Archaeology, bite-sized
The Russian-language channel of the Antropogenez.ru project: archaeological finds, ancient artefacts and human evolution in short posts with photos and video.
What it is
The Telegram channel of Antropogenez.ru, a long-running Russian educational project about human origins, archaeology and ancient history. The project also has a website and a YouTube channel; on Telegram it runs a daily feed of short posts: one find, one picture or video, a few paragraphs of context. Everything is in Russian.
Why we picked it
It is an easy way to follow archaeology without reading journal papers. Here is an Etruscan bronze helmet shaped like a wolf's head, or maybe a boar's, or maybe a ritual mask; the channel openly says nobody knows for sure. Here is footage of an excavation in the middle of Abakan in Siberia: a mass burial of the Tagar culture from the Scythian era, found during construction work. Here is a leather mouse nearly 2,000 years old from a Roman fort, possibly a child's toy, possibly a prank. And here is a stone dome weighing 230 tonnes, built not by Romans or Egyptians but by Ostrogoths.
The posts go beyond "wow". For Egyptology Day on 27 September there was a piece on Champollion and the decipherment of hieroglyphs, next to one about tombs still being looted and inscriptions destroyed today. The Palaeolithic gets its turn too, with news of a wooden tool over 400,000 years old found in Greece. Ads do appear occasionally, but the feed is mostly content.
Where to start
- Scroll through the latest artefact posts; that is the easiest way in.
- Find the post about Champollion and the hieroglyphs.
- Watch the Abakan excavation video, a rare look at archaeology in a modern city centre.
- If you like it, move on to the project's YouTube channel for longer lectures.
Who it's for
Anyone who lingers at museum cases and wants the story behind the objects. Students who need a reason to love history. Parents looking for good things to talk about with their kids. You'll need Russian or a translator, though the images carry a lot.
Quick answers
Is it science or entertainment? Popular science: short posts, but grounded in real finds and research.
Is it only about early humans? No. The feed covers the Palaeolithic, Etruscans, Rome, Egypt and the Goths.
Are there ads? Sometimes; the bio lists an advertising contact.
