week

And you can get signed copies of my Stone Age book, cowritten with @brennawalks.bsky.social, from the ace @foxlanebooks.bsky.social

youtu.be/OzjiSlOWWug?...

Samhain or go home :p

So Danzig 😂🤘

Words to live by

Too. Dammit

Their science takes them outside In pursuit of their questions of interest, some researchers head into the very hot or very cold.

but actually i think the most interesting stuff i have to say about fieldwork is saved for Vivien's blog communities.springernature.com/posts/their-... -- some thoughts on trowelblazers and my own experience with being a little too female to do my honors thesis

I talked to Nature Methods about fieldwork and @trowelblazers.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... -- never say no to two many chandeliers, hey

I’m excited for #tag2025 because I plan on doing 100% more world building alongside my normal @trowelblazers.bsky.social screaming into the void 🤘

Fabric map of tombs of Atuan

Text of exhibit wall avail from book

Book cover and incised stone

Framed picture of dragon with instructions

Went to see this most beautiful collection of Ursula K LeGuins maps in the word for world exhibit. Wandering around thru ritualised imaginings of unreal worlds; it’s archaeology and anthropology (and turtles) all the way down. Massive ht to @kjkillackey.bsky.social Let’s go play world building ;p

Got kids aged 8+? Get them my latest book! It's a chaotic rollercoaster ride through the Stone Age -- it's tonnes of fun, full of the latest scientific discoveries, is cowritten with the expert archaeologist @brennawalks.bsky.social, and is illustrated by @rikinparekh.bsky.social. Cheers!

🏺🧪🦣 Was more than happy to speak to @killgrove.bsky.social for this: even if you ignored the horrendous, insurmountable ethical issues, what we'd learn would do almost nothing to advance our understanding of prehistoric #Neanderthal lives, nor our encounters with them.
There's zero justification.

Sign me up

YouTube video by BBC Archive 1962: What Was Britain Like Before the Apocalypse? | Monitor: The Lonely Shore | BBC Archive

And today I learned that in 1962 the BBC let Jaquetta Hawkes imagine the archaeology of apocalyptic Britain. As a short film 👀10/10 Will weird your day youtu.be/c8yEIe69M4k?...

Human skeleton quiz: What do you know about the bones in your body? Do you have what it takes to be a bone-ified quiz champion?

I wrote a human skeleton quiz -- filled with terrible puns -- for your Spooky Season enjoyment. 🧪🏺💀

I will try ;))))

Ohhhh yayyyy i forgot that was you!!! I shouldn’t really ;) so yes! I will see you there with maps in mind ❤️