Archaeobears

Xhuwaji – Haida Grizzly Bear
Bill Reid
1990

In ancient Chinese mythology, pandas weren’t soft. They were “iron-eaters” and “sky iron bears,” the thunderous war-beasts of Chiyou, god of war. Fueled by metal and fire, they charged into battle against the Yellow Emperor. But when Chiyou fell, so did their rage.
Legends say 1/2

A foraging teenager was mauled by a bear 27,000 years ago, skeleton shows The remains of a teenage boy who lived around 27,000 years ago suggest he was attacked by a cave bear—some of the first direct evidence of a predator attacking an ancient human

The remains of a teenage boy who lived around 27,000 years ago suggest he was attacked by a cave bear—some of the first direct evidence of a predator attacking an ancient human

And there it is. Updated with the latest results from work with @thibaut-d.bsky.social & @cartapaniso.bsky.social & the @archaeobears.bsky.social #Boxofficebears , 50 mins of 🐻 from the lateglacial to present in Britain. So much more I could have said! Ta for the invite @geoffreymsmith.bsky.social!

Well that was fun! Thanks for hosting us @roseplayhouse.bsky.social

Tonight!!

Two mother polar bears and their respective cubs beating a hasty retreat from a large male who had just showed up in the neighborhood. Males are a risk to cubs. #BearSeason2025 #mammals 🌿

My photo collage shows four images of small animal figurines carved from amber during the Danish Mesolithic period. Top left: profile photo of the head, neck, and part of the front torso of an animal (bear?) facing left. Carved from deep orange amber. Found at Bølling Sø (lake) Central Jutland, Denmark. Top right: small almost complete figurine of an amber bear seen in profile facing right. The lower legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle and mouth are defined. Carved from translucent orange amber. Washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark. Bottom left: small figurine in the shape of a bear(?) carved from dark orange amber. It is known asvthe Resen Bear. There is fine incised geometric ornamentation on the body. Found in a bog at Resen, Denmark. Bottom left: bright orange amber animal head shown in profile facing left. Found in 1952 at Egemarke in Denmark, it is known as the Egemarke Elk. It is decorated with incised bands of closely aligned parallel zig-zag lines. There are two circular perforations at the bottom of the neck. All on display at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

Something lovely for the weekend!

Magical amber animals from the Mesolithic. Carved between 10,000-7,000 years ago.

Amber can generate static electricity⚡️ For their ancient owners, these small animals could give off sparks in the dark and make hair stand on end, as if by magic✨
📷 me

#Archaeology

A lone polar bear picks its way over a ridge of rounded grey rocks in dim, muted sunlight of late afternoon

One of my favourite polar bear photos I've taken to date. It was a weird, misty evening with just a sliver of sunlight coming through the fog, lighting up this bear on the rocks just outside of town. #mammals 🌿 #BearSeason2025

My photo collage shows four images of Roman-era clear-glass cups painted with colourful enamel decoration depicting animals from the Roman Arena. Known as ‘circus cups’, fourteen of which have been found in richly-furnished ‘princely’ graves in Denmark. Dated AD 200s. The top two images show two sides of the same cup. Top left: a brown lion with shaggy mane, its front and rear legs outstretched as if running at full speed. Top right: a green spotted leopard. Out of shot, a blue goat is being hunted down by the lion and the leopard. Bottom left: fragmentary glass cup decorated with a light brown lion with shaggy mane. Nose and lips outlined in black. Bottom right: image of a gladiator with green leggings and blue shield, and in front of him a large brown bear.

Roman glass cups with colourful enamel decoration of animals from the Roman arena. AD 200s.

Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology

A momma polar bear sleeps curled up in a small patch of willows on the rocky tundra. Her cub sits behind her, leaning their head on her side.

A momma polar bear sleeps curled up in a small patch of willows on the rocky tundra. Her cub sits behind her, leaning their head on her side and dozing lightly.

When you're hungry, but Mom doesn't want to wake up.
#BearSeason #Mammals 🌿🐻‍❄️

We’re going - are you? Come and find out more about #archaeology and why it’s one of the best subjects ever @uniarchday.bsky.social in London on Oct 27th. 🧪🏺🔬🦴

I'm delighted, grateful, and a little dazed to be among this year's Philip Leverhulme Prize winners @leverhulme.ac.uk, and among such excellent company.
A little more on my research hopes at the @unisouthampton.bsky.social press release: www.southampton.ac.uk/humanities/n...

Sketch of a bear eating a honeycomb with a bee poised to sting it on the nose

#inktober2025 11)Sting. Quick one today as I’ve been out at a lovely folklore, art and archaeology session. Everything is about balancing risk and reward - for every sting there is the chance of honey!🍯

Sorry, bear emoji explainer:

Hezekiah Moscow was also a bear tamer 👍🏻

Boki the bear gets mice cake to celebrate brain surgery milestone Keepers in Kent say the operation was a

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Plan of a round amphitheatre structure with several rectilinear buildings surrounding it. An insert shows a photograph of one of these buildings after excavation.

Plan of the #Roman amphitheatre of Viminacium, Serbia. Discovery and analysis of brown bear remains here indicate bears were captured nearby and forced to fight for entertainment.

(£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

A Polish soldier in WW2 with a seated brown bear.

Corporal Wojtek of the Polish army, WW2, with human friend.

Part of a photo study entitled 'Amphetamine bears of Poplar'

Close-up image of a sloth bear’s face with “did you know?” fact at the bottom.

Same image of sloth bear with text overlaid, describing the sloth bear’s adaptations. References: 1. Servheen, C., S. Herrero, and B. Peyton. 1999. Bears: Status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 2. Mewada, T., and N. Dharaiya. 2010. Seasonal dietary composition of sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in the reserve forest of Vijaynagar, north Gujarat, India. Tigerpaper 37(2):8–13 3. Swenson. J. E., A. Jansson, R. Riig, and F. Sandegren. 1999. Bear and ants: myrmecophagy by brown bears in central Scandinavia. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:551–561. doi: 10.1139/z99-004 4. Davidar, E.R.C. 1983. Sloth bear’s (Melursus ursinus) method of hunting for termite nests. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 80:637. 5. Melursus ursinus (Sloth bear) (webpage). International Association for Bear Research and Management.

Did you know? 💭
Sloth bears have several adaptations for a myrmecophagous lifestyle, meaning they eat mostly ants and termites.
Check out our species pages and explore the fascinating adaptations of all 8 bear species: www.bearbiology.org/the-eight-be...
*References in alt-text*
#slothbear

Spotlight on Europe’s rarest bear: global conference in the Central Apennines | Rewilding Europe Steps taken to help people share space with bears in the Central Apennines of Italy mean the future of the Marsican brown bear now looks brighter. In 2026, an event in the Central Apennines rewilding…

Spotlight on Europe’s rarest bear: global conference in the Central Apennines

Steps taken to help people share space with bears in the Central Apennines of Italy mean the future of the Marsican brown bear now looks brighter.

rewildingeurope.com/news/spotlig...

Thanks Becky, glad you liked it. It’s good to bring all the different strands together and certainly couldn’t be done without commercial archaeology.

What does a bear-baiting assemblage look like? Interdisciplinary analysis of an Early Modern ‘sport’ | Antiquity | Cambridge Core What does a bear-baiting assemblage look like? Interdisciplinary analysis of an Early Modern ‘sport’ - Volume 99 Issue 404

This is a really neat bit of work on Bankside as an entertainment space, based on years of painstaking professional excavation. A hard read for a dog-lover, but fascinating nonetheless www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

🏺🧪🐻

Cool stuff from the @archaeobears.bsky.social crew

#BoxOfficeBears

What was life like for the animals that fought in the amphitheatres of the #Roman Empire? New research tells the story of a fighting bear from Roman Serbia.

Learn more (£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Certainly does, ta!

A selection of finds from the Viking camp at Aldwark in the collection of NW Heritage CIC. Note the bear face on the left - looks Roman/Byzantine? #medievalsky #york Viking North Exhibition

🐻😃🐻

Day 4

“All by myself …”🎶🎤

Everyone working hard in the cave in various areas…

A few bear and reindeer bones coming out today…

#Castlepookcave #CSG #PALAEOIreland #IrishCaveBones
#cavearchaeology
@ria.ie
@researchireland.ie
🏺

Sampler | Jane Bostocke | V&A Explore The Collections Sampler of embroidered linen with coloured silk and metal threads, seed pearls and beads, made by Jane Bostocke, England, dated 1598.

A fabulous English sampler dated 1598 and showing a muzzled bear and a large dog. Bears are really unusual motifs on samplers - here the V&A say they’re related to heraldry. H/t @isabellarosner.bsky.social on instagram. collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/...