A Life in Ruins

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"Seeing Red" Episode 14 Review with Emily Van Alst and Lana Ruck - Ep 79

In this episode of A Life in Ruins (originally recorded in the summer of 2020), Carlton chats with Rock Art Specialist Emily Van Alst and Lana Ruck, who teaches a course in Pseudoarchaeology. The three take a deep dive into Episode 14 - Our Ruined Lives with Bernie Taylor, to deconstruct Mr. Taylor's arguments and claims he made on the show. We review the individuals whom Mr. Taylor "name-drops" throughout his interview to sus-out their expertise and contextualize how they're being used in Mr. Taylor's arguments.

Lana illustrates the pseudoscience techniques and tactics that he employs, such as appeals to authority, inciting skepticism of the scientific process, and deflection of topics. Emily brings her expertise on Rock Art research to provide background and contemporary thought and method to the topic. The broad point that Carlton, Emily, and Lana make is that CONTEXT is important, and the purpose of this conversation is to respectfully provide context to Episode 14 and the claims that were made.

Guest Contacts

  • Lana's Twitter: @LanaRuck

  • Lana's Instagram: @LanaLately

  • ScIU's Instagram: @sciublog

  • Emily Twitter: @emilyvanawesome

  • Emily Instagram: @emilyvanawesome

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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.

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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

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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

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