Today, Dr. Ammie Kalan (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) talks about her research on chimpanzee acoustic communication, conservation and culture.

What drove Ammie to pursue animal research and conservation in the very beginning? How variable is chimpanzee communication? Is there also cultural variation Ammie has seen out in the field? How has technology advanced the science of primatological behavior studies? What anthropogenic challenges are facing great apes in the wild right now, and how does Ammie think people can help?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

You can find Ammie on Twitter and read more about the panAFRICAproject. She can also be contacted through the citizen science project called Chimp&See (you can also watch videos of the animals on there). Finally, she recommends people visit the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation website too, to found out more about how to support western African chimpanzee conservation.

Michael can be found on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

On this episode, Dr. Sofía Chacaltana-Cortez (Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya) shares with the listeners her work on Andean archaeology, and imperial influences on pre-Hispanic and Hispanic communities of the past.

What were local communities doing outside Inca centers of power and how variable were ancient relationships between people and the environment around them? How do Sofía and her colleagues recognize the gender dynamics of ancient Andean societies more comprehensively? How old do Peru's water governance systems date back to and what sociopolitical factors played important roles in pre-Hispanic water distribution?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you want to get in touch with Sofía to share questions or thoughts, you can e-mail her or find her on Academia.edu.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

Today, Andrew Arsenault (Western University) talks about his research that analyzes 3D reconstructions of Egyptian mummies based on their CT scans in order to learn what influence social stratification had on the variability of mummification practices.

In ancient Egypt, mummification was a common practice—a well-known fact especially concerning the pharaohs and ruling classes. However, Andrew wants to study the non-elite individuals who had different resources they could access, but still engaged in mummification as well. We talk about how the radiological mummy database that's been uploaded in recent years has helped him compare CT data with information gathered from historical accounts. More broadly, we talk about how interesting social and biological questions can studied in the context of non-elite mummification variability.

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you want to get in touch with Andrew to share questions or thoughts, you can e-mail him or contact him through Instagram.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

In this episode, Megan Lewis (Digital Hammurabi) talks about ancient Mesopotamia and the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures and languages that dominated some of the earliest written history of the Near East region.

Megan talks about her journey towards becoming both an Assyriologist and digital communicator of ancient history. We speak about cuneiform, the interesting script used at the time by imprinting thin lines and wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets using reed styluses. Megan's dissertation research concerns royal inscriptions in particular, and the record they've left behind of past events of importance such as the building and renovation projects of Mesopotamian kings.

In 2019, Megan and her husband Josh have concentrated on doing lots of online outreach about the ancient Near East with their multimedia project Digital Hammurabi.

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you want to get in touch with Megan to share questions or thoughts, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram. More information on Digital Hammurabi can be found on their website and YouTube channel.

Megan and her husband Josh are also organizing the H.A.P.S. Scholarship, which you can read about and consider supporting on the scholarship information page as well.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

For today's Wednesday edition of the podcast, Mark Dolan (University of Southampton) talks all about the terracotta boat models built by ancient Cypriots.

What are the different forms these clay boat models appear in and are there similar items found in other archaeological contexts? Could they have been reflective of maritime culture at the time, are they funerary objects, or symbolic of something else? Is it even possible for material culture archaeologists to say something about why non-functional objects were made in the past?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions for Mark, you can find him on Twitter.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram too.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

Today, Sivanesan Vijaya Mohan (Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur) talks about nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), otherwise known as 'nose cancer', and the methods he and his colleagues are using to come up with novel and non-invasive ways of detecting nose cancer in the earlier stages of cancer development.

While the sinuses, nasal cavity and throat are normally functioning in humans to allow air to enter the lungs, nose cancers are essentially abnormal growths that can obstruct breathing, and even affect brain function and eyesight if very severe. Most techniques to detect NPCs involve expensive equipment or intrusive techniques that may be uncomfortable for patients, so it is through a technique called 'nasal washing' that Siva tries to understand whether there are biomarkers that are traceable through cheaper, more accessible means.

We also talk about the public health and environmental situation in Malaysia, and what factors in Malaysian settings can increase the risk of nose cancer and negative effects of the related Epstein-Barr virus.

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions for Siva, he is contactable via Twitter and Instagram.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram too.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

In this episode, Benedict Rodbourne (Forensics Connect) shares with us his work in forensic archaeology, search and recovery, and disasters victim identification (DVI).

How can forensic science be applied in, and useful for, police casework and human rights investigation? Who are the different experts that can make up a forensics team? What preparation does Ben make between receiving a notice of deployment and arriving on site? What is the logistical and emotional experience of doing this line of work, and how do forensic practitioners handle challenges of the job?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions for Ben, you can find him on Twitter. You can also read more about Forensics Connect on the company website.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

On this installment of the Arch and Anth Podcast, Christopher Kendall (University of Toronto) speaks about human evolutionary genetics and what ancient DNA studies can reveal about past hybridization in people, extinct hominins and our closest primate family.

What does DNA sampling from human remains involve? What is 'hybridization' and why are baboons and mandrills interesting non-human primates to study when it comes to questions about genetic hybridization? When did people first enter the Americas, and what happened to human groups after this initial crossing of the Beringia region? What environmental and climatic conditions allow for the best preservation of prehistoric genetic material?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions, you can e-mail the podcast e-mail address and these will be forward to Chris.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

In this episode, Dr. Adam Van Arsdale (Wellesley College) gives us an overview of his duties as an Associate Professor and some of his paleoanthropoological research to date.

Adam has excavated and analyzed fossil material from the Lower Palaeolithic site of Dmanisi, Georgia. Here, we have some of the earliest fossil hominins outside of the African continent, daying to approximately 1.8 million years ago. Currently, Adam is also engaged in preliminary investigations of the steppic environment and previous demographic structure of hominin populations in South-Central Kazakhstan.

Adam is also a big advocate for integrative and interdisciplinary anthropology, as well as science communication. Increasingly, ancient DNA evidence, fossil finds and archaeological material are giving anthropologists a complex understanding of the human past and concepts such as ancestry, race and human evolution.

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions for Adam, you can find him on Twitter and read his blog The Pleistocene Scene.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram too.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.

In this episode, Dr. Matthew May (Oakland University) talks about his sociological research that focuses on how religion, health, work and family life intersect with each other.

How do sociologists and social scientists use survey data to give a better understanding of the role of religion in today's society? How does participation in, or doubts surrounding, organized religion influence people's wellbeing, sense of happiness or negative mental health outcomes? Does whether you practice religion affect how people feel concerning their gender roles in work and family life? Do current affairs and recent news inspire sociologists in their development of research questions?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

If you have feedback or questions for Matt, you can find him on Twitter. You can also find more about Matt's work on his professional website.

You can find Michael on Twitter and Instagram too.

The Arch and Anth Podcast is on Twitter and Instagram, and it has a Facebook page.

If you liked this episode and you want to help contribute to the show, please visit the Patreon page for details on how to do that.