Screens of the Stone Age

By Josh Lindal, Dr. Kimberly Plomp, and Dr. Ross Barnett

The podcast where scientists review movies about prehistoric people! From The Flintstones to The Croods, from Iceman to Encino Man, from Year One to One Million Years BC, we dig into popular movies ab... more

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The podcast currently has 134 episodes available.

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April 26, 2026 Episode 127: Don Verdean (2015) w/ Dr. Andrew Kinkella
Today we’re reviewing Don Verdean (2015), the story of a washed-up Biblical archaeologist who, under pressure from his financial backers, begins to fake his discoveries. This movie is rife with pseudoarchaeological references, so we’ve invited Dr. Andrew Kinkella back to help us break it down. As a bonus, he uses his film degree to explain why, despite being hilarious, this movie is actually terrible.
Dr. Andrew Kinkella’s links:
Kinkella Teaches Archaeology: https://www.youtube.com/@KinkellaTeachesArchaeology
The Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/pseudo
CRM Archaeology Podcast: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/crmarchpodcast
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
The Frontonasal Suture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontonasal_suture
Is carbon dating fake? Pseudo-Archaeology 180: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/pseudo/180
Ark of the Covenant in Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady_Mary_of_Zion#Ark_of_the_Covenant
The Oak Island Mystery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Island_mystery
The Kensington Runestone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Runestone
Moundbuilder Myths and Viking Runestones – Great Plains Archaeology Podcast 36: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/great-plains-archaeology/36
Holy Grail in America (2009): https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/223652-holy-grail-in-america
Is There Archaeological Evidence That The Knights Templar Came To America? Mysteries Unearthed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpbBxUrq230
Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorroah Destroyed: https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.19.NIV
1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath: https://www.bible.com/bible/111/1SA.17.NIV
Surovell et al. (2026) A mid-Holocene age for Monte Verde challenges the timeline of human colonization of South America: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw9217
Dog digs up possible link to notorious 19th-century Devon murder case: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/20/dog-19th-century-devon-murder-case-discovery
Under the Banner of Heaven (2022): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1998372/
Johnny Jerusalem’s sarcophagus in a Utah dump: https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/8lclrc/friend_found_this_in_a_dump_yardin_utah_btw/
...more
1h 11min
April 12, 2026 Episode 126: Luggage of the Gods (1983)
Luggage of the Gods (1983) is the surprisingly unproblematic story of a relict tribe of cave people living in the uncharted central part of America who are thrust into contact with the outside world when an airliner is forced to dump its passengers’ luggage while flying overhead. This is a low budget ‘80s caveman movie, so you know what that means: we’re playing Caveman Movie Bingo!
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch Luggage of the Gods (1983) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqujHn8_u8M
Play Caveman Movie Bingo: https://bingobaker.com/#681e1d01d32b436e
Oryctolagus cuniculus, the domestic rabbit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_rabbit
Piebald: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piebald
Vic Reeves singing in the style of a club singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2prE-DUyESY
Urki from Far Cry: Primal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HkrLuV6_Rs
The Gods Must be Crazy (1980): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080801/
Cargo Cults: https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/cargo-cults
QAnon as a New Religious Movement: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/what-the-study-of-new-religious-movements-can-tell-us-about-qanon/
...more
49min
March 29, 2026 Episode 125: Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) is a surreal documentary by Werner Hertzog offering viewers an unprecedented glimpse of Europe’s oldest Palaeolithic art inside France’s Chauvet Cave. As we step into the cave, we cross a threshold between present and past, waking and dreaming, fact and truth... sanity and insanity... A place where juggling archaeologists dream of lions, perfumers find caves by smell, and nuclear crocodiles draw closer every year.
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch Cave of Forgotten Dreams: https://watchdocumentaries.com/cave-of-forgotten-dreams/
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09968-y
Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4648
The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13621
Neanderthal hashtag: https://theconversation.com/is-that-rock-hashtag-really-the-first-evidence-of-neanderthal-art-31238
Mask of La Roche Cotard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mask_of_la_Roche-Cotard
Majkić et al. (2017) Sequential Incisions on a Cave Bear Bone from the Middle Paleolithic of Pešturina Cave, Serbia: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-017-9331-5
Life Drawing and the Chauvet Lions: https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.2677
The Crocodile Farm: https://www.lafermeauxcrocodiles.com/
Viminacium Archaeological Park: http://viminacium.org.rs/en/
Our review of The Lost City (2022): https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-64-the-lost-city-2022/
Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan Series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/43556-temperance-brennan
Hertzog explains “ecstatic truth” vs. “accountant’s truth”: https://www.indiewire.com/news/general/werner-herzog-fesses-up-to-the-fake-mutated-albino-crocodiles-in-cave-of-forgotten-dreams-118193/
Azéma and Rivère (2012) Animation in Paleolithic Art: https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.2094
Neanderthal perfume: https://neandertal.eu/
...more
1h 2min
March 15, 2026 Episode 124: Stone Age Advertising (Part 2)
We’re back with more caveman TV commercials! From deodorant to veganism to car insurance, it seems like prehistoric people have been exploited to sell everything. All this commercialism seems to be getting to us and this episode kinda devolves into an anti-capitalist rant. So go plant a garden, buy local, and eat the rich! (This is Part Two of a two-part episode)
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch our Caveman Advertisements playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzzOAyef3Dypl9g6GIFBv1_oLylmjpsku&si=ZNJvJD74X2jc-IYS
The Invention of Prehistory (2023) by Stefanos Geroulanos: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324091455
Vanished (2025) by Sadiah Qureshi: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309254/vanished-by-qureshi-sadiah/9780241352106
Electric Pow Wow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkUISUx3Low
Erich von Däniken dead at 90: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/obituaries/erich-von-daniken-dead.html
The Fortean Times: https://subscribe.forteantimes.com/
How to transition to reduced-meat diets: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208
Brassica flavour and genetics: https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2017.1353478
James Van Der Beek's Widow Kimberly and Their 6 Kids Are 'Out of Funds' After His Death, 'Facing Uncertain Future': https://people.com/james-van-der-beeks-widow-and-their-6-kids-are-out-of-funds-after-his-death-11904875
...more
51min
March 01, 2026 Episode 123: Stone Age Advertising (Part 1)
Today we’re exploring the crazy world of marketing – caveman style! We’re reviewing a compilation of television commercials featuring prehistoric people. McDonald’s, Budweiser, Doritos—if it’s modern and convenient, you can bet a caveman has tried to sell it. Why? I’m not sure, but I’m kinda craving some cheese products for some reason. (This is Part One of a two-part episode)
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch our Caveman Advertisements playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzzOAyef3Dypl9g6GIFBv1_oLylmjpsku&si=ZNJvJD74X2jc-IYS
Font-de-Gaume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Font-de-Gaume
Cotte de St. Brelade “mammoth drive”: https://eameigs.substack.com/p/revisiting-the-jersey-mammoth-drive
Zdeněk Burian Palaeoart: https://www.proistoria.org/paleolithic/upper-paleolithic/upper-paleolithic-by-zdenek-burian/
The Invention of Prehistory (2023) by Stefanos Geroulanos: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324091455
Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbreeding_between_archaic_and_modern_humans
Canadian dairy farmers react to changing market trends: https://canadiangrocer.com/dairy-farmers-pulls-print-ad-following-complaints
...more
53min
February 15, 2026 Episode 122: Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past (2019)
Today we’re exploring the world of the Boonie Bears, China’s biggest animation brand. In the sixth feature film, the bears Blast into the Past—30 thousand years, to be exact, to a time when dinosaur skeletons dotted the landscape and humans were at war with wolves... and giants pandas took their name literally, and rainbow terror birds defied the physics of flight, and cavemen punched lava bombs out of the air with their bare hands!
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vwcaf6aj90
Eucladoceros (the bush-antlered deer): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucladoceros
Homotherium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homotherium
Megacerops... or Brontops, or Brontotherium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megacerops
Phorusracids (terror birds): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorusrhacidae
Kumar et al. (2017) The evolutionary history of bears is characterized by gene flow across species: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46487
Wu et al. (2022) High-precision U-series dating of the late Pleistocene – early Holocene rock paintings at Tiger Leaping Gorge, Jinsha River valley, southwestern China: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105535
Fu et al. (2025) Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from dental calculus of the >146,000-year-old Harbin cranium: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.040
Callaway (2021) Oldest DNA from a Homo sapiens reveals surprisingly recent Neanderthal ancestry: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00916-0
...more
52min
February 01, 2026 Episode 121: Cavegirl (1985)
Today we’re reviewing Cavegirl (1985), a movie which Wikipedia misleadingly describes as a “sex comedy”. It tells the story of a teenage nerd (i.e., incel) who is accidentally thrown back in time due to some magic crystal/military helicopter shenanigans and meets a charming manic pixie cavegirl who nonetheless fails to instill in him any growth or character development whatsoever.
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch Cavegirl (1985) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3PZdKCzFDc
Watch Cavegirl: A Second Journey Back in Time (2013): https://vimeo.com/193203934
Play Caveman Movie Bingo: https://bingobaker.com#681e1d01d32b436e
Altamira cave paintings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Altamira
Homo erectus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_erectus
Shirley Temple – Animal Crackers in my Soup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNwFXLcrsbc
What is a “dude ranch”? https://www.clazyu.com/blog/working-dude-ranch/what-is-a-dude-ranch-a-brief-history/
Stacy Q – Two of Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfBdGT4dn4E
Michelle Bauer in Dinosaur Island (1994): https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000292/mediaviewer/rm3165827072/?ref_=nm_ov_ph
...more
46min
January 18, 2026 Episode 120: Korg: 70,000 B.C. (1974)
Today we’re reviewing Korg: 70,000 B.C. (1974), a children’s TV series about a Neanderthal family from Hanna-Barbera, creators of The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and more. Unlike those series, however, this one is live-action! Who knew? Anyway, we talk about a lot of academic papers about Neanderthals, because nothing happens in the episode we watched.
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this episode:
Watch Korg on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/korg-70-000-bc-s-1ep-01-the-blind-hunter-1974-low-480x-360/Korg+70%2C000+BC+-+S1ep01The+Blind+Hunter1974+%5BLow%2C+480x360%5D.mp4
Cave lions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera_spelaea
Caspian tigers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_tiger
Paleoloxodon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeoloxodon
Phylogenetic trees: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetic_tree
California woodpeckers: https://avibirds.com/woodpeckers-of-california/
UK woodpeckers: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/how-identify/identify-uk-woodpeckers
Shanidar 1: https://www.sci.news/othersciences/anthropology/paleoanthropology/shanidar-1-neanderthal-05355.html
Trinkaus et al. (2019) External auditory exostoses among western Eurasian late Middle and Late Pleistocene humans: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220464
Buzi et al. (2025) The first preserved nasal cavity in the human fossil record: The Neanderthal from Altamura: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426309122
Márquez (2008) The paranasal sinuses: The last frontier in craniofacial biology: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.20791
The Invention of Prehistory (2024) by Stefanos Geroulanos: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324091455
...more
50min
January 04, 2026 Episode 119: The Rap Guide to Evolution (2009)
To kick off the New Year, we’re reviewing The Rap Guide to Evolution, a music album by Baba Brinkman which is... pretty self-explanatory, really. So here’s an hour and 15 minutes of us explaining it! We get into evolutionary psychology, 2000s-era edgelord atheism, postmodernism, genital evolution, and much more!
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this Episode:
Watch The Rap Guide to Evolution on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROgR3nK6ayk&list=PLuHbMGCLLUYZ0pq_mN093hqzn_28SvpVS
Ambulocetus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambulocetus
Gol’din and Radović (2018) A Middle Miocene baleen whale from Bele Vode in Belgrade, Serbia: https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/9751
Marković et al. (2025) First dinosaur remains from Serbia: Sauropod and theropod material from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Osmakovo: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106177
Recapitulation theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recapitulation_theory
Out of Africa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Africa
Jebel Irhoud: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22335
Apidima: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1376-z
Social constructivism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructivism
Tim Minchin - Storm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U
Science communication and science denial: https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/busting-myths-a-practical-guide-to-countering-science-denial/
Grizzly bear attacks school children in Canada: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz68x1n5qd6o
Evolutionary Psychology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_psychology
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo
Pig domestication: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-domestication-of-pigs-170665
Ape testicle size: https://theconversation.com/why-did-humans-evolve-big-penises-but-small-testicles-71652
James Watson dead at 97: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/watson-james-obituary-9.6971457
...more
1h 16min
December 21, 2025 Episode 118: Cavemen S01E09 Caveman Holiday (2007)
Happy Longnight! Today is the December Solstice, and to celebrate we’re reviewing a very special holiday episode of 2007 sitcom Cavemen, based on the popular Geico insurance commercials. Everyone is invited, whether we like them or not, so grab a slice of forager’s pie and a glass of Beef Fizz and settle in to listen to your favourite palaeo researchers trying to explain basic astronomy. To the cow!
Get in touch with us!
Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social
Facebook: @SotSAPodcast
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/
Website: https://screensofthestoneage.com
Email: [email protected]
ArchPodNet:
APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
Merch Store: https://archpodnet.com/shop
In this Episode:
Watch Cavemen S01E09 Caveman Holiday on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqtbPiIMQ2g&list=PL81C5835E560AE6BE&index=26
Listen to our review of Cavemen S01E01: https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-78-cavemen-s01e01-her-embarrassed-of-caveman-2007/
Neanderthal diet: https://www.sapiens.org/biology/neanderthal-diet/
Weyrich et al. (2017). Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674
Richards and Trinkaus (2009). Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0903821106
Beasley et al. (2025). Neanderthals, hypercarnivores, and maggots: Insights from stable nitrogen isotopes: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7466
Fellows Yates et al. (2021). The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021655118
Adler et al. (2017). Evolution of the Oral Microbiome and Dental Caries: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40496-017-0151-1
Phytoliths: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytolith
Chinique de Armas et al. (2015). Starch analysis and isotopic evidence of consumption of cultigens among fisher–gatherers in Cuba: the archaeological site of Canímar Abajo, Matanzas: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.03.003
Solstice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice
Analemma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma
Crazy Ancient Greek planet math: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferent_and_epicycle
The Antikythera Mechanism – Pseudoarchaeology Podcast: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/pseudo/96
Beef fizz: https://vinepair.com/articles/beef-fizz-drink-history/
...more
55min

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