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The Dirt Podcast
The Dirt Podcast episodes
- Handing It Over to Spooktober - Ep 109
Amber eases Anna into Spooktober with some archaeological accounts of hands in... unexpected places.
Links
- The Second Intermediate Period: The Hyksos (slide show, via Brown University)
- Severed Hands Discovered in Ancient Egypt Palace (LiveScience)
- Stone Age Horror! Pit Filled with Severed Limbs Uncovered (LiveScience)
- A farewell to arms: a deposit of human limbs and bodies at Bergheim, France, c. 4000 BC (Antiquity)
- Hand of Glory (Whitby Museum)
- Strange stone age skull-hands burial in Brazil has anthropologists stumped (News.com.au)
- The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil) (PLOSOne)
- Ancient Roman ‘hand of god’ discovered near Hadrian’s Wall sheds light on biggest combat operation ever in UK (The Independent)
- Archaeologists Make Rare, Gruesome Find in Portugal (MentalFloss)
- Canadian researchers say they can explain these imprints of disfigured human hands (National Post)
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
52 min - Warding Off Evil - Ep 108
This week, Anna and Amber get ready for the spooky season by talking about some of the ways that people in various cultures have protected themselves from bad luck, ill will, and evil. Load up on garlic, toss some salt over your shoulder, and join us!
Links
- The strange power of the ‘evil eye’ (BBC Culture)
- The Evil Eye: An Account of this Ancient & Widespread Superstition (via WorldCat)
- Apotropaic Plants in the Persian Folk Culture (Iran & The Caucasus)
- 21 Food Superstitions You Should Really Know About (Bon Appetit, oof)
- Indigenous People Want Brands To Stop Selling Sage And Smudge Kits (HuffPost)
- Native Americans Troubled By The Appropriation And Commoditization Of Smudging (Beauty Independent)
- American Indian Religious Freedom Act (NOAA)
- Burning Sage May Not Be Cultural Appropriation — But It Isn’t Very Sensitive, Either (Bustle)
- Prayers, Amulets, and Charms: Health and Social Control (African Studies Review)
- Folk Figures (Western Folklore)
- Spheres of Influence: The Magical History of the Witch Ball (Inner Lives)
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
51 min - A Very Brief Intro to Ancient Egyptian Archaeology - Ep 107
This week, Amber and Anna bring you three of the best-known archaeological sites from Ancient Egypt. These sites tell us a whole lot about life in the past--not just for the pharaohs and the elites, but the workers who built them. We also dip our toes into Ancient Egyptian cosmology and zip through the dynastic timeline!
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast; [email protected]
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
1 hr 5 min - Linguistics and Endangered Languages with Dr. Chris Donlay - Ep 106
Anna and Amber finally get some much-needed linguistics help from Dr. Chris Donlay. We talk about his unconventional academic path and his work recording and studying endangered languages! Plus, he schools us on how language shapes our perception of the world, how old spoken language *might* be, and what to do with a linguistics degree.
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
1 hr 12 min - Building a Better Researcher, Part 2, with Tasha Bergson-Michelson - Ep 105b
The second half of Anna and Amber's conversation with librarian and research guru Tasha Bergson-Michelson. This week, we chat about the value of critical thinking, combatting misinformation in our social circles, and how to hack Wikipedia for the greater good. Plus, some unexpected facts about ice cream parlors and fog!
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
48 min - Building a Better Researcher, Part 1, with Tasha Bergson-Michelson - Ep 105
Amber and Anna sit down to chat with the incomparable Tasha Bergson-Michelson, a librarian and educator. Research is a skill that is learned, and Tasha teaches us how to up our game. We learn about the process of good research, how to avoid sketchy sources, and the best ways to get started on any research project. We enjoyed talking with Tasha so much that we did it a whole bunch! Next week, we'll bring you the second half of our conversation.
Contact
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
57 min - Queryin' the Illyrians - Ep 104
This week, on a sponsored episode, Anna and Amber examine the traces left by the various ancient cultures called "Illyrians." We've got some architecture, coin-nerdery, a smattering of religion, and a complicated political legacy. It all makes for an excellent entry in our collection of supporting characters from the Classical world!
Links
- The Illyrians on WorldCat
- Discovery of ‘Lost City’ in Albania Thrills Archaeologists (Balkan Insight)
- Image of a Liburnian Ship on Wikimedia Commons
- Nadin-Gradina Archaeological Project Gallery
- A Liburnian Necropolis from Nadin, Croatia (Institute for Study of the Ancient World)
- Illyrian Temples Found At Ancient Doclea In Montenegro (Archaeology News Network)
- Who are the Illyrians? The Use and Abuse of Archaeology in the Construction of National and Trans-National Identities in the Southwestern Balkans (via ResearchGate)
- Ancient Illyria : An Archaeological Exploration on WorldCat
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
48 min - Illustrating Archaeology - Ep 103
This week, Anna and Amber take on archaeological illustration. That's right-it's an audio episode about an entirely visual topic! This'll go well. We cover the merits of hand drawing vs. photography, reveal some stories from our own...mixed experiences, and investigate the very cool technique of photogrammetry.
Links
- Pencils and Pixels: Drawing and Digital Media in Archaeological Field Recording (Journal of Field Archaeology)
- Why Archaeological drawing is still so important (New Archaeology)
- A Simple Photogrammetry Rig for the Reliable Creation of 3D Artifact Models in the Field: Lithic Examples from the Early Upper Paleolithic Sequence of Les Cottés (France) (Advances in Archaeological Practice)
- A Simple Method for Reliable Creation of 3D Artifact Models in the Field (Leakey Foundation)
- @SamScansStuff on Twitter
- IF/THEN Collection
- ‘Visual competence’ in archaeology: a problem hiding in plain sight (Antiquity)
- The Profession (Graphic Archaeology Group)
- Science and Art in Archaeological Illustration (Columbia College)
- Scientific Illustration | Time Team America (PBS)
- Resources (Graphic Archaeology Group)
- Approaches to Archaeological Illustration, A Handbook by Mélanie Steiner (via Digital Epigraphy)
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
49 min - Chalk it Up to Science - Ep 102
This week, on a short but fun episode, Anna and Amber investigate some of the massive figures cut into the chalk landscape of the Southern UK. Who made them? How old are they? Why are there so many horses?
Links
- Cerne Abbas Giant is NOT prehistoric and may have been created just a few hundred years ago before becoming a propaganda tool for William of Orange, snail shells reveal (Daily Mail)
- England’s 7 most intriguing chalk figures and the stories behind them (Wanderlust)
- Chalk Hill Figures (Historic UK)
- Southern England Chalk Formation (Wikipedia)
- An Introduction to Prehistoric England (Before 43 BC) (English Heritage)
- Bronze Age discovery reveals surprising extent of Britain’s trade with Europe 3,600 years ago (The Conversation)
- Bronze Age Britain (BBC)
- Footprints, Size 10, From Britain’s Bronze Age (The New Yorker)
- The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe (Nature)
- Boom and bust in Bronze Age Britain: major copper production from the Great Orme mine and European trade, c. 1600–1400 BC (Antiquity)
- Against All Odds, England’s Massive Chalk Horse Has Survived 3,000 Years (Smithsonian)
- England’s Enormous Chalk Figures (Atlas Obscura via Google Earth)
- Britain's Spectacular (and Sometimes Mysterious) Hill Figures (Gizmodo UK)
- Why Is the Kiwi’s Egg So Big? (Audubon)
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
40 min - Mythteries and Mythnomers - Ep 101
Since back-to-school season is rolling around again, let's return to our annual tradition of busting myths and righting wrongs! This time, we cover pyramid construction (and curses), the Genghis Khan family reunion, the end of James Cook, Stonehenge, the Dark Ages, and more. This episode is not to be myth-ed.
Links
- Enter to win Dirt merch
- This 4,500-Year-Old Ramp Contraption May Have Been Used to Build Egypt's Great Pyramid (LiveScience)
- How Were the Egyptian Pyramids Built? (LiveScience)
- Was It Really a Mummy’s Curse? (JSTOR Daily)
- Tomb of Pennut - Amada (Osirisnet)
- 'Bent' pyramid: Egypt opens ancient oddity for tourism (The Guardian)
- Ancient Egyptian tomb warnings, curses and ghosts (National Museums Scotland)
- Whence Came Stonehenge’s Stones? Now We Know (The New York Times)
- We owe it all to superstud Genghis (The Guardian)
- Did Genghis Khan really kill 1,748,000 people in one hour? (How Stuff Works)
- 1 in 200 Men Are Direct Descendants of Genghis Khan (Discover)
- Genghis Khan's Genetic Legacy Has Competition (Scientific American)
- 1.5m Chinese 'descendants of one man' (BBC News)
- The genetic imprint of Niall of the Nine Hostages (Irish Times)
- A Y-Chromosome Signature of Hegemony in Gaelic Ireland (American Journal of Human Genetics)
- Mythbusting Cook: Fact fiction and total fallacy (Australian National Maritime Museum)
- Cooktown's Indigenous people help commemorate 250 years since Captain Cook's landing with re-enactment (ABC)
- How the foolish rumour that Hawaiians ate Cook began (National Indigenous Television)
- The ‘Dark Ages’ Weren’t As Dark As We Thought (LitHub)
Contact
- Email the Dirt Podcast
Affiliates
- Wildnote
- TeePublic
- Timeular
Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!
46 min
About The Dirt Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Join Anna and Amber; friends, archaeologists, and big nerds, for an exploration of the lives of people in the past.