Dr Alicia Colson

Stukeley documented many ancient monuments across Britain in unprecedented detail, such as this illustration of the linear earthwork monument of Wansdyke, Wiltshire, crossed by a Roman road.

Learn more about Britain's linear earthworks and antiquarian legacy in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

What's the future for understanding the past? Has the ship sailed regarding the oversight of AI in the interpretation of the past and 'art'?

Another substack post! "What is the future for understanding the past? #history #archaeology #AI #artificialintelligence
aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/whats-the-...

GEN AI, Archaeologists and the British Museum What's this? Is there much more that's behind those AI generated photos posted by the British Museum late last month?

Well, I decided to write about Generative AI, Archaeologists and the British Museum #generativeAI #AI #archaeology #britishmuseum
aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/gen-ai-arc...

An uneasy relationship Or is the Boundary Waters area a place of relaxation, water, biodiversity or deep mining for iron ore?

New substack post: An uneasy relationship....
#US #Canada #BoundaryWaters #mining #biodiversity

aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/an-uneasy-...

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

The Emperor's New Clothes is digital Or is AI the tool of choice in the definition of the definitive interpretation of the past, heritage and 'art'?

aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/the-empero...
The Emperor's New Clothes are Digital: Or is AI the tool of choice in the definition of the definitive interpretation(s) of the past, heritage and 'art'? #art #heritage #past #history #AI

Help NiCHE Write the Next Chapter of Environmental History: 2025 Campaign The Network in Canadian History and Environment is a not-for-profit public history organization dedicated to the dissemination of environmental history research in Canada and building a network of res...

Do you appreciate that we take the time to highlight the latest journal articles coming out in environmental humanities and social sciences across Canada and beyond?

Donate to our fundraising campaign so that we can continue to devote time to this work.

fundrazr.com/niche2025?re...

#envhist

Thank you for posting my piece. :)

Is knowledge power? The emphasis on the performative stymies new work. It discourages intellectual risk-taking.

I ask the question is knowledge power? aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/is-knowled...
#knowledge #university #highereducation

Interview with Briana Gervat Doesn't everyone want to ask why an author wrote a book - Well, I did! I spoke to Briana about her new book "There Will Come Soft Rains".

Interview with Briana Gervat about her book which I read earlier this year about her walk where she walked the Western Way, in France. It's thought provoking and beautifully written #history #worldwarone #belleepoque #gildedage #literature #art #France #wlk open.substack.com/pub/aliciajm...

Another substack post - and some musings entitled "What's in a label: Pictographs as “Art”?" #rockart #pictographs #CanadianShield #PrecambrianShield #Canada #archaeology #anthropology #art #anishinaabe #Alongonquian #Cree #Ojicree #Ontario

aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...

Another substack post! Let's unpack a grey drawing by Maitland.....not this one of the seashore - which one? Check out my substack post: aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/what-can-o... #drawing #Indianact #arthistory #art #janeausten

Attention! Uwaga! Uzmanību! Meet the cactus-man. We’re launching Issue Nine on 4 September. Blue, this time with a layer of aquamarine.

Right now it’s still at the printer’s. We will not dare rob you of that first-look moment — more soon.

Yikes

Some thoughts on images by Banksy.. "or the power of the image" I've borrowed the title from an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, London. Is Banksy seeking to make us collectively reflex, check our ethics and go into a foetal coil?

aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/some-thoug...
Some thoughts on Banksy's work... if you're wondering why this post....it's the precursor to my next substack post on the label "Palaeolithic art" #art #images #banksy #label #archaeology #anthropology #worldview #power

Petroglyphs of pecked footprints at Umm Huwaiwitat.

Do these petroglyphs, from Umm Huwaiwitat near #Petra 🇯🇴 depict footprints? 👣

They likely date long before the #Nabataean and #Roman periods, displaying the importance of examining under-investigated periods at famous sites 🏺

🔗 from 2023 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

This is grim news if AI is being given preference over homes. AI uses a lot of electricity!

We are turning Earth into a unlivable Hot House Earth
Earth was about 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 1.47 degrees Celsius) warmer in 2024 than in the late 19th-century (1850-1900) preindustrial average.

The 10 most recent years are the warmest on record.
climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/...

A clash of worldviews, values and lifestyles? Mining, money, carbon and biodiversity

Wrote a new substack post: A clash of worldviews, values and lifestyles? Mining, money, carbon and biodiversity
#mining #animism #carbon #biodiversity #money #Cree #JamesBaylowlands #Canada

aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/a-clash-of...

Listening to the Land In researching the LAC records related to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, early photographs of different areas show the various features of the land and water.

In the second post in our series on the 50th anniversary of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, edited by Mark Stoller, Elizabeth Montour shares photo highlights from the inquiry's records, which are held at Library and Archives Canada.

niche-canada.org/2025/06/18/l...

#envhist #cdnhist

Turtle Mutual Aid:

Persistence works! And 16 journals later! And all I wanted to do was to get an article published....

What a relief to get this published!.... it's taken some time. Read the link to read more about this 'journey'. #journalarticle #archaeology #rockpaintings #pictographs #lakeofthewoods #canada #ontario aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/persistenc...

Why are some people give away their IPR (information) when others (authors, writers and other creatives) are losing it to Big Tech companies? #AI #IPR #generativeAI #meme #authors #creativity #information

“I was just following orders” was not a defense at Nuremberg. And it won’t be a defense in the future here.

The Monarch #butterfly embarks on one of nature's most incredible journeys, migrating up to 3,000 miles from #Canada to central #Mexico. These tiny travelers, with wings of vibrant orange, navigate the vast distances using the sun and Earth’s magnetic fields, defying the odds

The Great Quake and the Great Drowning | Hakai Magazine Mega-quakes have periodically rocked North America’s Pacific Northwest. Indigenous people told terrifying stories about the devastation but refused to leave.

It is #TsunamiPreparednessWeek in British Columbia - a great time to learn more about the past and prepare for the future, starting with stories and lessons passed down from those who have lived on this coast for 1000’s of years 🧪⚒️🌊
hakaimagazine.com/features/gre...
Article from @hakai.org magazine

Well, Natasha Billson, from "Behind the Trowel" asked more questions (www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/btt/0) so I answered them: "Ethnohistory...and it's relationship with archaeology" aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/ethnohisto...

Just published a post on my #substack!
aliciajmcolson.substack.com/p/can-ai-be-...

I was asked it by Natasha Billson, from "Behind the Trowel" www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/btt/0 about an article which I co-authored wtih my colleague Eduard-Claudiu Gloss. #culturalheritage #AI #heritage #trowel

Great view, I'd say!

Goddamn man he absolutely nailed it. It is entirely possible.