In this episode, the team discusses a new paper on why Clovis hunter/gatherers selected certain types of stone for their points and blades. Then the team welcomes archaeologist Scott Ashcraft to discuss his complex federal whistleblower case against the U.S. Forest Service.

Scott Ashcraft attended Western Carolina University, earning a degree in Physical Geography. In the summer of 1989, he was hired for a major archaeological excavation ahead of the construction of a new elementary school within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Qualla Boundary.

After graduating from WCU in 1990, Ashcraft immediately enrolled in a University of North Carolina-Charlotte field school at a large WNC Mississippian site. Over the next three years, Ashcraft worked on a variety of archaeological contract projects from Mobile, AL, to New York City. During occasional work breaks, he returned to Asheville, NC, to assist Dr. David Moore with large salvage excavations at Mississippian town sites across western North Carolina.

In 1993, Ashcraft was hired by the USFS (NFsNC), beginning a 32-year CRM career that eventually broadened to include complementary research and investigative interests. In 1994, Ashcraft founded the North Carolina Rock Art Project, eventually increasing the state's recorded petroglyph and pictograph sites from seven to more than 120. He also advanced major rock art conservation efforts, including Judaculla Rock—the most densely carved petroglyph in the eastern U.S.—and Paint Rock, among the region's oldest pictograph sites.

Another primary career passion for Ashcraft was Wildfire Archaeology, a specialized field he helped pioneer by integrating archaeologists into active wildfire operations to assess and protect important cultural resources. This position required intensive firefighter training and physical conditioning so that archaeologists could play an active role in protecting significant sites during the often chaotic initial attack phase of fire conditions. As the specialty matured, Ashcraft was invited to co-instruct the National Interagency Fire Archaeology Course over several years.

Working closely with Tribal partners—especially the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians—was among the most meaningful aspects of his later career, including many collaborative projects important to the Cherokee.

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Why did Clovis toolmakers choose difficult quartz crystal?

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In this episode, the team talks with Jason Pentrail about his new two-volume set, Adena: Moundbuilders of the Ohio Valley. The books are available in hardcover and eBook formats through Amazon.com.

Adena: Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley is a richly detailed, accessible exploration of one of North America's earliest mound-building societies. Drawing on archaeology, early surveys, and modern research, these books trace the rise of the Adena people from scattered Woodland communities into a tradition defined by monumental earthworks, long-distance exchange networks, and complex ceremonial life.

Readers are guided through the construction and meaning of conical burial mounds, sacred circles, and ritual landscapes that still mark the hills and river valleys of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and eastern Indiana. The book examines Adena lifeways—craftsmanship, mortuary practices, belief systems, and social organization—while carefully separating evidence from long-standing myths and outdated interpretations.

Special attention is given to the transition from Adena to Hopewell traditions, showing how ideas evolved rather than vanished. Case studies of well-known and lesser-known sites bring the past into sharp focus, revealing what these ancient earthworks tell us about memory, power, and community.

Written for both general readers and serious enthusiasts, Adena Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley offers a grounded, respectful portrait of a culture whose legacy still shapes the American cultural landscape.

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ADENA: Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley

In this episode, the team reunites to discuss news from the world of archaeology, including Pre-dynastic Egyptian drilling technology and the discovery of cordage from the end of the last Ice Age in Oregon. The team is then joined by Dr. Michael Waters to discuss the 2026 PaleoAmerican Odyssey Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with several other incredible archaeological subjects.

Dr. Michael Waters is the Director of the Center for the Study of First Americans and the Executive Director of the North Star Archaeological Research Program. He is known for his expertise in First American studies and geoarchaeology. Dr. Waters has conducted archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations in the United States, Mexico, Russia, Jamaica, and Yemen. His current research projects include the investigation of the Debra L. Friedkin site and Hall's Cave, Texas, as well as a continental-scale project to radiocarbon date Late Pleistocene megafauna to determine the timing and tempo of extinctions and the role of humans in the demise of these animals. He has authored and co-authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and books, and is the author of Principles of Geoarchaeology: A North American Perspective. In 2017, Dr. Waters was named a Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor, and in 2023, he was named a Texas A&M University System Regents Professor.

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5,300-Year-Old Pre-Dynastic Drilling Artifact

12,000-Year-Old Discovery of Cordage From Oregon Cave

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In this episode, Micah and Jason discuss the latest stories from the world of archaeology. New discoveries from Turkey's Karahantepe, followed by a toxic surprise in a 2000-year-old Scythian tomb, and finally a new enigmatic discovery from Crete. The team is then joined by archaeological content creator Paul Lee from the popular Facebook and TikTok channels, "The Bluff Dweller."

Paul Lee, creator of "The Bluff Dweller" on TikTok and Facebook, is a North Central Arkansas resident and dedicated advocate for Native American heritage. With a degree from the University of Arkansas, he works in the nonprofit sector while educating others on Native sites and artifacts through his respectful collection. He collaborates with the Chickamauga Nation—alongside Medal Chief Justin Flanagan, Antler Chief Jimmy Kersh, and archaeologist Dr. David Jurney—to document ancestral villages, burials, and sacred sites. This effort intensified after the 2024 proposal for a 3,000-bed state prison in Franklin County, Arkansas, which is on ancestral ground. His platform has also partnered with the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas, on video content.

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In this episode, the conversation begins with news of a significant archaeological announcement from Egypt, believed to be associated with new findings in the Great Pyramid of Giza. Next, they discuss new findings about the Silk Road that help better understand the many unknown cities related to this essential early trade route. The team then welcomes Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton and Professor Emeritus Robert Kelly, University of Wyoming, to discuss the details of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

Spencer Pelton became the Wyoming State Archaeologist in November 2019. Spencer has maintained a varied career in government, private, and academic sectors, working in Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, and the Khovsgol Province of northern Mongolia. As a faculty member of the University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology, Spencer places an emphasis on training well-rounded students with a diverse set of knowledge and skills, offering educational opportunities in Plains and Rocky Mountain prehistory, global human dispersal, cultural resource management, archaeological excavation, and evolutionary perspectives in anthropology.

Robert L. Kelly is professor emeritus and past department head of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, director of the Frison Institute, president of the Society for American Archaeology, and secretary of the Archaeology Division of the American Anthropological Association. He has authored over 100 articles, reviews, and books, including two archaeology textbooks and The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers (Cambridge University Press, 2013). He specializes in the ethnology and archaeology of hunter-gatherers. Since 1973, he has conducted research throughout the western U.S. and Madagascar, and he has lectured in Europe, Asia, and South America. Kelly currently researches caves and high altitude adaptations in Wyoming, as well as the archaeology of ice patches in Glacier National Park.

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In this episode, the team begins by discussing the fossil skull of a million-year-old human ancestor discovered in China, which may rewrite the timeline of human origins. Next, they discuss a 5000-year-old Spanish tomb that reveals ancient southwestern Europe's trade and travel routes. The team is then joined by Olive Talley, the director, producer, and writer of the new documentary film The Stones Are Speaking, which chronicles the discoveries at the famous Gault Archaeological Site in Texas.

Olive Talley is an award-winning producer, writer, and journalist with a career that spans documentary filmmaking, network television, and news reporting for newspapers, an international wire service, and radio stations in Texas. Her first feature-length film, ALL RISE For the Good of the Children, premiered at the 2019 USA Film Festival in Dallas and was nominated for a Lone Star Emmy. Olive's work in New York as a producer at Dateline NBC and ABC's Prime Time Live! The news magazine shows won two Emmy nominations, a National Headliner Award for Outstanding Network Documentary, a DuPont Columbia Award for Hurricane Katrina team coverage, and a CINE Golden Eagle Award. Her investigative reporting in radio and newspapers earned dozens of state and national awards, most notably a citation as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a George Polk Award, and two Texas Headliner Awards. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Olive also attended Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship. She lives in Dallas.

News Link: Million-Year-Old Skull

News Link: 5000-Year-Old Spanish Tomb

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In this episode, the Seven Ages team begins the conversation with news concerning the discovery of the Petralona skull in a cave complex in Greece. The team is then joined by returning guest James Chatters to discuss the Hoyo Negro site in Quintana Roo, Mexico. This enigmatic submerged site not only holds the remains of several new species of ground sloth but also the remains of a young girl named "Naia", the oldest (13,000 BP) complete human remains in the western hemisphere.

Dr. James Chatters earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Washington in 1982. He is an archaeologist and paleontologist who has discovered and investigated many of North America's earliest human skeletons. Best known for the 1996 discovery of Kennewick Man and ongoing work at the Hoyo Negro Site in the Yucatan of Mexico, he has also done extensive work in hunter-gatherer prehistory in the western US, macroevolutionary theory, palynology, and late Pleistocene mammals, most notably ground sloths.

Image Credit: Paul Nicklen / Hoyo Negro Project

News Link: Petralona Skull

Music in this Episode: Scott Buckley - Sanctum

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In this episode, Micah and Jason begin the conversation with news of a recent study published in Nature concerning the oldest and most complete sequenced Egyptian genome. Next, the conversation turns to the recent southeastern meteor strike over Georgia and South Carolina. The team is then joined by Megan A. of the Town Creek Mound in North Carolina to discuss this unique and well-preserved Mississippian site.

Town Creek Indian Mound is an unusual phenomenon in the history of North American archaeology. While most archaeological sites are investigated for a few years before archaeologists move on to new locations, Town Creek, situated on Little River (a tributary of the Great Pee Dee in central North Carolina), has been the focus of a consistent program of archaeological research for more than half a century. This research has contributed to scientific understanding of the original inhabitants of our continent and has provided educational opportunities for many graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology. Moreover, these contributions to science and higher education were made as the site contributed directly to public education.

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In this episode, the team begins with news from Colossal Biosciences concerning the de-extinction of the Dire Wolf. We are then joined by Dr. Morgan Smith for an in-depth discussion about Florida's Ryan-Harley site. This unique Suwannee site offers clues to some of the lesser-known Paleoindian technocomplexes, cultures, and habits.

Dr. Morgan Smith received his PhD in Anthropology from Texas A&M University, where he studied in the Center for the Study of the First Americans. Prior to this, he worked for the Southeast Archaeological Center of the National Park Service. He has over a decade of experience in underwater and terrestrial archaeology. His contributions to underwater archaeology include efforts to develop methods and models to more accurately and reliably locate underwater prehistoric sites, emphasizing mobile forager societies. He has conducted archaeological and anthropological research throughout the southeast and in Missouri, Texas, Nevada, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

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In this episode, Micah and Jason start the discussion with news from Egypt involving the alluring scents associated with mummified remains. The discussion then turns to news from White Sands, New Mexico. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of ancient transport technology in the Americas, suggesting that early North Americans used travois-like sleds for transport nearly 22,000 years ago. The team is then joined by Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton to discuss the latest discoveries from the La Prele, Wyoming Mammoth kill site.

Spencer Pelton is the Wyoming State Archaeologist and an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming. Spencer has maintained a varied career in federal and state government, private, and academic sectors, working in Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming during his 17-year career. He maintains research interests in the peopling of the Americas, but his field projects are increasingly focused on the latest prehistory and earliest history of the Wyoming High Plains and the Rocky Mountains. In addition to his academic and field research, Spencer is interested in the politics of heritage preservation and writes about that topic extensively in his Substack newsletter, Social Stigma.

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Early Paleoindian use of canids, felids, and hares for bone needle production at the La Prele site, Wyoming, USA

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