What can overlooked ancient civilizations teach us about connection, perspective, and the stories we choose to tell? Archaeologist and science communicator Raven Todd DaSilva shares this and more as we speak about her new book The Other Ancient Civilisations. We discuss why and how she spotlighted cultures often missing from mainstream narratives and what they reveal about humanity across time and the world.

Mentioned on the show:

• Raven’s Book: The Other Ancient Civilisations
• https://bookshop.org/a/115409/9781684813230
• https://amzn.to/47QXBRS

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/expanding-our-view-of-the-ancient-world/

🎁 Bonus content: https://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What can Malta’s mysterious megalithic monuments teach us about curiosity, ritual, and the power of independent research? YouTuber Laura, a.k.a. MegalithHunter, shares what makes these archaeological sites both architecturally and culturally distinct. She also reflects on how her curiosity about the past shaped her educational journey and her approach to public storytelling.

Mentioned on the show:

• Laura’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MegalithHunter
• Laura’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/megalithhunter.bsky.social
• FRAGSUS Monographs:
• https://www.academia.edu/84270797/Temple_Landscapes_Fragsus_Vol1_h_Chapter
• https://www.academia.edu/77524109/Archaeological_studies_of_Maltese_prehistory_for_the_FRAGSUS_Project_2013_18
• https://www.academia.edu/93313027/Temple_People_Fragsus_Vol3_n_Chapter

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/how-maltas-ancient-monuments-still-capture-our-curiosity/

🎁 Bonus content: https://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What can a multi-generational home in rural Galicia, Spain, reveal about memory, creativity, and connection? Multimedia artist Laura Fajín Riveiro reflects on how childhood artifacts, personal history, and the textures of Galicia continue to inspire her creative practice. Her work shows how engaging with the past can nurture both a deeper connection to the past and artistic expression in the present.

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Mentioned on the show:

• https://www.laurariveiro.com/

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/three-generations-shaping-a-galician-artists-work/

🎁 Bonus content: https://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

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🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What can mapping tell us about public health in medieval cities? Archaeologist, Dr. Taylor Zaneri, uncovers revealing insights from medieval Bologna, from which activities drew the strictest regulation, to who was actually responsible for fixing them. Her work shows how archaeology, historical texts, and maps come together to reveal what was really happening on the ground.

Mentioned on the show:

• Taylor’s Academia.edu: https://iisg.academia.edu/TaylorZaneri
• Featured Academic Paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2023.02.009
• Public Mapping Tool ft. Bologna: https://healthscapes.humanities.uva.nl/

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/what-maps-reveal-about-medieval-public-health/

🎁 Bonus content: https://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

Did you know some of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries never make the headlines? Rachel, from Inside Archaeology, shares overlooked finds from self-healing Roman concrete to surprising burials. We explore how interpretation, imagination, and new technologies shape the stories we tell about the past.

Mentioned on the show:

• https://www.youtube.com/@Inside_Archaeology

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/archaeology-discoveries-that-deserve-more-attention/

🎁 Bonus content: patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What do we mean when we say “the past,” and how might those definitions shape the futures we imagine? Human-centered designer, Shanice Webb, shares how engaging with the past in different ways can offer surprising clarity when it comes to building what’s next.

Mentioned on the show:

• Shanice’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanicewebb/

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/**designing-futures-that-engage-with-the-past**/

🎁 Bonus content: https://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What can human remains reveal about connection, identity, and community in Iceland? Biomedical anthropologist, Dr. Adam Netzer-Zimmer, shares how overlooked human remains are unearthing Iceland’s multifaceted relationship with the dead.

Mentioned on the show:

• adamnetzerzimmer.com
• https://www.tiktok.com/@hrimey_learn

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/what-the-dead-still-mean-to-the-living-in-iceland/

🎁 Bonus content: http://patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

🎙️ Curiosity Meets The Past is a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. Each episode features a 20–30 minute curated conversation with guests who reveal the layered stories behind objects, places, and people.

What makes something a word, and who decides? Scholar, author, and podcaster, Michelle Franklin, joins us to explore the surprising origins of words like "púca" and "like," and how slang, dialect, and identity shape the way we communicate.

Mentioned on the show:

• https://www.youtube.com/@authormichellefranklin
• https://www.instagram.com/authormichellefranklin/
• https://bsky.app/profile/michellefranklin.bsky.social
• https://www.tiktok.com/@authormichellefranklin

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/the-secret-past-lives-of-words

🎁 Bonus content: patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

What can archaeology reveal about overlooked food spaces? Dr. Katie Chiou shares how she applies archaeological thinking to explore hidden foodways in the American South, from campus dining halls to gas stations, and what they reveal about inequality, memory, and everyday life.

Mentioned on the show:

• Katie’s Website: https://sites.ua.edu/kchiou/

• Katie’s Lab Website: https://sites.ua.edu/archaeobotany/

• MA student presentation on UA Foodscape project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ZmHx-JkDs&ab_channel=UniversityofAlabamaGraduateSchool 

• Student documentary on gas stations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r32lfFMVzPQ&t=5s&ab_channel=EkaterinaM

• UA Food Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bamabiteclub/

• CONSERVE Group: https://conserve-group.org/ 

  
  

📝 Full transcript:  https://smitinathan.com/uncovering-todays-hidden-foodways-through-archaeology/ 

🎁 Bonus content: patreon.com/smitinathan

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]

What does it really take to start an archaeology project? In this episode, Dr. Ioana A. Dumitru, a digital landscape archaeologist, reveals how fieldwork actually begins. We dig into the moments that no one prepares you for and the relationships that truly shape the work.

Mentioned on the show:

• CALOR Project Website: https://www.calorarchaeology.com/

• CALOR Project Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calor_archaeology/

• Ioana’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganarcheologist/

📝 Full transcript: https://smitinathan.com/how-an-archaeology-project-actually-begins/

🎁 Bonus content: patreon.com/smitinathan

📩 Email notifications for new episodes: https://field-notes-by-smiti-nathan.kit.com/3e5792597b

✉️ Get in touch at [email protected]