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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Blogeintrag über ein Neanderthaler-Inventar, Sammlung H. Pongratz, Berichte von Baales & Pongratz und nun, nachdem die Sammlung abgeschlossen ist, die Analyse aller Objekte von mir. Alle Ergebnisse nächstes Jahr. www.lwl-archaeologie.de/de/blog/west...

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Blogentry (German) about the Neanderthaler-Assemblage that was collected by H. Pongratz, reported before by Baales & Pongratz and now that the collection is finished, analysed by me. Paper will be in work next year. www.lwl-archaeologie.de/de/blog/west...

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

For this weekend something very new. This is the first week I post pottery. And the first pottery I puzzled. Never stop learning, not even in archaeology. 100-200 AD, made by the local population of Ostwestfalen.

Shows a broken vessel that was glued back together after around 1900 years in the ground. The rim is almost complete. The pott has two broken handles. Uneven burning.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Unifacial shaped Schaber (side-scraper). Edges shaped bifacial, but I record it as unifacial until it isn't. Butt of the flake still visibile. The Neanderthaler tool wishes you a nice weekend!

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

And, I cannot tell too much now, but there is a surface collection of probably Neanderthaler lithics. So far, the assemblage gives beautiful insights into Neanderthaler technological thinking. Absolutely beautiful. 🤍

Hällaflinta with preparations right for shaping on the other side and some initial shaping on the left.

Flake, likely Levallois, although the reduction system isn't clear yet. Again, Hälleflinta. Dorsal scar patterns from proximal and perpendicular from right. Flake is broken. Distal left old ventral surface. On the not visibile side cortex and shaping of one edge.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The racoon walked over the Planum.

Racoon footbrints on the excavation surface.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Friday 37°C, today 16°C. The rain is a blessing. In archaeology we have to be prepared for everything.

Items on the grass. A backpack, an umbrella, a lunchbox, a water-bottle and a Schuffel (weeder) to scrape the ground clean.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Happy to say that I joined the LWL for two years to practice some Bodendenkmalpflege in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold. (I think Bodendenkmalpflege is the perfect word, so I didn't translate it.)

A field with an yellow excavator on it and green trees in the background.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Almost forgot my selfmade longbow. No, it's not 100% accurate to the Mary Rose bows. Just inspired and adapted so I could use it.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Next in the series of finds from the depth of my flat: My first drawing of a roman, late antiquity feature. A wall build from younger, repurposed architectural elements; spolia. My first try had some major flaws, so I had to do it again. Kept this first version. Now it goes to the bin. 👋🏻

Transparent drawing paper with pencil lines on it. 5 rectangles indicating 5 cut stones in a row. Smaller debris of bricks and other material around it.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Currently packing my stuff because leaving Cologne after 16 years. 16 years of activity layers. Forgot that I have this in my collection. Rediscovered and put into the box of useful stuff for my next station.

A transparent piece of plastic with sediment type chart on it. Like coarse silt, very fine sand, fine sand, medium sand and so on. They are defined by the size of the single grains. With the transparent chart it's possible to see If the sediment behind fits the outlines of the types or not.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Very nice bit of high altitude archaeology. Potatoes! 🤩

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DAI @dai-weltweit.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

In einer der faszinierendsten Städte der Welt arbeiten & am #Istanbul_DAI weiter qualifizieren? 🏺Jetzt als Wissenschaftliche:r Mitarbeiter:in bei bewerben! 👉 Vollzeit (Teilzeit möglich) 👉 E13 TVöD Bund 👉 4 Jahre (Verlängerung angestrebt) 📅 Bewerbung bis 15.06.26 www.dainst.org/karriere/bew...

Schwarz-weiß-Foto zweier Hände, die ein Schild mit der Aufschrift "Deutsches Archäologisches Institut - Alman Arkeoloji Enstitüsü" an einer hellen Wand anbringen.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Besides the screenings, will/is it possible to watch it?

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

www.dainst.org/karriere/bew... Call for Application. Permanent position in Bonn for an archaeologist. PhD, fieldwork and heritage preservation experience in sub-saharan africa, publication record, science communication, German language skills. Check it out and apply.

dainst.org

DAI - Bewerben am DAI

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Reposted by Christian Schepers

Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 29/04/2026

We are delighted to announce that every research article accepted for publication in Antiquity after 1 June 2026 will be published completely #OpenAccess at no cost to the author or reader! More information here: www.cambridge.org/core/service... @cambup-archaeology.cambridge.org 🏺 #Archaeology

cambridge.org

Open research initiatives oa journal flip faqs

Welcome to Cambridge Core

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

No selfie in the underground stations where they present the stratigraphy of rome?

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European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 17/04/2026

The number of grant applications is rising sharply. Our capacity for their evaluation isn’t. ERC President Maria Leptin explains why stricter resubmission limits are being introduced for 2027 calls and what they mean for applicants. 🔗 link.europa.eu/xF7kjc

link.europa.eu

ERC President explains stricter application measures amid rising demand for funding

The text of an open letter sent by ERC President Maria Leptin to ERC panel members, grantees and other stakeholders on 16 April 2026.

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Reposted by Christian Schepers

Anne Wohner @annewohner.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Die 66 Regormvorschläge aus dem Gesundheitsministerium: kein einziger Vorschlag zielt darauf ab,die Einnahmen zu erhöhen. Dies könnte z.B. durch Wegfall der Beitragsbemessungsgrenze, durch Einbeziehung von Kapital- und Mieterträgen, durch Einzahlung aller in eine Krankenkasse passieren. Stattdessen:

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Use-wear identifies two scenarios. Projectiles and knives (cutting).Calling all backed tools just backed tools obscures this two different functions and tools. Authors themself discuss the oblique hafting of crescents. Different morphology + different function ->crescents ->geometrical microlith 2/2

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Ossendorf et at. 2026 published data from the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. doi.org/10.1007/s109... The authors write that they don't use the terms microlithic, geometrical microlith or LSA. Based on results by researchers from the last years. Part of the study is use-wear anslysis. A thought: 1/2

Figure 11 of Ossendorf et al. 2026. Shown are selected obsidian blanks of the three sites Dimtu, Simbero and Webi Gestro. Dimtu with pointed flakes, Simbero with backed tools that I would call geometrical microlith and Webi Gestro with notched bladelets and unretouched bladelets.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wehrpflg/__3... German men between 17 and 45 now need to submit a request to the army if they want to leave the country for more than three month. Crazy.

gesetze-im-internet.de

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Some Neanderthals ate their females: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Male Neanderthals interbred with female Sapiens: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... Suggested narrative: Male Neanderthals ate too many females and were lucky when h. sapiens arrived with new partners.

nature.com

Highly selective cannibalism in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Europe reveals Neandertals were targeted prey - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Highly selective cannibalism in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Europe reveals Neandertals were targeted prey

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Catherine Coxon @catherinecoxon.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

It would be nice to see some wider publicity for this - are the Archaeology Schools speaking out in support ? @ucdarchaeology.bsky.social @aidanosullivan.bsky.social

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Dimitri Van Limbergen @divali.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

❗Big news ❗ LEIZA Journal of Archaeology, a new #journal of world #archaeology, launches soon, and will be #DiamondOpenAccess, promoting discipline-changing and agenda-setting work & advancing #equity, #accessibility and #impact in #research and #publishing. All info: www.leiza.de/forschung/pu...

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I fully agree. It gets overlooked a lot and people who contributed aren't even acknowledged.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I don't know irish archaeologists in person, but the websites of institutes usually offer info about phd programms and contact details. E.g. share.google/1C3w1p07KoMc... Writing a friendly E-Mail to a Prof working in the area you're interested in might help as well. Good luck!

share.google

PhD Programmes - UCD School of Archaeology

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

In Folge 2 von "Tonscherben und Steine" reden Moritz und ich über den Faustkeil. Hört rein! open.spotify.com/show/5DiNRwo... Auf Spotify, Apple Podcasts und YouTube.

open.spotify.com

Der Faustkeil – Die Ikone der Altsteinzeit

Spotify video

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Reposted by Christian Schepers

Justin Colson @justincolson.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

There was a flurry of interest a few months ago in response to Mark Humphries' article on using Google Gemini 3.5 Pro Preview for transcribing a C18th commercial ledger generativehistory.substack.com/p/the-sugar-... So at @chppc.bsky.social we decided to have an experiment (2/9)

generativehistory.substack.com

The Sugar Loaf Test: How an 18th-Century Ledger Reveals Gemini 3.0’s Emergent Reasoning

A deep dive into my experience testing the new Gemini 3.0 Pro and the growing evidence I’ve seen for emergent neuro-symbolic reasoning.

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Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut @oeai.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

🧬 Gemeinschaft ist mehr als DNA: Eine neue Publikation in Nature Anthropology unter Beteiligung unserer Kollegin S.Cveček zeigt, Genetik allein reicht nicht, um menschliche Beziehungen in der Vergangenheit zu verstehen. Lesen Sie mehr dazu: buff.ly/HRP0z8x Foto: © Adobe Stock

buff.ly

Historische Genetik: Gemeinschaft ist mehr als DNA

Eine neue Publikation unter Ägide von ÖAW-Forscher:innen erklärt, warum DNA allein nicht reicht, um zu verstehen, wie Menschen in der Geschichte miteinander verbunden waren.

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Katerina Harvati @katharv.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

🚨 Job alert! The University of Tübingen announces a W3 (Full) Professorship in Early Hominin Evolution in the framework of the DFG Cluster of Excellence 'HUMAN ORIGINS': uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet... Application deadline: 11.03.2026 🚨

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Dr. Oliver Dietrich @oliverdietrich.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Our volume on Stone Age clothing is now online and completely open access: Jöris, O., Dietrich, O., Risch, R., & Meller, H. (Hrsg.). (2026). A Stone Age History of Clothing: Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 26. bis 28. September 2024 in Halle (Saale). doi.org/10.11588/pro...

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Es ist nicht die erste Reise des Außenministers auf den afrikanischen Kontinent.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The "Europäisches Hansemuseum" in Lübeck is highly recommendable. Excavations below, history above, detailed reconstructions, information that you can modify to your interests beforehand, graphs, sounds, rooms with minimal media stimulation. Informative and exciting. Perfect.

Europäisches Hansemuseum in Lübeck. Right iluminated information about the trade networks before the Hanse. Left rconstruction of a Lodja(?), a medieval river ship of Nowgorod.

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abgeordnetenwatch @abgeordnetenwatch.de · 17/12/2025

NEU: Ein Berliner CDU-Abgeordneter gründet einen Verein. Er erhält 100.000 Euro vom Bezirk, wo eine Parteifreundin sitzt. Einblick in ein System aus politischen Netzwerken und öffentlichen Geldern, das es so oder so ähnlich überall in DE geben könnte www.abgeordnetenwatch.de/recherchen/i...

abgeordnetenwatch.de

Das Haus des Gräff | abgeordnetenwatch.de

Ein Berliner CDU-Politiker baut einen Verein mit öffentlichen Geldern auf – und parallel Firmen im selben Themenfeld. Recherchen von abgeordnetenwatch und Tagesspiegel zeigen, wie der langjährige Abge...

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Neuer Podcast. New Podcast in German. spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/lpkEVt09MZb Moritz und ich reden in der ersten Folge über die ältesten Werkzeuge der Menschheit.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Agreed. I liked it the first time but after watching all seasons of Andor, the character gain additional depth. With this depth and the light on elements of the rebellion beyond privileged jedis and senators, it's a good movie. (Just sharing it here in the light of social media)

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Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing: a 🧵 1/n Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below.

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

A figure detailing the drain on researcher time.

1. The four-fold drain

1.2 Time
The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce,
with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure
1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material
has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs,
grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for
profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time.
The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million
unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of
peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting
widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the
authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many
review demands.
Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of
scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in
‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow
progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to
volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier,
local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with
limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging
with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks
intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision.

A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below:

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised
scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers
first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour
resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Dein Geschäft ist Dein Geschäft. Wenn Du nur wenig Urlaub und niedrige Löhne für Masteranden bieten kannst, dann hoffe ich, niemand macht mit. Dazu eine gewaltige Erwartungshaltung sowie unbeugsames Verständnis für Arbeitgeber von Arbeitssuchenden, die sich selbst als links bezeichnen. 6/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Das Problem in meinen Augen: In den Interessensverbänden dominieren die Arbeitgeber. Es wird gerade so auf Fairness geachtet, aber bei sich selbst selten die Konsequenz gezogen. Es gibt natürlich Firmen, die es besser machen. Weiteres Problem: Kleine Archäologiewelt und Kumpelmentalität. 5/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Kennste ein GIS, kennste alle. Erlernen lässt sich alles. Unis sind auch und vielleicht sogar primär zum Forschen da. Einarbeitung kann in Betrieben erfolgen. Nicht zwei Jahre! Halbes Jahr und dann Vollbezahlung und los. 4/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Hauptgrund für Absagen: In den falschen Regionen gegraben, die falsche Software genutzt. Was geboten wird: Volontariate oder Einstiegsjobs, alle mit weniger als 30 Tage Urlaub und unter 20€/H. Direkt nach dem Master vielleicht okay für einige Zeit, aber Master plus Erfahrung? Ungenügend! 3/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Das angebliche Problem: Uninhalte passen sich nicht an die Bedürfnisse des Arbeitsmarktes an. Die Landesarchäologien inklusive Grabungsfirmen sind wichtige Arbeitgeber und erwähnen dies auch als Problem. Unsinn! Fast alle von uns könne Graben, Dokumentieren, kennen Software und Technik. 2/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

11 Monate in der Jobsuche als Archäologe während ein Mangel an Fachkräften herrscht. Vor 2 Tagen schreibt der SWR wie schwer die Jobsuche für Leute mit Uniabschluss ist. Warum? Wegen dem Mismatch. Arbeitgeber haben komplett andere Vorstellungen als Arbeitssuchende. 1/6

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Man muss die Feste feiern wie sie fallen.

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

New position available at @dai-weltweit.bsky.social, Berlin. www.dainst.org/karriere/bew... General Secretary / Generalsekretär You need: German & English, PhD, Habilitation, Publications, Previous leading role in international research, experience and a concept of your ideas for the DAI.

dainst.org

DAI - Bewerben am DAI

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Christian Schepers @schepers-cj.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Today ist International Archaeology Day and #fieldworkfriday. Congratulations to all researchers for your splendid results or important non-results! Picture from three years ago. Preparing the UAV for the first LIDAR flight in Benin City.

Box to recharge batteries, remote control for UAV, notebook, another box and UAV. All on a table.

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