Here's a nice reminder that an expert is only "an expert" in their specific, narrow field, and (more importantly) everybody in an expert in something. A Baltimore hair stylist has helped archaeologists better understand how Roman and Greek women achieved some of the complicated, towering hairdos depicted in sculpture and paintings. How? She experimentally demonstrated that the word most scientists had been translating as "hairpin" probably should be translated as "needle and thread".

  • http://profiles.google.com/joshuabardwell Joshua Bardwell

    Link returns: Cannot GET /articles/a/?mg=reno64-wsj

    This link seems to work for me:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324900204578286272195339456.html

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Fixed.  Hopefully.

  • GawainLavers

    Yay Citizen Science!  But, ah, WSJ links don’t work for kenyan muslim socialist proles like me…

    Edit: Joshua’s link worked for me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/TreyRoady Trey Roady

    Thought: she’s now an archaeologist, not just a hair-dresser. I know it’s just splitting hairs, but sometimes we portray science like it’s something everyone else does.

    You do the work, you run the inquiries, you are a scientist.

    • GawainLavers

      I see what you did there.

  • Steven B

    A little while ago, I read a very interesting book by a modern construction engineer about his take on how the great pyramid was build. He hewed closely to the archeology, while using his practitioner’s eye to how him might do it (with ancient techniques). He figured that they needed 10,000 at peak, but that was for only 2-3 years because of the narrowing surface area. They could really only work on one level at a time. At the pyramid got taller, the level got smaller, meaning fewer and fewer people could fit. 

    http://www.amazon.com/How-Great-Pyramid-Was-Built/dp/0060891580

  • http://www.facebook.com/esmeralda.ruppspangle Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle

    thanks for the repaired link Joshua. Awesome stuff

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=1118134806 Doc_S

    ‘Course she was able to figure that out. Y’ever see one o’ those frightening Baltimore beehive do’s? Major structural engineering and a hard shell coat of Aqua Net.

    • Supernumerary

      I’m being besieged by images of a John Waters movie set in ancient Greece.

  • Silversalty

    Fascinating stuff. If only I had hair. :P

    Janet Stephens is both an archaeologist and architect of stranded construction. She could probably have given the Roeblings pointers.

    A few video links.

    Vestal Hairdressing: recreating the “Seni Crines”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA9JYWh1r7U

    The hairstyle of Empress Plotina
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BMEoxT5YVk

    Classical Greek Hairstyle
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ97okxEO5U

    Hairstyles of Faustina the Younger
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_HPjg-f8iQ

    .. and more if you follow the links.

  • Jim Beach

    I’ll say it:
    hairchaeologist.

  • http://switchb.org/kpreid/ Kevin Reid

    For those interested: PDF of the article (found using the obvious keywords).

  • http://www.gyrofrog.com/ Gyrofrog

    Seh-ew, how do you warsh it, hon? Do you try not to get warter on it?