The Dirt Podcast

By The Dirt Podcast

Join Anna and Amber; friends, archaeologists, and big nerds, for an exploration of the lives of people in the past.... more

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How many episodes does The Dirt Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 325 episodes available.

The Dirt Podcast episodes:

December 14, 2020Mausoleum? I hardly know 'em! - Ep 119
This week, Amber and Anna delve into the massive site of the first Chinese Emperor's burial complex. Were there flowing rivers of mercury? Maybe. Are there thousands of terra cotta soldiers? Definitely. Do we understand how metal detectors work? Kind of! Plus, some thumb-related Art Crime, and Anna finally apologizes for attributing Hey Ya to Snoop Dogg when it is absolutely by Outkast. How embarrassing. WARNING: Episode contains spoilers for Waiting for Godot.
Links
Who was the Chinese emperor behind the terra-cotta warriors? (National Geographic)
The Mercury Rivers of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Skeptoid)
Flowing rivers of mercury (Chemistry World)
Mercury and health (World Health Organization)
Making the Warrior: The Qin Terracotta Soldiers in Age of Empires (The Met)
Chinese terra cotta warriors had real, and very carefully made, weapons (Washington Post)
What You Need to Know About the Terra-Cotta Warrior's Stolen Thumb (National Geographic)
The army that conquered the world (BBC Culture)
The Secret Tomb of China's 1st Emperor: Will We Ever See Inside? (LiveScience)
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (UNESCO)
Surface chromium on Terracotta Army bronze weapons is neither an ancient anti-rust treatment nor the reason for their good preservation (Nature)
Archaeologists Excavate 200 More Chinese Terracotta Warriors (Smithsonian)
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1h 12min
December 07, 2020BMAC: The Best Bronze Age Complex You've Never Heard Of - Ep 118
This week, Anna and Amber head to ancient Central Asia for a sponsored episode in which they explore the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Come along and learn why there’s BMAC stuff all over the place! Visit Gonur and the man that wants to be buried in its deserts! Consider the who and the why of the BMAC and its collapse (psst it wasn’t a collapse)! Meet some Horse Guys!
Links
Bactria (Encyclopedia Iranica)
Margiana (Livius)
Archaeology Wordsmith
Central and North Asia, 2000–1000 B.C. (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History)
Art of the Bronze Age: Southeastern Iran, Western Central Asia, and the Indus Valley (via Google Books)
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex objects in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection
On the Origin of Metallurgical Technologies in the Bronze Age (Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics)
The Middle Asian Interaction Sphere (Expedition)
Central Asia's Lost Civilization (Discover)
The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and The Indus Civilization (Oxford University Press)
Early evidence for horse utilization in the Eurasian steppes and the case of the Novoil’inovskiy 2 Cemetery in Kazakhstan (Journal of Archaeological Science)
What Language Was Spoken by the People of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex? (“At the Shores of the Sky": Asian Studies for Albert Hoffstädt)
The Formation of Human Populations in South and Central Asia (Science)
Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of the Oxus Civilization in Southern Central Asia (Socio-Environmental Dynamics along the Historical Silk Road)
Contact
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1h 19min
November 30, 2020Fish People - Ep 117
This week, Anna and Amber bring you the result of episode planning by two hosts who have had a VERY long year and who refuse to back down from a dumb joke. We're talking Mersons of Interest, aquatic apes, men who wear fish, and more! Make sure to listen through the end for...what can only be described as a musical masterpiece.
Links
Are mermaids real? (NOAA National Ocean Service)
Did Human Evolution Include a Semi-Aquatic Phase? (The Scientist [not the Coldplay song])
The African ape-like foot of Ardipithecus ramidus and its implications for the origin of bipedalism (Elife)
The Neanderthal Ear—Prone to Irritating Infections (Sapiens)
Fantastically Wrong: The Murderous, Sometimes Sexy History of the Mermaid (Wired)
An Archaeological Puzzle on the Danube (The New York Times)
Lepenski Vir (Atlas Obscura)
The genomic history of southeastern Europe (Nature)
The Ichthyophagi: Fishing for Monstrosity in Alexander Romances (EsoterX)
Olaus Magnus (Strange Science)
Olaus Magnus, A Description of the Northern Peoples, 1555: Volume III, Volume 3 (via Google Books)
The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art (via Google Books)
Neo-Assyrian fish-apkallu wall panel relief (British Museum)
Neo-Assyrian apkallu figurine (British Museum)
Berossus on the Creation (Livius)
Oannes: The Best Evidence for Ancient Aliens? (Jason Colavito)
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1h 5min
November 23, 2020Thanksviking II: The Vikinging - Ep 116
Anna and Amber embark once again into the Viking Age, this time with the help of Neil Price's excellent book Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings. Come learn about the origins of Ragnarok, Viking sorcery, and more!
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55min
November 16, 2020Ellora Caves - Ep 115
This week, Anna and Amber engage in some light speleology to give you a glimpse of the Ellora Caves--a shared Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sacred site in India. What makes a place feel sacred and special, and why are so many caves viewed as sacred places around the world and throughout time? Plus, Amber's review of Werner Herzog's opus In the Cave of Forgotten Dreams. We are all crocodiles looking back into the abyss of time, friends.
Links
Ellora Caves (UNESCO World Heritage Sites)
Vignettes of Ajanta & Ellora (Google Arts and Culture)
Ellora Cave Temples
Ellora Caves (Atlas Obscura)
Hinduism Primer
Buddhist Caves - Ellora (Lonely Planet)
Hindu Caves (Lonely Planet)
Jaina Caves at Ellora (Sahapedia)
Jain Caves (Lonely Planet)
The Sacred Cave (Sweet Briar College)
Sacred Caves of the World: Illuminating the Darkness (The Changing World Religion Map)
Mayan Caves: Places of Sacred Rituals (National Geographic)
Virtual Visit - La Grotte Chauvet
Visit the Cave - Lascaux
10 sacred caves around the world (National Geographic)
The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent (via WorldCat)
Royal Patronage and Religious Tolerance: The Formative Period of Gupta—Vākāṭaka Culture (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society)
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1h 21min
November 09, 2020We Bet You'll Enjoy This Episode - Ep 114
This week, Anna and Amber have dealt you an excellent hand of examples of gambling, and the archaeology and anthropology thereof! Listeners, we hope you'll bear with us on this episode. We recorded on day three of the 2020 electoral vote counts, and we've both lost our minds. Come along on this ride with us as we explore what evidence we have for gambling in the archaeological record, and what we can learn from the types of games people play.
Links
Gambling (Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology)
There’s no such thing as a natural-born gambler (The Conversation)
Gambling Across Cultures: Mapping Worldwide Occurrence and Learning from Ethnographic Comparison (International Gambling Studies)
Per Binde - On Gambling
Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight (The Interpretation of Cultures)
When The Gambler Came To Chaco (American Archaeology)
Sociopolitical, Ceremonial, and Economic Aspects of Gambling in Ancient North America: A Case Study of Chaco Canyon (American Antiquity)
Visitors to Northern Australia: Debating the History of Indigenous Gambling (International Gambling Studies, via ResearchGate)
Macassan History and Heritage (Australian National University)
Where to gamble on the medieval Adriatic? (Medievalists.net)
Queen Elizabeth I Held England’s First Official Lottery 450 Years Ago (Smithsonian)
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (New Yorker)
Gaming among Enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and its uses in Navigating Social Interactions (W&M ScholarWorks)
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1h 19min
November 02, 2020Neanderthalk with "Kindred" Author Dr. Rebecca Wragg Sykes - Ep 113
Anna and Amber sit down with Dr. Rebecca Wragg Sykes, Paleolithic archaeologist and author of the book "Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art." We talk about Rebecca's education and her love for all things ancient, and she resolves some common misconceptions about our Neanderthal cousins. "Kindred" just came out in the States, so pick up a copy of your very own for an amazing synthesis of current Neanderthal knowledge.
Links
Neanderthals Among Mammoths: Excavations at Lynford Quarry, Norfolk (via Archaeology Data Service)
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (European Commission)
Trowelblazers
Rebecca Wragg Sykes
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1h 9min
October 26, 2020Spooktober: Buried Alive?!?!?! - Ep 112
For the final spooky episode of 2020, Amber and Anna take on the extremely frightening topic of live burials. We discuss the forensic evidence that indicates that a person might have been buried alive, talk about some archaeological contexts for live burials, and cover some real and probably-not-so-real accounts from history. This one's got some real ups and downs, so buckle up.
Links
The Live Burial: A multidisciplinary approach to the identification and exploration of live burials (via Academia.edu) (CN: graphic images of human remains)
The Bride escaping live burial in Kill Bill Vol 2 (YouTube)
Casts of Pompeii (Archaeology)
Plaster Citizens of Pompeii (Atlas Obscura)
Volcanic Ash (National Geographic)
EarthWord – Nuée Ardente (USGS)
Mount Vesuvius Boiled Its Victims’ Blood and Caused Their Skulls to Explode (Smithsonian) (CN: images of human remains)
Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines:Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice (BioMed Research International, via ResearchGate) (CN: images of human remains)
Violence in pre-Columbian Panama exaggerated, new study shows (Phys.org) (CN: images of human remains)
The History of Ancient Nubia (Oriental Institute)
Retainer Sacrifice in Egypt and in Nubia (The Strange World of Human Sacrifice)
Buried but Alive? Interpreting Post-depositional Bone Movement, Anxieties over Death and Premature Burial (Lund Archaeological Review)
Four People Who Were Buried Alive and How They Got Out (MentalFloss)
PICS: Remember the Mansfield man buried alive for five months (Chad.co.uk)
Esmeralda Lundius Staff Bio (Durham University)
The 'Pompeii' of the Western Front: Archaeologists find the bodies of 21 tragic World War One German soldiers in perfectly preserved trenches where they were buried alive by an Allied shell (Daily Mail)
Contact
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1h 7min
October 19, 2020Spooktober: It's A Whole Ordeal - Ep 111
Sure, maybe you've heard of the River Ordeal, or trial by fire, but have you heard of Trial by Bean? How about the Ordeal of the Turf? In this Spooktober installment, Amber walks Anna through the ways that those accused of crimes have proven their innocence (or not!) throughout history and all over the world.
Links
Why the trial by ordeal was actually an effective test of guilt (Aeon.com)
The Laws of King Athelstan 924-939 A.D. (Internet History Sourcebooks)
Trial by ordeal: When fire and water determined guilt (BBC News)
River Ordeal—Trial by Water—Swimming of Witches: Procedures of Ordeal in Witch Trials (Witchcraft Mythologies and Persecutions, via Academia.edu)
The Law of Hammurabi and Its Audience (Yale Journal of Law & The Humanities)
The Code of Hammurabi (Yale University Avalon Project)
Poisonous plants: Calabar beans were used to determine guilt in prehistoric trials. (Slate.com)
The State and Pre-Colonial Demographic History: The Case of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar (The Journal of African History)
Cerbera manghas (Wikipedia)
Ātash (Encyclopedia Iranica)
Ordeal in Iceland (Scandinavian Studies)
Common superstition, swearing of oath and ordeal of Koren (The Sangai Express)
Sassywood (Journal of Comparative Economics)
Historical Techniques of Lie Detection (European Journal of Psychology)
Bisha’a (Wikipedia)
Ordeal of the bitter water (Wikipedia)
Contact
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1h 5min
October 12, 2020Spooktober: They Built It On a Haunted Burial Ground - Ep 110
For decades, American horror has been haunted by the specter of the "Indian Burial Ground." This week, we look at the roots of the phenomenon, the history behind some of the most famous instances, and Indigenous responses to the trope. Plus, Amber serves the worst Maine accent while trying to explain the plot of Pet Sematary, and bullies you all into checking out her Book Club recs.
Links
Why Every Horror Film of the 1980s Was Built On ‘Indian Burial Grounds’ (Atlas Obscura)
The Indian Burying Ground (Poetry Foundation)
The Suburban Horror of the Indian Burial Ground (The National Review)
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places (via WorldCat)
‘Winchester’ Continues Hollywood’s Tradition of Mining Native American Suffering for Ghost Stories (Wear Your Voice Magazine)
Bury My Guilt in an Indian Burial Ground (Medium)
Horror Older Than America: Whitewashing Native Tales For A Mass-Market Audience (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
This Essay Was Not Built On an Ancient Indian Burial Ground (Off Screen)
Twisting Conventions: A Feminist Indigenous Perspective on the Horror Genre (Off Screen)
Jeff Barnaby on Blood Quantum and colonialist zombies (Seventh Row)
Podcast Ep. 39: Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls & Blood Quantum (Seventh Row)
Blood Quantum (2020) Official Red Band Trailer HD (via YouTube)
Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native Americans in Film (via WorldCat)
Contact
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55min

FAQs about The Dirt Podcast:

How many episodes does The Dirt Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 325 episodes available.