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Clare Rainsford

@littlebonelady.bsky.social
4.1K followers 188 following 349 posts

Zooarchaeologist and Yorkshire import. Owned by a lurcher called Baz. Often baffled.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Clare Rainsford
Terry O'Connor @osteoconnor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
People could die for want of rescue because of this. Failure of govt and police to sct as promptly and firmly as they have for progressive protests is a disgrace and a real giveaway.
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 17/01/2026
neolithic guys get pissed if you tell them their cultures are organized by the type of pots and jewelry they made. "we called ourselves the blood hunters" "we conquered villages far beyond this horizon" sorry bud you're the western linear pottery culture now
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Helen Pilcher @helenpilcher.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
When people disappear, nature rebounds. Or so the story goes. Plant biodiversity nosedived during the Black Death because people had been creating diverse, wildlife-rich farmland – and when farming stopped, those habitats disappeared. Me for #science focus 🧪 www.sciencefocus.com/nature/black...
sciencefocus.com
The Black Death should have been good for nature. Staggering new research reveals it was anything but | BBC Science Focus Magazine
We all know what the plague did to us humans, but how did the natural world fare?
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is VERY cool.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Rievaulx Abbey from Rievaulx Terrace. #yorkshire
Late summer sunlight: the ruins of Rivaulx Abbey, viewed from above, framed by a foreground of shrubs. The Rye Valley stretches behind and there are a few clouds in the sky.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I have a preferred variety of notebook and have blasted through so many of these now that I have to use stickers to determine which one is which. Anyway. This one would like to say hi.
A black A6 Rymans artists notebook, secured with an elastic around the middle. A couple of sticker eyes have been affixed to it and it is looking at you plaintively.
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Rachel Pope @prehistorian.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
MUST READ: The Wetwang aDNA pre-print is out | Ancient DNA reveals matrilineal organisation and recurrent unions between dominant matrilines in Iron Age Britain www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (thank you @radicalanthro.bsky.social)
biorxiv.org
Ancient DNA reveals matrilineal organisation and recurrent unions between dominant matrilines in Iron Age Britain
Kinship practices underpin all traditional societies, forming the basis for socially sanctioned reproductive unions, residence patterns and the inheritance of rights and property[1][1],[2][2]. Althoug...
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Association for Environmental Archaeology @envarch.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
BREAKING NEWS!! The #AEA Conference abstract submission deadline has been extended to the 12th August 2026. Get your submissions ready 🤠 For more details visit: envarch.net/conferences #environmentalarchaeology #archaeology #archaeobotany #palynology #zooarchaeology
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
There is a very large spider in my house. I do not like large spiders. I live on my own and therefore have no choice but to co-exist with the large spider. On the basis that it is hard to be scared of a spider with a name, my spider is called Penelope. 1/n
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Association for Environmental Archaeology @envarch.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
A new poster and a fresh reminder about the #AEA Conference in York Guildhall between 13th-15th Nov 2026. Abstracts deadline is 30/07/26 🤠 Visit: envarch.net/conferences #environmentalarchaeology #archaeology #archaeobotany #palynology #zooarchaeology #landscapearchaeology See less
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Last week, about a third of the History department were able to gather together on graduation day. Rather than lend our intellectual authority to the official procession and ceremony we invited our students to come and celebrate their achievements with us in a shady courtyard. They came. 1/
A group of world leading historians in their finery, some in gowns, stand together under a tree. Some carry signs saying 'Historian at risk', other raise a glass to the camera.
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Alastair Somerville @acuity.design · 14/07/2026
Of course, it’s a woman www.theguardian.com/science/2026... The presumption of maleness in history of power, religion and roles is overwhelming
theguardian.com
Ancient DNA analysis reveals Wiltshire’s Upton Lovell Shaman was a woman
Exclusive: Analysis offers ‘smoking gun evidence’ that overturns previous assumption that bronze age individual was male
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Proof from the archives that Count Binface is a green bin.
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
This is great news! The @britishlibrary.bsky.social EThOS (E-Theses Online Service) platform, referencing 650K PhD theses, is available again following systems restoration work.
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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Good article on the potential and challenges of looking for pathogen DNA on ancient faunal remains, and really how without them we are only seeing a small part of the story of human disease through time. Possible it will change everything we think we know about infectious disease in the past.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Oh damn, David Hockney. I read Spring Cannot Be Cancelled last spring when I was at a low ebb and it was a beautiful reminder to keep observing and creating regardless.
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
The first white-tailed eagle to fledge in Dorset for more than 240 years has gone missing on the North York Moors “The disappearance is being treated as suspicious” “Birds of prey regularly go missing in areas associated with game shooting” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Rare white-tailed eagle disappearance investigated by police
The satellite-tagged bird, part of a breeding programme, lost contact in the North York Moors.
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Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Oslo Pride video 🥹 🏳️‍🌈 #Pride #LoveIsLove
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Dr David S Anderson @dsaarchaeology.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
As an anthropologist, I endorse this message!
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Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
There was a time, not long ago, when peaceful protestors were never sent to jail in the UK But at least 286 people have been locked up for protesting climate breakdown and genocide in recent years It's a fucking scandal
theguardian.com
New breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise
More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
If you're a writer, write "I waited" without saying it. God, the silence was painful. There's probably only so many times I could refresh the conversation, my message sitting like a lead weight at the end of it, but I was apparently going for the record.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Hi Zooarchs, is anyone from the UK looking at going to Vancouver ICAZ next year? Can you give me a wave if so?
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
So eighty-odd years ago my grandfather was studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge and, as part of it, had a class where he had to learn how to identify fossils. My grandfather was a) not an observant man and b) from Birmingham. This was not his time to shine. 1/n
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
WHAAAT? Well, this is excellent news! More of this, please!
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Victoria Mullin @victoriaemullin.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Come join our aDNA community at Trinity College Dublin and explore medieval ruminant genomes! Funded PhD studentship in ancient animal genomics at Trinity College Dublin. Deadline 27th May 2026 Please see the information attached for full description and application process.
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Rob Hedge @robhedge.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
A little time-lapse video, colouring my live conference sketches from the weekend’s Medieval Settlement Research Group Spring conference in Lincoln. #medievalsky 🏺🏛️🗃️ #sketchbook #illustration #skystorians (🔈for commentary)
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Krystal Tsosie @kstsosie.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
DNA is not the same as kinship. Our perspective paper argues that treating genetics as the ultimate proof of identity or family can: • erase community-defined relationships • reinforce Western biases • and even cause real harm in policy + research Special Issue: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Screenshot of a PDF of the published article. Title: "The tie that binds us? Challenging the primacy of DNA in kinship studies and re-centring community in defining human connections across time"
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Spring.
A photograph of some pink blossom on a tree, looking completely magnificent.
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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
🏺New paper on web of close (although mostly more distant) genetic relationships between people buried in tombs in Orkney and northern Scotland 3700-3500 BCE, in the Early Neolithic.
Diagram of genetic relationships between

 - blue outlined oblongs representing different labelled tombs with internal squares and circular representing lelle buried within goose tombs. Lines of red green blue and orange represent genetic relationships.
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Merchant Adventurers’ Hall @merchantshallyork.org · 11/04/2026
Could anyone else eat a Tunnocks Tea Cake about now?
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Rosamundi @rosamundi.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Fund Adult Education classes again.
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Terry O'Connor @osteoconnor.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
My sister is one of the volunteers welcoming refugees to Crowborough with packs of necessities. She reckons the volunteers easily outnumber the protestors 'And we're not bussed in every morning'.
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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Barely anyone other than Roman Britain nuts have even heard of Uley, but imo we should all be losing our minds over the unrivalled religious continuity of this sacred site - at least 3000 years, from the Neolithic era to a probable 8th-century church
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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Some bad news from your favourite archive
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 23/02/2026
so you've probably heard about the London measles outbreak. A lot of people are talking about anti-vax misinformation, but that's not actually the problem here. The problem is austerity. 🧵
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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Inspired by this fossil, I once again feel compelled to point you towards the time that @everywhereist.bsky.social psychologically terrorised her husband by sticking googly eyes and quote-bubbles on everyday household appliances. www.everywhereist.com/2015/06/i-to...
Trash can with googly eyes and a quote-bubble stuck on it saying "My bowels are a sea of untold horrors"Computer tower with googly eyes and a quote-bubble stuck on it saying "You don't love me. But you need me."Running tap with googly eyes on it and a quote-bubble saying "Kill me now"Half-empty whisky bottle with googly eyes and a quote-bubble stuck on it saying "I am responsible for so much destruction. And so little poetry."
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
I think my bone assemblage loves me. ❤️
An unfused vertebral epiphysis, stained dark brown and shaped like a perfect heart.
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Sabrina Imbler @sabs.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I wrote about the Olympics defector.com/which-other-...
defector.com
Which Other Olympic Mascots Could Italian Stoats Tina And Milo Slaughter In Cold Blood? | Defector
Apologies to all otters, ferrets, badgers, ferret-badgers, weasels, fishers, polecats, wolverines, martens, and grisons, but the mustelid of the moment is the stoat. The mascots of the 2026 Winter Oly...
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Might need to revisit this at Halloween, what a horror story. 🐟🐚🐟🐚🐟🐚🐟🐚
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AJ Jefferies @moonjam.com · 03/02/2026
Happy 4th birthday to this stupid thing I was compelled to create! LONGOOSE FACTS: - Neck - The idea came from a typo - The music is a loop from Bandlab - It has over 3 million views on TikTok! - Those views translated directly into £0 and 500+ NFT bros hassling me 24/7 for a YEAR! - HONK
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Fishbourne Roman Palace @romanpalace.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
We want to see your mice! Mouse impression on a Roman roof tile 👇
A low resolution close-up of a roman roof tile into which someone has, while the clay was still wet, placed a mouse and gently pressed it in.
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Scott Barolo @sbarolo.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I feel like I spend 10% of work time logging into devices and work websites and doing 2FA over and over. Guys, it’s me, nobody else would be using up their one precious lifetime going to your SharePoint site
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I've lived in York for getting on fifteen years now, and I still struggle with what to call a twitten up here when it isn't a twitten (but will always be a twitten).
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Cranky as hell this evening, so here's a sketch I did of some ivy doing no good at all to a brick wall.
A pen-and-ink drawing in a small sketchbook of ivy growing over a surface of old and cracked bricks.
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David Roberts @davidrobertsarch.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Our @antiquaries.bsky.social Low Ham book (myself, Roger Leech and @thepostexcox.bsky.social ) is now available OA - library.oapen.org/handle/20.50... - the first synthetic publication of one of Britannia's largest villas, with reports on strat, finds, & enviro remains, & fully contextualised. 1/10
The purple cover of a large book entitled 'The Romano-British villa and prehistoric settlement at Low Ham, Somerset'. A blurb explaining the contents is on the back, along with sponsors logos. A reconstruction of the villa is the cover image. This image and all others from the book.
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Paul Chamberlain @paulchamberlain.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Callanish , no drama , recent snow #StandingStoneSunday
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
A small tour of the Twelve Apostles on Ilkley Moor, Yorkshire, when the weather was rather better than it is now. Damaged, eroded, rebuilt, and not much left of its Neolithic self, but I've rarely been up there and not seen something left for the stones. #StandingStoneSunday
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~daniel_barker~ @daniel-barker.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
It's the 3rd of January 1939, your name is professor James Smith and you are staring at a drawing of a fish. It's not a regular fish. It is a completely impossible fish.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Winter light at Fountains Abbey. #Yorkshire
A winter landscape. The setting sun is tinting the sky yellow to the left of the picture. A landscaped lake sits in the middle ground of the photo, with a ruined Abbey in the far distance. Bare tree branches frame the scene.
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Clare Rainsford @littlebonelady.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Seeing the old year out in the company of Bonnie and Caer Caradoc - may 2026 bring more of this sort of thing. #HillfortsWednesday #hillfort #Shropshire
A panorama of rolling green hills under a brilliant blue sky, under a low winter sun. A gobby black-and-white collie-cross who we all love anyway is in the distant foreground, staring into the camera like the queen she is.
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