Spooktober: Monster Mash - Dirt 159

This week, we lift our spirits (oooOOOooo) with a round-up of monsters. We explore their origins and effects on us, with examples ranging from memories of very real things in the past to a hypothesis that doesn't quite have legs (unlike griffins).

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Pre-Clovis Sites Part 1 - TAS 141

With the definitive dating of the “human” footprints at White Sands pushing back the earliest human occupation of North America to 21,000 to 23,000 years BP, we decided to take a look at several well known pre-Clovis sites. These sites are often controversial and heavily debated amongst archaeologists. We’ll discuss the findings from each site, why they are controversial, and what we think. In Part 1 we cover four of the youngest pre-Clovis Sites including, Paisley Cave in Oregon, Monte Verde in Chile, Gault in Texas and Topper in South Carolina.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Why Digital Archaeology? A Case Study - ArchaeoTech 165

Archaeologists have been using digital technologies to augment traditional field archaeology for several decades (GPS and mapping mostly). However, as modern technologies continue to enter the archaeological space, most researchers are using these techniques almost as a second thought. The authors of this case study argue for development of a digital strategy that will allow researchers to plan and develop questions that are answered by a suite of techniques.

Links

Transcript

So, transcripts are new from our recording software. It doesn’t get everything right and the transcript is the raw recording with no editing. But, it’s better than nothing and I’m glad we have them now! Let me know what you think in the comments.

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

The Gault in Our Stars: A Conversation with Dr. Robert Lassen - Ruins 77

In this episode, we are chatting with Dr. Robert Lassen, a Principal Investigator for AmaTerra Environmental. Robert received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee where he specialized in lithic technology and studied Clovis and Folsom archaeological cultures. He has worked at a multitude of sites throughout the Republic of Texas, including Gault. He's also worked at the Topper site in South Carolina. Robert is an expert flintknapper and was also David’s Human origins TA at the University of Tennessee. We talk about his inspiration from the goonies and his early years digging in the playground. Robert tells us about his experience with Texas archaeology and his love of lithic technology. We then delve deeply into why Texas archaeology is so cool and underappreciated and then close out with his experiences at the Gault site.

Literature recommendations

1) 2013 The Prehistory of Texas By Timothy K. Perrtula

2) 2010 First Peoples in a New World: Colonizing Ice Age America by David J. Meltzer

3) Texas Beyond History Website

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Ammonite and Mary Anning - TAS 140

Released on Hulu in 2020, Ammonite is a fictionalized movie that portrays a few years at the end of Mary Anning's life. She was an amateur paleontologist and with her family discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils in England. We talk about the movie, what it got right and what it didn't, and about the real Mary Anning and her life, work, and discoveries.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Spooktober: Homo lepidopteris - Dirt 158

This week, we're taking a turn for the cryptid and spooking local with the legend of West Virginia native son, the Mothman. For a little over a year leading up to December 1967, sightings of a winged humanoid with glowing eyes were reported in and around Point Pleasant, WV. Since then, Mothman has evolved from evil omen to legend to meme. In this episode, we’ll explore the legend, collective memory, and the power of portents.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Great Mural Rock Art and Travel Adventures - Rock Art 55

Trudy Angell is the principal for Saddling South a travel company that runs trips into the interior of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. She and her company are pioneers in this kind of adventure, off the grid, travel. This is especially relevant when it comes to some of the most spectacular and among the largest rock art images in the world. The Great Mural Rock Art of Baja is both spectacular unto itself but its landscape context makes it even more so. Take a trip with us on the back of a mule with our gear packed on donkeys to visit this remarkable country... Come along and learn about these mysterious images and the epic adventures one experiences visiting them.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Declining Higher Education Enrollment - CRMArch 223

Today we talk about the lower student populations currently, and getting worse, in higher education. We end up talking about some alternatives to a higher education and how university programs can pivot to become more attractive to students.

Links

Follow Our Panelists On Twitter

Bill @succinctbill; Doug @openaccessarch; Stephen @processarch; Bill A. @archaeothoughts; Chris W @Archeowebby, @DIGTECHLLC, and @ArchPodNet

Blogs:

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Time Warped! Part Five - The Zooarchaeology of the Medieval Period - Animals 39

On the last instalment of the ‘Time Warped’ miniseries, Alex and Simona discuss animal exploitation in the Medieval period. Also ineffective door-to-door Beaker salesmen, snail-riding cats and confusing cave site stratigraphy.

Links

Contact

Affiliates

Spooktober: Feral Children - Dirt 157

SPOOKTOBER HAS BEGUN! This week, we discuss the trope in myth, legend, horror, and adjacent genres of feral children. We won't be directly discussing actual cases of trauma, neglect, or child abuse, but rather the place of the bestial feral child in the mythology of different ancient cultures all the way up to a more recent timeline. Why do these stories interest us, spook us, and who's the real monster here?

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Something A-foot in White Sands National Monument with Dr. Shane Miller and Dr. Jesse Tune - Ruins 76

Something's afoot. There is, yet again, another controversial preclovis find. This time, away from the West Coast and in New Mexico. The controversy surrounds human footprints found in White Sands National Park that are dated between 23 and 21 kya.

To discuss these possible pre-Clovis footprints, we invited Dr. Jesse Tune and Dr. Shane Miller on the show to contextualize the data. We begin with an open discussion about the recent published report and try to understand what the researches found at the site. We then chat about their controversy, how it’s hit the mainstream media, and what the ramifications of the repaint are for archaeology.

The conversation then turns into a open dialogue about scientific biases, as well as the role of Indigenous oral traditions and their incorporation into scientific theories.

Literature recommendations

  • 2020, Bennett et al., Walking in mud: Remarkable Pleistocene human trackways from White Sands National Park (New Mexico), Quaternary Science Reviews

  • 2018 Bustos et al., Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America, Supplmentary Materials, Science Advances

  • 2021 Rachal et al., Lake levels and trackways: An alternative model to explain the timing of human-megafauna trackway intersections, Tularosa Basin, New Mexico, Quaternary Science Advances

  • 2021 Bennett et al., Evidence of humans in North Americaduring the Last Glacial Maximum, Science

  • 2020 Ardelean et al., Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum, Nature

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Reconsidering Point Typologies of North Carolina with Dr. Randy Daniel - TAS 139

In this episode we interview Dr. Randy Daniel of East Carolina University about his new book: Time, Typology, and Point Traditions in North Carolina Archaeology. His research interests include the archaeology of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the Southeastern United States, particularly hunter-gatherer adaptations at the end of the last Ice Age. Dr. Daniel recognized the need to update, revise and add to the previous point typology definitions in North Carolina, which lead to the book published earlier this year. We chat with Dr. Daniel about why the update was needed, as well as his methodology and approach towards working with private land owners and amateur collectors.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco - Rock Art 54

Dr. Garfinkel has been to Baja California a number of times to study the rock paintings of the area and to lead tours for the California Rock Art Foundation. On this episode, Chris interviews Dr. Garfinkel about the significance of the works, what they could mean, and about the people that made them.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Hot Takes on a Cool Discovery -OR- We’re putting our foot in it - ArchaeoTech 164

A recent paper discussing footprints found years ago in New Mexico is shaking up the archaeological community. The footprints were dated to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago - problematic because concrete evidence for the earliest sites sits at around 14,000 years ago. There are older sites, but, the evidence isn't great. This new research, however, could change everything.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Disability in the Ancient World With Andrew Gurza - Dirt 156

This week, Anna and Amber are joined by Andrew Gurza, disabled content creator and fellow podcaster, to talk about disability and care in the ancient world. We talk with Andrew about the need for disabled voices in archaeology, his path to podcasting, and some archaeological case studies that show that humans have always taken care of one another.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Dr. Devin's Dissertation - Ruins 75

Dr. Devin Pettigrew comes back on the show to talk about his doctoral dissertation on atlatl and bow weapon system ballistics. Devin first appeared on the show as a guest host back in episode 18.2 and then again as a guest for episode 19. You may also recognize him if you've checked out our YouTube channel.

We start off by talking about the dissertation process, what Devin's research question was, the methods behind his experiments, and data collection. We have an interesting conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of controlled vs uncontrolled experiments. Of course, that disgusting goat carcass gets brought up, but, Carlton is able to control his gag reflex. We close out the episode with a discussion on the results of Devin's doctoral research and how they relate to modern-day hunting practices in the West as well as raw material collection in the "Pre-white" times.

Literature recommendations:

http://basketmakeratlatl.com/

Guest Contact

Email: Devin.Pettigrew@colorado.edu

Instagram @ar.atlatl

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ARatlatl

Website: http://basketmakeratlatl.com/

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Redefining Tribal Archaeology - HeVo 55

On today’s podcast Jessica interviews Dr. Martina Dawley, Senior Archaeologist with the Hualapai Nation’s Department of Cultural Resources (HDCR) in Peach Springs, Arizona. First we discuss her early work in CRM in the 80s and 90s and the empowerment of getting her degrees in American Indian Studies. She also discusses the challenges of working in a museum setting and how museums and other organizations can work to be more inclusive. Finally we look at what the job of a tribal archaeologist is really like and how she collaborates with the cultural advisory team and elders on the Hualapai Nation.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Tips, Tricks, and Dance Moves for Anthropology Undergrad and Grad Programs - Ruins 74

In this episode of A Life in Ruins, we provide information about undergraduate and graduate school. We start off joking about our favorite episodes (all of them are our favorite) and then dive into things to consider when applying to undergraduate and graduate programs. We talk about our differing experiences in undergrad and the positives and negatives of each of our experiences. Importantly, we dive into how to research graduate programs, and factors surrounding how to choose a school are then discussed. We then wrap it up with other ridiculous conversations.

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

School of Rocks with Dr. Danielle Macdonald - Dirt 155

Dr. Danielle Macdonald specializes in the prehistory of Western Asia and the stone tools that people made and used in their everyday lives. That’s right, three years in, we’re finally doing an episode on lithics! We’ll also talk about Danielle’s path to anthropology and her ongoing work at the site of Kharaneh IV in what's today Jordan.

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Religion and Science with Bernie Taylor - Rock Art 53

Bernie Taylor graces the 53rd episode of the Rock Art Podcast. Bernie provides an amazing word picture of the journey of our ancestors with respect to religion and science. Including a discussion or rock art, archaeoastronomy, shamanism, animism, totemism, and animal habits. This is one wild ride you won't want to miss. Amazing discussion packed with lots of insights and remarkable reflections...

Links

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates