Археолошки дневник vol.2.1/2 ©

In this picture made available by Szczecin University’s Department of Archaelogy on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 one of three Neanderthal teeth discovered in Poland is pictured . A team of Polish scientists say they have discovered three Neanderthal teeth in a cave in the southern part of the country. Mikolaj Urbanowski, an archaeologist and the lead researcher, said Monday that, although Neanderthal artifacts have been unearthed in Poland before, the teeth are the first remains of Neanderthals themselves discovered in the country.

Cave men weren’t obese. That’s the inspiration behind a new weight loss craze in America. Paleo-dieter Vlad Averbukh allows himself fruits, vegetables and meat — anything that can be eaten raw — but no dairy or grains, following an adapted version of the feeding habits humans followed during the Paleolithic era.

Before Lucy came Ardi. After the archaeologist found the new earliest hominid, the story of humankind is reaching back another million years as scientists learn more about “Ardi,” a hominid who lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia. The 110-pound, 4-foot female roamed forests a million years before the famous Lucy, long studied as the earliest skeleton of a human ancestor.

The photos and content courtesy of AFP and AP.

“Every year with centuries, in a small city in the most southern part of Macedonia, there is a Carnival. The Strumica carnival has a long tradition with centuries and it was mentioned by the traveler Evlija Chelebija in 1670. The word Carnival is derived from from the Latin carne – meat and vali – goodbye, meaning ”goodbye meat”, which associates the beginning of the fast, in this case the Lenten Fast.”

Trimeri is a very old Christian custom which was practiced a long time ago, from the beginning of Christianity. The name derives from the Greek words ”tris meres”, which means ”three days” according to the length of the beginning of the Lent. Trimeri is a movable feast and it starts after the Day of Forgiveness (Prochka), the first Sunday of Eastern Lent. The Day of Forgiveness according to the Orthodox Church is a feast which precedes the Honorable Fast Season (Great Lent), the greatest fasting period which prepares all Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter. Also in Macedonia there is another carnival for the Day of Forgiveness (Prochka) in a city of Prilep.

This year, according to the media, there were over 50,000 visitors which followed the parade throughout the streets and the town square of Strumica, and about 2,500 masked individuals took part in the event (from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Turkey and Finland). Last Tuesday together with my friends I was a part of this very successfully organized carnival and enjoyed in the masks diversity and the magnificent creations. The Strumica carnival is an international event and since 1995 has been included in the family of carnival cities, i.e. the Federation of European Carnival Cities.

Link: http://www.strumickikarneval.com/

All Images property of http://interpreter.blog.mk
Last one is property of http://kosturanov.com

Currently I am reading few book which concerns my topic of interest.  And that is in generally prehistory, paleoanthropology, lithic materials and paleolithic.  If  anybody is interested in this books,  can contact me and send me an e-mail.

This is a brief summery of my presentation “From Transition to Antiquisation, Through and Beyond the New Media in Macedonia”. As a part of a session Transformng Cultural Industries, I`ve tried to joined the fields of archeology and cultural heritage, on one side, and the present and the New Media, on the other. The article is taken form the official blog of Glocal conference held in Skopje between 15-17 October 2009.

View more presentations from Vasilka Dimitrovska

In the presentation “From Transition to Antiquisation, Through and Beyond the New Media in Macedonia”, Vasilka Dimitrovska joined the fields of archeology and cultural heritage, on one side, and the present and the New Media, on the other. The main focus in the presentation was on ‘antiquisation,’ a local mock-term used nowadays to ridicule some steps the Macedonian government is undertaking, such as givng an Antique name to the Skopje international airport, renaming the main highway, putting ancient statues on the main locations, etc.

“Actually, the so-called scientific argumentation in favor of the existence of the so-called antiquisation mainly took place on the web. Mostly, it was a virtual war… between those in support and those against the Government initiatives,” Vasilka stated.

Research shows that  the word ‘antiquisation’ in the new media was used for the first time  by the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) on their web page, and the very next day it mushroomed in the daily newspapers.

While the Government is trying to ‘win the war’ for the Macedonian historical heritage by taking steps perceived as antiquisation, the archeologists appear as thoroughly indifferent in approaching the issue from their position of experts.

In conclusion, the Republic of Macedonia is neither the first nor the last country that leads current political process using the cover of the archaeology of identity. In their own game, in an attempt to be recognized by the international community under its constitutional name by providing evidence of being successors to a historical past, the Macedonian and other states often (ab)use archaeological data in the disputes they lead.