A Life in Ruins

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Rachel Roden

Rowe, Rowe, Rowe Your Boat - Ep 51

In this episode, we chat with Chris Rowe, a returning guest who originally appeared in Episode 12. We begin by catching up with him on his life and his work situation through Covid. After that, we talk about the potential of an archaeology trade school while also discussing the CRM and academic divide. Chris and the cohosts delve deeply into the curation crisis, what it is, what are some contributors to this crisis and ultimately suggestions on how future archaeologists can change the status quo in regards to curation.

Chris Rowe’s literature recommendations:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Fifth Beginning: What Six Million Years of Human History Can Tell Us about Our Future by Robert L. Kelly

Chris Rowe’s Contact:

Chris’s Instagram: @crowemagnon.man

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Getting "in tune" with the Paleoindian with Dr. Jesse Tune - Ep 50

In this episode, we are chatting with Dr. Jesse Tune, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Fort Lewis College. Now, this isn’t the first time Dr. Tune has been a guest on the Podcast, he first joined us on Episode 37 with Dr. Shane Miller where we talked about some recent updates on the Cerutti Mastodon Site. For this episode, Jesse tells us about his introduction to archaeology, his graduate school experiences (Carlton and Jesse talk about D.C. living), and his current research in Paleoindian archaeology.

Dr. Tune's Twitter: @jwtune

Hunter Gatherer Research Collaborative & Lab

Literature Reccomendations

  • Jesse W. Tune 2020 Hunter-Gatherer Occupation of the Central Colorado Plateau during the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. American Antiquity. 85(3):573-590.

  • Heather L. Smith and Jesse W. Tune (editors) 2019 Fluted Point Technologies: An Interregional Perspective. PaleoAmerica 5(2):105-108.

  • Jesse W. Tune, Michael R. Waters, Kayla Schmalle, Larisa R. G. DeSantis, George D. Kamenov. 2018 Assessing the Proposed Pre-LGM Human Occupation of North America at Coats-Hines-Litchy, Tennessee, and Other Sites. Quaternary Science Reviews 186:47-59.

  • D. Shane Miller and Jesse W. Tune. 2018 When the Levee Breaks: How an Ant Hill and a Deer on a Mound Made Us Re-Think the Effect of the Younger Dryas. In The Archaeology of Everyday Matters, edited by S. E. Price and P. J. Carr, pp. 14-23. University Press of Florida.

  • Jesse W. Tune 2016 The Clovis-Cumberland-Dalton Succession: Settling into the Midsouth United States During the Pleistocene-to-Holocene Transition. PaleoAmerica 2(3):261-273.

Our Ruined Lives with Erina Baci II - Ep 47

In this edition of Our Ruined Lives, we are pleased to have Erina Baci return to the Podcast. Erina first appeared on Episode 7, way back in October 2019. We begin the show by catching up with her on what she has been up to since she first appeared on the podcast. We then delve into a discussion on the importance of geography and resources to people in the past, modern geopolitics, and how modern issues affect our current understanding of the past. This leads us to discuss an upcoming Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Albania and the potential implications of the MoU for Balkan Cultural Preservation. We close out the episode with Erina serving up some awesome advice for future and current graduate students.

Erina's Literature Recommendations:

  • Archaeological Guide of Kosova - Online PDF

  • The Illyrians by John Wilks

  • Evaluating social complexity and inequality in the Balkans between 6500 and 4200 BC by Marko Porčić (2019)

  • Archaeology as Bearing Witness By Hauser et al. (2018)

Contact For Guest

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Near Eastern Archaeology with Maria Diget Sletterød - Ep 46

In this episode, we are pleased to introduce Maria Diget Sletterød, a Danish archaeologist studying the Pre-pottery Neolithic in the Near East at the University of Copenhagen. We start off with a brief introduction as to how the hosts found Maria which was through an Archaeologists in Quarantine episode with Carlton hosted by Tash. Then we delve into her diverse archaeological research and excavation projects and how she has worked all across the Near East and Europe. David and Maria swap stories about visiting/working in Israel. We follow up with a discussion on Maria's thesis work and where the discipline of archaeology fits in the Danish educational system and what exactly is the "Pre-pottery Neolithic". We close the episode out by asking Maria about what it's like to work in the Near East, a region that is known in the American media for being geopolitically tenuous.

Contact For Guest:

  • Maria's Instagram: @maria_archaeology

  • Maria's Email: mariaconstanze@hotmail.dk

Maria's Source Recommendations:

  • The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory: Why did Foragers become Farmers- by Graeme Barker

  • The Archaeology of Mesopotamia - By Roger Matthews

  • The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt - By Ian Shaw

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Hoo dis? with Tash and Raven - Ep 44

In this episode, we are pleased to have Raven Todd da Silva and Natasha Billson return to the Podcast. Raven is another OG from the early episodes, appearing on episode 9 and runs a very popular Instagram and Youtube Channel called “Dig it with Raven” and Natasha aka Tash was recently on episode 29, and runs a youtube channel called Behind the Trowel. If you follow us on Social Media, then you know that both of these archaeologists are a part of the Archaeology Avengers and we are super excited to have them back on the podcast. We discuss Netflix’s new hit movie, The Dig, and discuss the archaeology of the site on which the movie is based on. We also discuss how archaeology is portrayed in the media.

Contact for Guests

Tash:

  • Instagram: @tash_archaeo

  • Twitter: @Tash_Archaeo

  • YouTube: Behind the Trowel

Raven

  • Instagram: @digitwithraven

  • Twitter: @digitwithraven

  • YouTube: Dig it With Raven

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Stefan Milo 2: This Time It's Personal #Paleolithic - Ep 43

On this episode of A Life in Ruins podcast, we have a bonfire chat with YouTuber and Neolithic advocate, Stefan Milo. If you’re not familiar with Stefan, we introduced him in Episode 20. Or you may know him from his popular YouTube channel, “Stefan Milo.” We talk about the recent growth of Stefan’s channel and how he has now become the first full-time anthropology YouTuber!

We then quickly get into the Great Paleolithic-Neolithic War of 2020. This began as a meme and took off. It was fun for both our followers to follow and share along with.

We later have a serious discussion about the differences between the two periods and what it means for human history.

Contact For Stefan Milo

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Tools of Future’s Past: Lomekwi with Lana and Ella - Ep 41

In this episode, we are pleased to have both Lana Ruck and Ella Beaudoin back on our show. Ella was on Episode 2 and Lana was on Episode 16. Since Episode 37 Settlers of Cerutti with Dr. Shane Miller and Dr. Jesse Tune was such a hit, we wanted to have Ella and Lana return to the show to talk about some controversial topics within paleoanthropology. Lana and Ella discuss the site Lomekwi, which is an archaeological site in Kenya where ancient stone tools have been discovered dating to 3.3 million years ago, which make them the oldest ever found. They deconstruct the tools, the context of the site, and the dating of the artifacts.

Guest Contact

  • Lana's Twitter: @LanaRuck

  • Lana's Instagram: @LanaLately

  • ScIU's Instagram: @sciublog

  • Ella's Twitter: @ella_beaudoin

  • Ella's Instagram: @simple_homo_slaypien

  • Human Origins Twitter: @HumanOrigins

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Down Unda’ the Sea with Dr. Maddy McAllister - Ep 40

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we interview Dr. Maddy McAllister, a maritime archaeologist with the Museum of Tropical Queensland. Dr. McAllister is known for her educational Instagram account, @shipwreckmermaid. As Dr. McAllister is an Aussie, we naturally first have a conversation about the differences between our endemic wildlife and the hazards of working in the wild. This is followed by a discussion of how Dr. McAllister, and other underwater archaeologists, plan out their projects, record data, and conduct their research. We also have some salty discussions of sailing stories, shipwrecks, and other things that blow Connors and Carlton's minds. David was literally born on an island -he gets it.

Dr. McAllister's Book Recommendations:

• 2005 ‘Beneath the Seven Seas’ (edited by George Bass)

• 1980 Archaeology underwater – Keith Muckleroy

• 2004 Maritime Archaeology: a technical handbook, Jeremy Green

• 1986 Maritime Archaeology in Australia – Graeme Henderson

• 2008 Unfinished Voyages – Graeme Henderson

• 2007 Shipwreck Archaeology in Australia – Mike Nash

Dr. McAllister's Instagram: @shipwreckmermaid

Dr. McAllister's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maddy.mcallister.10 and https://www.facebook.com/shipwreckmermaid/

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10,000-year-old Rock Art in the Desert: A Conversation with Dr. Marissa Molinar - Ep 33

On this episode of A Life in Ruins podcast, we interview Dr. Marissa Molinar. She studies the practices, and products of prehistoric art, through an evolutionary, social, and aesthetic lens. She gave an excellent talk at the APN Educational Expo (APN AEX 2020) about her work and she also had a pretty sweet zoom background. We get deep into her research on rock art and her methods of comparing different rock art panels. She details the complicated process of getting permission to survey on military lands and also how she got into anthropology and archaeology. We also have a discussion about representation in archaeology and the effects of colonialism in public education.

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!


Our Ruined Lives with Taliah Farnsworth - Ep 28

On this episode of Our Ruined Lives, we chat with the fantastic Taliah Farnsworth, the Virtual Experience Coordinator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS).

We delve into science communication and her current position at DMNS. She shares with us hilarious stories from her interactions with the public, such as "Night vision" and "Dad's personal garage time". More importantly, Taliah really delves into the nitty-gritty of science communication and education as a full-time profession.

Please give this episode a listen and follow Taliah on social media.

Contact

Find Taliah at:

Affiliates

Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

If a Yoda, Archaeology had: A Philosophical Discussion with our Mentor Dr. Robert L. Kelly - Ep 27

On Episode 27 of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we interview Dr. Robert L. Kelly. Dr. Kelly was all the cohosts thesis advisor at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Robert L. Kelly wrote the book, The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers: The Foraging Spectrum, on hunter-gatherer archaeology and the mathematical proofs behind it.

He was involved in early research at Gatecliff Rockshelter and then he continued on to influence archaeological theory for the rest of his career. He writes a regular textbook with Dr. David Hurst Thomas named “Archaeology” (latest edition).

He has also written a book on the future of archaeology called The Fifth Beginning.

We have a super interesting philosophical conversation about archaeology and its meaning. Bob recounts his early life and how he found his way out in the desert with David Hurst Thomas during his first days as an archaeologist.

We then discuss his transition from Cornell to the University of New Mexico and the University of Michigan, and have a lengthy discussion about his mentor, Lewis Binford and his eccentric life.

The majority of the podcast however, is an in-depth conversation about anthropology, how the field has changed over the years, and what it means to be human.

Robert L Kelly Email: rlkelly@uwyo.edu

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

Our Ruined Lives with Alex Craib - Ep 26

On this episode of Our Ruined lives, we giggle and chat with our good friend Alex Craib. Alex is a PhD student at the University of Wyoming studying under the same professor as all the cohosts did. We start off by delving through Alex’s career so far in archaeology and then get into a ridiculous series of stories about fieldwork with David, Connor and Carlton. We finish it out by having an intense discussion about mental health in academia and in archaeology specifically. We really hope everyone enjoys this episode!

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

Horsin' Around with Will Taylor - Ep 25

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we interview Dr. William Taylor, assistant professor and Curator of Archaeology at CU Boulder's Department of Anthropology. We delve into his early formative years and how he ultimately got into the field of Anthropology.

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

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