Dr Izzy Wisher
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izzywisher.bsky.social
Dr Izzy Wisher
@izzywisher.bsky.social
3.8K followers 490 following 110 posts
Cave art expert and cognitive archaeologist. Currently a postdoc on the ERC project eSYMb: The Evolution of Early Symbolic Behaviour at Aarhus University. 🇬🇧 in 🇩🇰.
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izzywisher.bsky.social
Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · Sep 29
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.
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
prehistorian.bsky.social
New paper. Recording the female experience of UK archaeology 1990-2010. Anne Teather and I document how an industry EDI agenda evolved in the 1990s and was dismantled, uncovering the ramifications of that for women archaeologists over the next decade.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

#openaccess✅
Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology | Archaeological Dialogues | Cambridge Core
Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology
www.cambridge.org
September 26, 2025 at 10:56 AM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Incredibly exciting news! I excavated at Barnham for a couple of seasons and the focus was always on trying to find the “smoking gun” for controlled fire use (despite finding many burnt flints) - amazing that the team has now (finally) got what they’ve been hoping for! 🔥
mattpope.bsky.social Dr Matt Pope @mattpope.bsky.social · 9d
BBC coverage of breaking news announcing the earliest evidence for humanly made fire. From Barnham, UK.
Quite probably early Neanderthal people with a late Acheulean culture 🦣🏺🔥
www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
The moment the earliest known man-made fire was uncovered - BBC News
Archaeologists in the UK have discovered the world's oldest evidence of humans lighting fires
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
dai-weltweit.bsky.social
Im Stadtmuseum Mühlheim (Offenbach/M.) ist derzeit "Europas ältester Farbtopf" zu sehen; mit neuen Einblicken in d. Ursprünge von #Kunst & Kreativität hat eine Studie von @au.dk & #RGK_DAI die früheste bekannte Verwendung #blau​en #Pigment​s in Europa identifiziert:

🏺 www.dainst.org/newsroom/nos...
Mikroskopische Nahaufnahme einer körnigen Steinoberfläche mit blauen Pigmentflecken; ein weißes Rechteck markiert einen zentralen Bereich mit dichterer Pigmentstruktur.
December 10, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
antiquity.ac.uk
Our December issue is out now! Featuring great #archaeology such as:

🔵 The oldest blue mineral pigment use in Europe
⛰️ Mesoamerican mountain monuments and water worship
🐚 Playing the shell trumpets of Neolithic Catalonia

& much more! 🏺
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Cover of the December 2025 issue of Antiquity, featuring a photogrammetric image of an ancient quarry, with evidence for the quarrying of stone and a partially complete humanoid statue lying on its back.
December 2, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
pennybickle.bsky.social
New open access publication: Moving to Stay in (a Woman’s) Place: Was Patrilocality the Dominant Mode of Postmarital Residence across Later European Prehistory? Current Anthropology.

Thanks to Wenner Gren for funding the workshop it emerged from!

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Moving to Stay in (a Woman’s) Place : Was Patrilocality the Dominant Mode of Postmarital Residence across Later European Prehistory? | Current Anthropology
This paper questions whether forms of female mobility and their relation to kinship were uniform throughout later European prehistory. Patrilocality has become the primary way in which sex-based diffe...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 24, 2025 at 4:44 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Ser et super interessant foredrag af @felixthehauskat.bsky.social og Mikkel Schierup i aften (og lærer en masse dansk ordforråd for palæolitikum samtidig!)
A lecture slide showing a world map of Europe with a picture of a handaxe in the top left, and a man holding a handaxe in the bottom right.
October 28, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
antiquity.ac.uk
#FindsFriday Researchers found traces of blue pigment on this 13,000-year-old artefact from Mühlheim-Dietesheim, Germany. It questions the idea that Palaeolithic artists only used red or black, painting a picture of a more vibrant Ice Age world than previously imagined.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Close-up image of a sandstone surface with flecks of blue on it.
October 24, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
estherwidmann.bsky.social
Höhlenbilder aus der Altsteinzeit sind immer nur Variationen von Rot und Schwarz. Aber anders als bisher angenommen bedeutet das nicht, dass die Menschen blaue Farbe gar nicht nutzten. #palaeolithic @izzywisher.bsky.social www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft...
14 000 Jahre alt: Archäologen finden älteste blaue Farbe auf einem Steinobjekt aus Hessen
Zuvor hatte es verschiedenste Mutmassungen gegeben, warum die Menschen in der Altsteinzeit keine blaue und grüne Farbe herstellten. Es zeigt sich: Möglicherweise kamen die Pigmente lediglich in versch...
www.nzz.ch
October 7, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
ipbes.net
RIP #JaneGoodall - one of the modern pioneers of profound interconnections between people, animals and ecosystems. Her life was lived through science, compassion and tireless advocacy for the multiple values of nature - leaving a legacy that will endure for people and planet.
October 1, 2025 at 7:18 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Heartbreaking news, I remember being deeply inspired by her work as an undergrad. Truly a pioneer who no doubt inspired many generations of women.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9...
Jane Goodall, chimpanzee expert and animal rights campaigner, dies age 91 - follow live
The campaigner, a
www.bbc.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 6:55 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Wonderful video by @antiquity.ac.uk summarising our research!
antiquity.ac.uk Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · Sep 29
Europe's oldest blue pigment

Dating back ~13,000 years, it questions the long-held belief that Palaeolithic artists only used red or black and indicates a more vibrant Ice Age world than previously imagined

Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
September 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
antiquity.ac.uk
NEW Archaeologists find the earliest evidence for blue pigment use in Europe, dating back ~13,000 years and questioning the long-held belief that Palaeolithic artists only used red or black.

Strap in for a colourful #AntiquityThread 1/10 🧵

🏺 #Archaeology
Close-up image of a stone with traces of blue pigment on its surface.
September 29, 2025 at 9:01 AM
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
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
profdanhicks.bsky.social
your periodic reminder that “archaeology isn’t political” is a political statement
September 3, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Happy Monday!

Here’s an ancient amber bear carved about 10,000 years ago!

This magical find washed up on a beach at Fanø in Denmark from a submerged Mesolithic settlement under the North Sea.

National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a small figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Mesolithic period. The bear is seen in profile facing right. The legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle and mouth are defined. The figurine is displayed on a small metal stand. The display lighting shining on the bear’s head and neck enhances the translucence of the orange coloured amber.
August 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
🚨DEADLINE ON FRIDAY!🚨 Do you do art-related archaeological research? Are you itching to discuss how we identify individual artists in the past, or the agency art had in societies? Then make sure to get your abstracts in for @tag2025york.bsky.social! You can send them to me at: izzywisher@cas.au.dk 🏺
izzywisher.bsky.social Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · Jun 17
How can we visualise the agency of art and artists in past societies? Mine and @dparrott.bsky.social's session at @tag2025york.bsky.social intends to bring together exciting new research to explore this question! Interested? Why not submit an abstract!✋ 🎨🖌️🏺
ORGANISER(S): Izzy Wisher and Derek Parrott AFFILIATION: Aarhus University CONTACT: Izzy Wisher, izzywisher@cas.au.dk ABSTRACT: Art was, and continues to be, an active agent in societies. The first traces of artistic behaviour can be glimpsed in etched patterns produced nearly 100,000 years ago, and flourished into the rich, material culture visible in a wide array of both prehistoric and historic societies. It has the relational power to build new connections between individuals, generate cultural identities, or exert political or religious authority over a population. There have been significant efforts in recent years to shift away from “grand theories” of art – whether typological or narrative in nature – to instead appreciate the dialogical, multisensorial, and distributed engagements of art making and reception. Yet there remains a central challenge. In the fragmentary archaeological evidence of past artistic actions, how can we visualise individual artisans? In this session, we intend to bring together a diverse range of perspectives that examine art from a range of spatial and temporal contexts to identify the actions of individual artists in the past. We particularly encourage submissions that have developed new theoretical and high-resolution methodological approaches to address this challenge. Our session will not be limited in period or object type – the organisers themselves specialise in Palaeolithic art (IW) and Viking Age art (DP), but share a common theoretical thread in their conceptions of art. Themes could therefore include, but are not limited to: Material engagements in artistic practices Art and agency perspectives Craft networks and the role of the artisan High-resolution digital modelling Archaeometric approaches to art
July 30, 2025 at 10:02 AM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Just a few weeks left to get your submissions in for our session "Visualising Artistic Action in the Past" at @tag2025york.bsky.social! If you do research related to artists, art, craft, and agency in the past - from theoretical entanglements to cutting-edge methods - we want to hear from you! 🎨🏺
izzywisher.bsky.social Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · Jun 17
How can we visualise the agency of art and artists in past societies? Mine and @dparrott.bsky.social's session at @tag2025york.bsky.social intends to bring together exciting new research to explore this question! Interested? Why not submit an abstract!✋ 🎨🖌️🏺
ORGANISER(S): Izzy Wisher and Derek Parrott AFFILIATION: Aarhus University CONTACT: Izzy Wisher, izzywisher@cas.au.dk ABSTRACT: Art was, and continues to be, an active agent in societies. The first traces of artistic behaviour can be glimpsed in etched patterns produced nearly 100,000 years ago, and flourished into the rich, material culture visible in a wide array of both prehistoric and historic societies. It has the relational power to build new connections between individuals, generate cultural identities, or exert political or religious authority over a population. There have been significant efforts in recent years to shift away from “grand theories” of art – whether typological or narrative in nature – to instead appreciate the dialogical, multisensorial, and distributed engagements of art making and reception. Yet there remains a central challenge. In the fragmentary archaeological evidence of past artistic actions, how can we visualise individual artisans? In this session, we intend to bring together a diverse range of perspectives that examine art from a range of spatial and temporal contexts to identify the actions of individual artists in the past. We particularly encourage submissions that have developed new theoretical and high-resolution methodological approaches to address this challenge. Our session will not be limited in period or object type – the organisers themselves specialise in Palaeolithic art (IW) and Viking Age art (DP), but share a common theoretical thread in their conceptions of art. Themes could therefore include, but are not limited to: Material engagements in artistic practices Art and agency perspectives Craft networks and the role of the artisan High-resolution digital modelling Archaeometric approaches to art
July 14, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
lemoustier.bsky.social
🏺🗃️ Not sure why this is getting more attention today, but happy to see it shared again!
And thrilled that Yusra will of course be part of our #ExcavatingGarrod project, re-examining archives for new insights on Garrod's work on #Neanderthals, and her collaborations & wider networks with women.
lemoustier.bsky.social Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · Nov 29
🏺 The first remains of Tabun 1 were recognised by Yusra, a Palestinian woman who had already dug for years with Garrod. Here is Yusra in 1932 with other young women fieldworkers named as Rashidi and Amui Haj, and in 1934 with Dorothy Garrod.
July 11, 2025 at 3:55 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Inspired by funky Minoan octopus motifs (after an amazing visit to the Heraklion museum on Crete), I just had to draw this guy! 🐙🏺
Pencil drawing of an octopus in black in a Minoan style, with tentacles sprawling across the page Large brown coloured amphora with a black octopus motif across the centre
July 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
How can we visualise the agency of art and artists in past societies? Mine and @dparrott.bsky.social's session at @tag2025york.bsky.social intends to bring together exciting new research to explore this question! Interested? Why not submit an abstract!✋ 🎨🖌️🏺
ORGANISER(S): Izzy Wisher and Derek Parrott AFFILIATION: Aarhus University CONTACT: Izzy Wisher, izzywisher@cas.au.dk ABSTRACT: Art was, and continues to be, an active agent in societies. The first traces of artistic behaviour can be glimpsed in etched patterns produced nearly 100,000 years ago, and flourished into the rich, material culture visible in a wide array of both prehistoric and historic societies. It has the relational power to build new connections between individuals, generate cultural identities, or exert political or religious authority over a population. There have been significant efforts in recent years to shift away from “grand theories” of art – whether typological or narrative in nature – to instead appreciate the dialogical, multisensorial, and distributed engagements of art making and reception. Yet there remains a central challenge. In the fragmentary archaeological evidence of past artistic actions, how can we visualise individual artisans? In this session, we intend to bring together a diverse range of perspectives that examine art from a range of spatial and temporal contexts to identify the actions of individual artists in the past. We particularly encourage submissions that have developed new theoretical and high-resolution methodological approaches to address this challenge. Our session will not be limited in period or object type – the organisers themselves specialise in Palaeolithic art (IW) and Viking Age art (DP), but share a common theoretical thread in their conceptions of art. Themes could therefore include, but are not limited to: Material engagements in artistic practices Art and agency perspectives Craft networks and the role of the artisan High-resolution digital modelling Archaeometric approaches to art
June 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Dr Izzy Wisher
fakehistoryhunter.net
I'm always impressed with the reconstructions made by the Kennis brothers, they have such character.
www.belganewsagency.eu/prehistoric-...
Prehistoric woman from Belgium gets a face and a name
In Dinant, Wallonia, scientists from Ghent University (UGent) and artists have presented a reconstruction of the face and living environment of a...
www.belganewsagency.eu
June 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Oh my gosh, I love Samson 😍
nwtrek.bsky.social Northwest Trek Wildlife Park @nwtrek.bsky.social · Jun 13
Baby bison zoomies alert! 💨 Meet Samson, the newest (and speediest) member of our Free-Roaming Area herd. Born over Memorial Day Weekend, this fluffy little calf has already mastered the art of sprinting joyfully across 435 acres of forested fields like he owns the place. 🦬
June 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Why did Palaeolithic artists decide to produce art on the same walls that someone else had decorated? Do rock art palimpsests reflect dialogues that occurred across tens-of-thousands of years? My new OA paper develops a conceptual framework to explore these dimensions! 👇🏺

doi.org/10.1007/s108...
Dialogues Across Time? Conceptualising the Temporal Relationships of Palimpsests in the Upper Palaeolithic Cave Art of El Castillo (Cantabria, Spain) - Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
Cave sites were frequently reused throughout the Upper Palaeolithic, with many sites within south-western Europe having deep chronologies of activity. The repeated engagement with the same caves, or s...
doi.org
June 12, 2025 at 11:15 AM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Storytelling in caves…
An image of a cave showing brown and white stalactites and rocks. There is a woman facing forward in the bottom left corner wearing a head torch that is shining a light diagonally across the left corner. An image of a camera screen showing a woman pointing to a cave wall. There is a drawing of a horse in black outline on the wall, and a shadow of the woman’s arm is pointing to the back of the horse
June 5, 2025 at 10:06 AM
izzywisher.bsky.social
Around 43,000 years ago, a Neanderthal gently pressed an ochre covered finger onto a stone - leaving behind the ridges and impression of their unique fingerprint 🫆

This is exactly the kind of archaeology I love! An intimate insight into a moment from the deep past.

Paper: doi.org/10.1007/s125...
A yellow-grey coloured stone with a single red dot in the centre. A red and yellow scale bar is to the left, that measures 8cm in length. The background is white. A blue-grey background with a red fingerprint in the centre. The fingerprint is circular in shape and shows the ridges of the fingerprint. A scale bar in the bottom left corner represented by a black line reads 5mm in length.
May 29, 2025 at 5:47 AM