The Dirt Podcast

This week, we play some of the Classics: a look at Troy, the Trojan War, and its discovery. Enter Heinrich Schliemann, the archaeologist (nope) who excavated the site of Hisarlik, in present-day Turkey, found evidence of the end of the Iliad (nope), went on to excavate other Homeric heroes (again, nope), and completely changed the game for public interest in archaeological research and the possibility that Homer was based on historical events (actually, this one is true). Come for Amber attempting to recite the Aeneid, stay for Anna throwing books in disgust.

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[Ghost of Amber Future here, I think we talked about these stories?]

https://www.livescience.com/65760-visigoth-reccopolis-city-revealed.html

https://www.livescience.com/65728-neolithic-human-made-islands.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190612165603.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190605142602.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190529122145.htm

https://www.archaeology.org/news/7769-190619-puppy-dog-eyes

https://www.archaeology.org/news/7771-190619-chimps-crab-fishing

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/05/chimpanzees-eat-tortoises-smash-shells/

https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/revealed-the-sophisticated-painting-techniques-of-ancient-artists-who-created-these-fantastical-images/

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2019/05/declining-fertility-rates-may-explain-neanderthal-extinction-suggests-new-model/123863

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-myth-of-masada-how-reliable-was-josephus-anyway-1.7375157

Amber's too cold, Anna's too hot, and we've both lost our dang minds! In an effort to think about something other than the summer heat, this week we're offering you a sampler platter of some of the amazing archaeology from the Arctic regions up north! Learn how people got to the Arctic, what some of them did when they got there, and what's happening to Arctic sites now in light of global warming. Also hyenas. Refreshing!

LinksThe Peopling of the Americas: Evidence for Multiple Models (Discover)Late Pleistocene exploration and settlement of the Americas by modern humans (Science)Beringia (National Parks Service)These First Americans Vanished Without a Trace — But Hints of Them Linger (LiveScience)The ancient people in the high-latitude Arctic had well-developed trade (EurekAlert)Do Canadian Carvings Depict Vikings? Removing Mammal Fat May Tell (LiveScience)How Did Prehistoric Hyenas Reach the Americas? Through the Arctic (Ha’aretz)As the Arctic Erodes, Archaeologists Are Racing to Protect Ancient Treasures (Smithsonian)The Unalaska Sea Ice Project (Boston University Zooarchaeology Laboratory)What Clam Thermometers Tell Us About Past Climates (Sapiens)Clamshells and Climate Change: What seal bones and clamshells teach us about past climate (The Brink)Digging for butter clams in Dutch Harbor, Alaska (Youtube)The Dirt Book Club!The earth is faster now: indigenous observations of Arctic environmental change, by Igor Krupnik and Dyanna JollyThe last imaginary place: a human history of the Arctic world, by Robert McGheeContactEmail the Dirt Podcast

This week, it's a topic that's incredibly relevant and important, and...not the least bit fun. It's climate change! We're here to combat misinformation and to tell you what we know about past global climate change, how we know it, and what that means for our future.

We wrap up our whirlwind tour of African Empires this week with the later part of the timeline. Anna and Amber travel to Timbuktu, the Solomonid Empire, the Fatimid Caliphate and more! We also cover the Scramble for Africa, which sounds fun and madcap, but is...the opposite of that.

Amber and Anna dip their toes into the vast history of the African continent. In this first installment of a two-episode series, we look at some pre-Classical civilizations. Learn about foreign queens and imported baboons, and why camels are great for business AND religion. And remember! It's never a collapse.

This week, Amber and Anna explore Angkor Wat, the legendary Cambodian temple complex. Who built it? What happened? Did the civilization collapse? (Spoiler: no.) Was it rediscovered after being forgotten for centuries? (Spoiler: also no.) Come for the history, stay for the alien spider beings!

This week, we bring you the MIRACLE OF BIRTH. Join Amber and Anna for a brief frolic through some ancient birthing wisdom and evidence of pregnancy and childbirth in the archaeological record. We're also joined by the brilliant Dr. Natalie Laudicina, who takes us on a fascinating and slightly terrifying journey through the surprisingly complicated landscape of the primate birth canal. Content warning: some of the subject material in this episode may be upsetting, but we try to give listeners a heads up.

Anna and Amber are both traveling this week, so instead of leaving your feeds bereft, we've got an episode of Old News for you to enjoy!