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kjkillackey.bsky.social
Killackey Illustration
@kjkillackey.bsky.social
3.8K followers 1.4K following 540 posts
Natural science 🐡 & archaeological illustration 🏺 by Kathryn Killackey. NEH-Mellon Foundation Fellow ('23 - '24). Available for freelance #sciart. Lover of #books, #textiles, and absurdities. She/her
www.killackeyillustration.com
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kjkillackey.bsky.social
Killackey Illustration @kjkillackey.bsky.social · Nov 12
Website and mailing list:
www.killackeyillustration.com/contact
Contact — Killackey Illustration
Killackey Illustration provides elegant and accurate scientific and archaeological illustrations for publications and interpretive displays.
www.killackeyillustration.com
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clmorgan.bsky.social
Just filled out my ethics application for our (me, @kjkillackey.bsky.social, @apolitopoulos.bsky.social & Stu Eve) play session on Worldbuilding at @tag2025york.bsky.social. Not particularly exciting in itself, but I love taking the little steps that make research a bit more real.
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
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rachelking.bsky.social
Super excited to use this fabulous ‘Behind the Paper’ article by @petravaiglova.bsky.social and @kjkillackey.bsky.social to teach my undergrad theory students about how good visualisations are well-theorised ones. Such a wonderful piece of sci comm! 🏺🧪

communities.springernature.com/posts/making...
Making cutting-edge archaeological science accessible to others
Archaeological scientists are constantly pushing the boundaries with regards to increasing the resolution of analyses and decreasing the masses of what can be analysed. But being cutting-edge is not e...
communities.springernature.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
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angusmain.bsky.social
Well done Zohran! And of course the real victor of the day - typography.
Zohran Mamdami’s beautiful colourful typographic posters
November 5, 2025 at 7:37 AM
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hannahtempler.com
this is such a fantastic example of the transformative power of design when used collaboratively and intelligently. the visual design of this campaign is deep-rooted in history and culture and is thoughtful and beautiful
angusmain.bsky.social Angus Main @angusmain.bsky.social · 6d
In particular Aneesh Bhoopathy, from the design coop Forge, who designed the identity. A brilliant reminder to *employ human creatives!*

www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Logo Looked Nothing Like a Campaign Logo
The bodega-influenced visual language of an outsider campaign.
www.curbed.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:21 PM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
This is streaming live tomorrow at 1 pm EST!
nikadubrovsky.bsky.social Nika Dubrovsky @nikadubrovsky.bsky.social · 6d
Tomorrow at DGI is very special!

Tim Ingold, whose work means a lot to @davidgraeberinst.bsky.social project, will give a talk about real learning and thinking that happen when we do things, see things, and make things together.
1/

youtu.be/KqoulrutRSk?...
David Graeber describing the idea behind Visual Assembly "City of Care"
YouTube video by Nika Dubrovsky
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 2:31 PM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
Is @nkjemisin.bsky.social going to use this as a plot point in a third Great Cities novel?
cacasey.bsky.social Caroline Casey @cacasey.bsky.social · 6d
this is objectively hilarious
November 5, 2025 at 2:40 AM
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robertosaezm.bsky.social
Tres artefactos de ocre de Zaskalnaya (Crimea): posibles lápices para uso simbólico por neandertales.
Evidence for symbolic use of ochre by Micoquian Neanderthals in Crimea
Evidence for symbolic use of ochre by Micoquian Neanderthals in Crimea
Technological and chemical analyses of Crimean ochres reveal modified pieces consistent with symbolic use by Neanderthals.
doi.org
November 3, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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katiehowland.bsky.social
Can you imagine what our ancestors thought of these? Pure magic.
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 10d
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
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.
November 2, 2025 at 12:09 AM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
Last day to get early bird rates for #TAG2025 in York.
suegreaney.bsky.social Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · Sep 22
Early bird registration and bursary applications are now open for Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conference 2025 in lovely York: tag2025.hosted.york.ac.uk/en/registrat...
Registration - TAG 2025
tag2025.hosted.york.ac.uk
October 31, 2025 at 2:35 PM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
Look @clmorgan.bsky.social and @apolitopoulos.bsky.social, Brenna Hassett is coming prepared for our #TAG2025 session on worldbuilding in Archaeology!
brennawalks.bsky.social Brenna Hassett @brennawalks.bsky.social · 12d
Went to see this most beautiful collection of Ursula K LeGuins maps in the word for world exhibit. Wandering around thru ritualised imaginings of unreal worlds; it’s archaeology and anthropology (and turtles) all the way down. Massive ht to @kjkillackey.bsky.social Let’s go play world building ;p
Fabric map of tombs of Atuan Text of exhibit wall avail from book Book cover and incised stone Framed picture of dragon with instructions
October 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
Taking a moment to recognize how lucky I am, someone is paying me to paint sloths.
A screenshot from the Procreate app showing an in-progress painting of a brown-throated slothhanging from three limbs. The head and right arm have some detail blocked in, while the rest of the body is a solid grey-brown fill.
October 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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sm9eb.bsky.social
Worked tree resin!! I'm always sad that we recover so few textiles and so little wood in the arcgaeological record, but tree resin is a category of material that never would gave occurred to me!
antiquity.ac.uk Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 14d
>50,000-year-old worked tree resin from the Raja Ampat islands, north-west of New Guinea. Resin was used by ancient humans for fire-lighting, hafting tools and constructing boats. This is the oldest example of tree resin processing outside of Africa!

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
A dark-coloured, reflective piece of tree resin with striations suggesting working by humans.
October 27, 2025 at 2:58 PM
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paulseesequasis.bsky.social
‘Bone Box’ by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC. “Fabricated out of discarded trays that once stored archeological collections, this interactive work calls for us to engage with one another.”
Colour image of Haida artist Yagulanaas’s ‘Bone Box,’ also associated with his Haida Manga work.
October 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
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spindlypete.bsky.social
check out this absolutely terrifying ancient babylonian lullaby
12:01 ÷73 + r/AskAnthropology •• What is the oldest lullaby or nursery rhyme that... 11 upvotes • 1 comment As far as the earliest we know of, it's another Babylonian tablet, about 4000 years old and most often known as Little Baby in the Dark House. We don't have the music for it, but again, the BBC article has a good go at describing some commonalities of the music that tends to accompany lullabies, so that might inspire you. The rough translation for that Babylonian lullaby, by the way, is: Little Baby in the dark house You have seen the sun rise Why are you crying? Why are you screaming? You have disturbed the house god. 'Who has disturbed me?' says the house god. 'It is the baby who has disturbed you! 'Who scared me?' says the house god. 'The baby has disturbed you, the baby has scared you, making noises like a drunkard who cannot sit still on his stool. He has disturbed your sleep! 'Call the baby now, says the house god. • 4 Reply A & Vote & Join the conversation
October 23, 2025 at 7:02 PM
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wolvendamien.bsky.social
“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

Happy Birthday Ursula K Le Guin
ohrobin.bsky.social gamera obscura @ohrobin.bsky.social · Oct 21
It’s Ursula Le Guin’s birthday.

“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”
October 22, 2023 at 1:37 AM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
This and the joyful deployment of absurdity at ICE protests is reminding me of China Mieville’s “The Last Days of New Paris”, a novel in which the surrealists’ creations have been brought to life to fight the Nazis. Giant terrifying exquisite corpses roaming the streets, etc.
October 16, 2025 at 1:09 PM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
Boo, closes 2 days before I get to London for the first time in 14 years.
October 14, 2025 at 12:52 PM
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ianvisits.co.uk
An exhibition of fantasy maps all drawn by the fantasy author, Ursula K. Le Guin, has opened in central London.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/map...
Mapping Earthsea: Ursula K. Le Guin's maps go on display at the Architectural Association
An exhibition of fantasy maps all drawn by the fantasy author, Ursula K. Le Guin, has opened in central London.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
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brennawalks.bsky.social
I'm hiring! 4 year post doc on my Wellcome Trust grant -- come be inventive about isotopes in teeth with me in PPN Turkiye :) www.lancashire.ac.uk/jobs/post-do...

please share!
Post Doctoral Research Assistant - 1160-25
Thinking of the next step in your career? Take a look at our exciting new role, Post Doctoral Research Assistant based at our Other. Find out more and apply he…
www.lancashire.ac.uk
October 14, 2025 at 11:14 AM
kjkillackey.bsky.social
‘Tis the Season of Leftover Pie for Breakfast and I’ll take any on offer. Leftover Canadian or American Thanksgiving pie, leftover Christmas pie, leftover I-randomly-made-a-pie pie. The best part of any holiday.
October 14, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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antiquity.ac.uk
The Nunalleq Digital Museum is a museum of Yup’ik archaeology in Alaska. Placing sovereignty in the hands of the descendent communities, it makes the #archaeology accessible whilst ensuring it is relevant to the community today #IndigenousPeoplesDay

Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺
The digital museum home screen; an illustration of a coastal area with a village during four seasons.
October 13, 2025 at 4:49 PM
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secondnaturemb.bsky.social
As it turns out, coyotes are good climbers. They loped up and down these limestone cliffs like they were mountain goats. #mammals 🌿
A coyote perches on a few, small moss-covered ledges sticking out from an otherwise pretty shear limestone cliff. Boreal trees grow on the edges and on top of the cliffs. A coyote perches on a few, small moss-covered ledges sticking out from an otherwise pretty shear limestone cliff. It's looking down at other coyotes (out of frame) on the ground. Boreal trees grow on the edges and on top of the cliffs. A large coyote with a decent-sized fish in its mouth pauses in its climb up a limestone cliff. It's partially obscured by the frees growing on the cliffs.
October 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
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ezequielvera.bsky.social
Any paleobotanist (or palaeobotanist) here that is not included in this starter pack? Let me know and I'll add you

go.bsky.app/B7Y3ja7
October 2, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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inkfish.bsky.social
Scientists rappelled down cliffs to reach the nests of bearded vultures, which have a diet of bones and paint their feathers red with mud. Inside the nests were perfectly preserved human artifacts from the Middle Ages. By me, for Nat Geo: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti... 🧪
Found: 650-year-old shoe, in vulture nest
Many unexpected human artifacts have been preserved, for centuries, in vulture nests.
www.nationalgeographic.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
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izzywisher.bsky.social
Time to update your Palaeolithic palettes... 🔵

Very proud to share our new research on the OLDEST use of blue pigment! We identified traces of azurite - a vibrant blue mineral - on a stone object around 14-13,000 years old. Why is this so exciting? 👇🏺

doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Close-up image of a sand coloured stone, with a diagonal crack. The sand rock has a textured surface, and small spots of blue can be seen towards the centre of the stone. The background is grey. Microscopic photo of the blue spots, that are irregular in shape and size and positioned diagonally across the image. The rest of the photo shows the rough sand coloured texture of the stone.
September 29, 2025 at 8:43 AM