A Life in Ruins

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Rachel Roden

A Podcast Donnybrook with Tristan Boyle - Ep 94

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we talk to our arch-nemesis, co-founder of the Archaeology Podcast Network, and host of the Modern Myth Podcast Tristan Boyle. We start out talking about our terrible impersonations of him and talk about where he is from and where he currently lives in the UK. We then delve into his formative years and how he got into archaeology. Tristan then nerds out about heavy metals in hair samples. We then ask him to recall the APN origin story. Tristan then talks about Unarchaeology as a response to inaccessibility within archaeology as a discipline. He then talks about his favorite "Modern Myth" Podcast and we finish talking about the CRM career field and how it needs to change.

If you are listening to this episode on the "Archaeology Podcast Network All Shows Feed", please consider subscribing to the "A Life in Ruins Podcast" channel to support our show. Listening to and downloading our episodes on the A Life in Ruins channel helps our podcast grow. So please, subscribe to the A Life in Ruins Podcast, hosted by the Archaeology Podcast Network, on whichever platform you are using to listen to us on the "All Shows Feed". Support our show by following our channel.

Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot!

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Links

Literature Recommendations

Guest Contact

  • Tristan's Instagram/Twitter: @anarchaeologist

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Egyptology and Archaeology in Video Games with Megan Kumorek - Ep 92

In this episode, we are joined by Megan Kumorek who is a writer and creative partner for the Middle East, North Africa, and Mediterranean Archaeology Publication Group and Promotional and Academic Partner for the Save Cultural Heritage Group. We start off by talking with Megan about her educational background in Archaeology, beginning with her undergraduate in Anthropology at Northern Arizona University and then Megan's M.A. program in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool in the U.K. We then dive into Megan's experiences in working on graffiti in Egyptian archaeology and what the transition was like from researching North and South American archaeology to studying the Egyptian Archaeological Record. We tie up the episode with a very fun and entertaining conversation about depictions of archaeology in video games. Turns out, Megan is a huge gamer! We cover a gambit of video games and how they represent archaeology. The video games that we cover include Tomb Raider, the Assassin's Creed games, World of Warcraft, Sims 4, Zelda, Jedi Fallen Order, Dragon Age Origins, and more!

If you are listening to this episode on the "Archaeology Podcast Network All Shows Feed", please consider subscribing to the "A Life in Ruins Podcast" channel to support our show. Listening to and downloading our episodes on the A Life in Ruins channel helps our podcast grow. So please, subscribe to the A Life in Ruins Podcast, hosted by the Archaeology Podcast Network, on whichever platform you are using to listen to us on the "All Shows Feed". Support our show by following our channel.

Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code RUINS. Click this message for more information.

Links

Literature Recommendations

Guest Contact

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Indigenous New England Tattooing Practices with Rebekah Lamb - Ep 90

In this episode, Carlton does a solo interview with Rebekah Lamb. Rebekah is pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology and minoring in Archaeology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Rebekah belongs to the Abenaki Tribe of the Wabanaki Confederacy as well as being a descendant of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Carlton and Rebekah talk about her research on Abenaki tattoo practices through apprenticeship ethnography, studying both the historical and contemporary significance and the revival of traditional tattooing culture within New England Indigenous tribes. We also discuss the challenges facing New England Indigenous Nation's cultural practices and history, issues of blood-quantum, decolonizing academia.

Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code RUINS. Click this message for more information.

Links

Rebekah Lamb on TEDxVUAmsterdam: Empowering Disabled Students in the University System

Literature Recommendations

  • Drawing with Great Needles by Aaron Deter-Wolf and Carol Diaz-Granados

    Aaron Deter-Wolf's Instagram: @archaeologyink

Guest Contact

  • Instagram: @appearingacademic

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Pâripakûru’ with Zach Rice and Taylor Moore - Ep 89

In this special four-part episode we are joined by Zach Rice and Taylor to talk about how they are working on the reawakening of the Pawnee language. Both Zach and Taylor are citizens of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and grew up in Pawnee, Oklahoma. We talk about growing up in Pawnee, where they went to school, what inspired them to pursue M.A.'s in Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. We dive into their M.A. Theses research, the relationships between Northern Caddoan Languages, working with the Pawnee Nation on the Pawnee Language Program, the challenges they face, and their goals for Pawnee language.

Start your own podcast with 30% off Zencastr for the first 3 months with A Life in Ruins! Click anywhere on this paragraph.

Links

Literature Recommendations

  • "A Dictionary of Skiri Pawnee" by Douglas R. Parks & Lula Nora Pratt

  • "We Still Live Here" a film by Anne Makepeace

  • "Bringing Our Languages Home: Langauge Revitalization for Families" by Leanne Hinton

  • "The languages of native North America" by Marianne Mithun

  • Volume 13 of the Handbook of North American Indians: Plains by Smithsonian Press

  • Volume 17 of the Handbook of North American Indians: Languages by Smithsonian Press

  • "When Languages Die" by K. David Harrison

  • "The Language Warrior's Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds" by Anton Treuer

Guest Contact

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Nor'eastern PaleoIndian Archaeology with Dr. Heather Rockwell - Ep 86

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Heather Rockwell, who is an Assistant Professor at Salve Regina University. Big surprise, she is another fellow University of Wyoming alum. We begin by asking about her developing years in archaeology and then delve into her choice of undergraduate and graduate programs. She explains how having a diverse committee for her Ph.D. at UW was ultimately helpful for her. We then ask Dr. Rockwell to do a deep dive into Northeastern Paleoindian Archaeology. We finish off talking about the academic job market and her upcoming paper with Dr. Madeline Mackie.

Literature Recommendations

Guest Contact

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Covid 19 Ruck Luck - With Lana Ruck - Ep 81

In this episode, we are joined again by Duel Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology and Cognitive Science, Lana Ruck. Lana first appeared on Episode 16, then Episode 41, and recently appeared on Episode 79. But on this episode, rather than talk about pseudoscientists or nerd out over paleo-anth with Ella, we’re going to catch up with Lana about her dissertation and the academic job market and why each pot and pan needs its own shelf in the kitchen. We recap her dissertation topic and talk about the effect the pandemic had on her data collection. Lana then talks about having to return money from the NSF and we finish out by talking about the academic job market and Lana's future trajectory.

Literature recommendations:

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

The Life of Bryon: An Interview with Dr. Bryon Schroeder and Connor Johnen - Ep 78

In this episode of A Life in Ruins, Connor does a solo interview with Dr. Bryon Schroeder. Dr. Schroeder was originally on Episode 15, where he discussed his career in archaeology and regaled us with tales about Texas archaeology that were sometimes, quite disturbing. Connor wanted to continue to talk with him about his research because it is very interesting. We talk about some of the work in caves he has been doing, his work with sloths, and catch up about the mummy we discussed in the original episode. This episode was originally recorded in July of 2020.

Contact for Guest

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

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

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

Dr. Devin's Dissertation - Ep 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

Arrrgh Ruined Lives with Maddy McAllister and Jamie Goodall - Ep 72

In this episode of we have the pleasure of hosting the most fan-requested crossover: The Shipwreck Mermaid and the Pirate Historian. Dr. Maddy McAllister, aka the Shipwreck Mermaid, is a Maritime archaeology Curator based out of Australia. Dr. Jamie Goodall is a staff historian with the US government. They are both popular social media personalities on Twitter and Instagram. We discuss their respective careers and how they use primary source data and archaeological reports. We discuss Black Jack Anderson and the lack of famous pirates near Australia. Dr. Goodall enlightens us with more information about Zheng Yi Sao and we chat about if it's possible to see evidence of piracy in shipwrecks. Dr. McAllister and Dr. Goodall end the episode with advice for students interested in maritime archaeology or maritime history.

Literature recommendations:

1) X Marks the Spot: The Archaeology of Piracy edited by Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R. Ewen

2) Pieces of Eight: More Archaeology of Piracy edited by Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R. Ewen

3) Why We Love Pirates: The Hunt for Captain Kidd and How He Changed Piracy Forever by Rebecca Simon

4) The Alliance of Pirates: Ireland and Atlantic piracy in the early seventeenth century by Connie Kelleher

5) Unfinished Voyages: Western Australian Shipwrecks 1622-1850 by Graeme Henderson

Guest Contact

Dr. Goodall's Instagram and Twitter: @l_historienne

Dr. Goodall's Website: jamiegoodall.com

Dr. McAllister's Instagram: @shipwreckmermaid

Dr. McAllister's Facebook

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Ancient Civ: South America - Ep 69

We celebrate our 69th episode by investigating the rise of early state civilizations in South America. The four early states that we cover are Norte Chico, Chavin, Nazca, and of course, Moche. This episode is a wild ride of pyramids, ceremonial complexes, severed heads, and Moche sex pots.

Sprinkled throughout the episode are references to Star Wars, Civilization, SAA conferences, South Park, Rick and Morty, and a shoutout to The Dirt Podcast.

Literature recommendations:

1) Ancient Civilizations by Chris Scarre & Brian M. Fagan, 4th edition

2) Archaeology by Robert L. Kelly & David Hurst Thomas, 7th Edition

3) Archaeology and Human History by Deborah I. Olszewski

4) Skeleton Sex Pots by Steve Nash. Sapiens Anthropology Magazine.

5) Dirt Podcast on the Nazca

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Days of AR-CHIVES with Kelly Brown - Ep 67

In this episode of the A Life in Ruins Podcast, we interview Kelly Brown, the Archives Lab Manager at the Augusta Veterans Curation Program. Her main job component is managing archives, her secondary responsibility is being David's workplace babysitter.

She recently graduated with a Master's Degree in Library and Information science (MLIS) and has accepted a position at the Savannah River Site Museum in Aiken, South Carolina. We discuss Kelly’s background in archaeology from the University of Georgia and her field school on the Georgia coast.

Kelly provides the three hosts a glimpse into the world of archives and documentation and discusses why information science is important in all fields, especially in archaeology

Most of the episode, however, is the roast of David Howe’s illiteracy.

Literature recommendations:

1) Google “IMLS” and look it up yourself, pleib

2) TDAR - The Digital Archaeological Record

3) Society of American Archivists

Guest Contact

  • You can find Kelly Brown on LinkedIn. That's it.

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates

Fantastic Domesticates and Where to Find Them - Dogs - Ep 63

For this episode of Just the Boyz, we kick off our series on animal domesticates, starting with the oldest known domesticated animal: the dog. We are fortunate to have David as a one of the hosts as he is one of the leading public scholars when it comes to the relationship between dogs and humans throughout human history. We chat about the earliest evidence for dog domestication, the leading theories behind Howe and why dogs were domesticated, and delve into a discussion about the Siberian Fox Domestication experiment and animal research ethics.

Literature recommendations

1) "Dogs": Darcey Morey

2) "The Social Dog: Behavior and Cognition" Kominski and Marshall-Pescini

3) “Dogs: Archaeology Beyond Domestication" Bethke and Burtt

4) "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know" Alexandra Horowitz

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates


Just the Boyz But It’s Revolutionary Part II (Do not operate heavy machinery or drive while listening to this episode) - Ep 61

In this episode, we continue talking about the Revolutionary War, aka the War for American Freedom, aka ‘Merica War’.

We hope this one is more factual and just as hilarious as Episode 57.

We recount the events following the Crossing of the Delaware River, highlight Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, the winter at Valley Forge, the alliance between France and the US, and how this alliance changed the outcome of the war, with some archaeological case studies sprinkled throughout the narrative. We get into a discussion about the traitorous Benedict Arnold and his relationship to Eggs Benedict, the Articles of Confederation, and the end of the war.

We spend some time promoting the importance of battlefield archaeology and its importance for learning more about the War for American Independance. We end the snoozer with some ridiculous banter.

Literature recommendations

LiDar Documentation of Historical Sites

Valley Forge Bayonets article

Battlefield Archaeology at Kings Mountain

The importance of battlefield archaeology

Contact

ArchPodNet

Affiliates


Just The Boyz but it's Revolutionary - Ep 57

For this episode of Just the Boyz, the hosts attempt to discuss the events leading up to the American Revolution and the first year of the fight for America's Independence from the English Crown.

Early on in this episode, you can tell that hosts have a lot to say without a really coherent plan as to how to say it. The guys are all over the place with this episode, but you can definitely get a sense of their passion for this topic.

And yes, Carlton did mix up King George III with King George V. He's been binging The Crown recently.

Literature recommendations:

  • 1776 by David McCullough

  • The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn

  • Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800 by Mary Beth Norton

  • The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution: Forgotten Black Heroes by William Cooper Nell

Contact

APN Links

Affiliates

Our Ruined Lives with Morgan Kinney - Ep 56

In this edition of Our Ruined Lives, Morgan Kinney, a graduate student at Adams State University, joins the hosts to talk about his career in cultural resources management. Morgan is pursuing an M.A. in CRM, which provided an opportunity for the hosts to discuss the differences between a CRM-based M.A. and a general Anthropology M.A.

We close the episode with a discussion on Morgan's experiences in Archaeology Sci-Comm through TikTok. Morgan's TikTok, archaeowolf, is one of the most engaged archaeology-centered accounts on the platform, and the hosts are curious about how Morgan combats against pseudo-science and how he addresses questions from the public. Also, Carlton goes on a tangent about Morgan's aircraft content.

Guest’s literature recommendations:

1) In Small Things Forgotten by James Deetz

2) JSTOR - Yup, just JSTOR

Guest Contact

  • Instagram: @archaeowolf

  • TikTok: @archaeowolf

Contact

Archaeology Podcast Network:

Affiliates

The Cowboys of Science II: Dr. Spencer Pelton Returns - Ep 54

In this episode, Dr. Spencer Pelton returns to the show to chat with the hosts about becoming the Wyoming State Archaeologist. Dr. Pelton first appeared on the show as the featured guest for Episode 1, almost two years ago! We dive into the responsibilities of being the Wyoming State Archaeologist and how it differs from most other State Archaeology Offices. Following up on that conversation, we discuss Spencer's current research projects as the State Archaeologist, and some of the more interesting calls he receives from the Wyoming public. The episode concludes with a dialogue about the late Dr. George Frison. We talk about why he was so significant to the field of archaeology and his legacy at the University of Wyoming and Plains Archaeology.

Dr. Pelton's media recommendations:

Contact For Guest: (Twitter, email, etc.):

  • Google Dr. Spencer Pelton, Wyoming State Archaeologist

Just the Boyz: Clovis Organized Crime Syndicate (allegedly) - Ep 53

The hosts discuss four hypotheses for the arrival of humans into the New World: Beringian Land Bridge, Coastal Highway, Solutrean, and Oceanic. They discuss the early Paleoindian site complexes such as Folsom and Clovis in which David (allegedly) reveals the existence of the Clovis Organized Crime Syndicate.

A large part of the episode centers around "pre-Clovis" sites and whether they would belong to the Coastal Highway or Solutrean hypotheses. According to Carlton, the Solutreans crossed the Atlantic to get that sweet, sweet Old Bay seasoning. #OldBayAllDay

We wrap up the show with a discussion about which hypotheses each host believes explains the archaeological record best.

Recommended Literature:

  1. David J. Meltzer

    2010 First Peoples in a New World: Colonizing Ice Age America

  2. Dennis. J. Stanford, Bruce A. Bradley & Michael Collins

    2013 Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture

  3. Tom. D Dillehay

    1997 Monte Verde: a Late Pleistocene settlement in Chile, Vol.2, The

    Archaeological Context and Interpretation

  4. Jon M. Erlandson et al.

    2007 The Kelp Highway Hypothesis: Marine Ecology, the Coastal

    Migration Theory, and the Peopling of the Americas

Our Ruined Lives with Hip Hop M.D. - Ep 52

In this episode, we are excited to chat with Maynard Okereke, who goes by the Science Communicator persona: Hip Hop M.D. Maynard is a Science Communicator, Entrepreneur, Engineer, and Digital Media Producer who tells us about his undergraduate journey at the University of Washington, his post-college career, and what inspired him to create Hip Hop Science.

Maynard is passionate about Science Communication and uses his knowledge of science to help inspire minorities and youth by bridging the gap between music, entertainment, and science - encouraging more diverse involvement in the S.T.E.M. fields.

Hip Hop Science website: https://www.hiphopscienceshow.com/

Instagram: @hiphopscienceshow

YouTube: Hip Hop Science

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