In this episode of The Dirt on the Past podcast, we sit down with archaeologist and author Doug MacDonald to discuss his fascinating new book, Land of Beginnings: The Archaeology of Montana’s First Peoples. Doug takes us on a journey through Montana’s deep past, discussing where the first Montanans came from, migration routes, the Lindsey Mammoth site, the Anzick site, DNA research, and so much more. We delve into the evolving methods of studying ancient sites, and the cultural significance of this history to modern Indigenous communities. Join us for an engaging conversation that sheds new light on the deep human story rooted in the land we now call Montana.

In this episode we are joined by renowned archaeologist Ian Hodder to delve into his extensive work at Çatalhöyük, a 9,000-year-old Neolithic site in Turkey.

We explore the burial practices that shed light on social hierarchies, the role of food in shaping community identity, and how the unique architectural layout of Çatalhöyük reflects its complex social structure. Ian Hodder discusses the symbolism and ritual life of this early society, offering insights into one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the world. Ian Hodder is a British archaeologist known for his pioneering work in post-processual archaeology, which emphasizes the interpretation of cultural meaning in archaeological findings. He is a professor at Koç University in Istanbul and directed the Çatalhöyük Research Project for 25 years, transforming our understanding of early human settlements.

Çatalhöyük, one of the largest and best-preserved Neolithic sites, is known for its densely packed houses, art, and evidence of early communal living. The site provides key insights into the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, with elaborate burial practices and rich material culture reflecting a sophisticated, interconnected society.

We sat down with Anthony Wood to talk about his research focus on Black history in the west. We talk about his new research along with his book, Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877–1930. We dive into storytelling, history-making, and the stories that we tell about ourselves and what those stories and historical narratives can tell us about the past.

Anthony Wood is a historian of the American West. His work looks at race and place-making during the 19th and 20th centuries. He completed his PhD at the University of Michigan earlier this year and now serves as the senior historian on a new National Park Service project to survey and collect a comprehensive history of African Americans in the Parks of the Intermountain Region. His 2021 book, Black Montana, was a finalist for the Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize. His next writing project develops his dissertation, "Forty Years within the Veil: The Black West and Counternarratives of Race and Place in the Rocky Mountains.

Join us as we speak with author Sally Thompson about her new book, Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo: 23 Unexpected Stories That Awaken Montana's Past. 

The past still lingers along old trails, and among the people who live here today. Some, such as anthropologist and storyteller Sally Thompson, are better equipped to notice the traces of history lurking in place names and written in cairns, carved in tree bark, etched into prairie boulders, or resting among well-knapped spear points.

In Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo, Thompson unearths new information and startling insights into Montana's untold history in twenty-three true stories. Along the way, she shares the challenges of groundbreaking research and the joys of finding hidden treasures. These stories connect past and present, bringing into focus a common heritage among many peoples in an uncommon land.

We explore a few of the 23 stories Thompson documented in her book, along with backstories, insight and revelations about her long career as an anthropologist in Montana and the west. 

You can find Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo at your local book store or order through Farcountry Press.

Join Nancy and Crystal as they discuss the history of pockets! We delve deep into the fascinating history of pockets, exploring how these seemingly mundane accessories have shaped human lives and society over centuries. Drawing insights from Hannah Carlson's "Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close" and Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux's "The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, 1660–1900," we uncover the evolution of pockets from their humble beginnings as tie-on accessories to their symbolic significance in fashion and gender roles. From the practicality of early pouches to the complex social messages conveyed by pocket size and placement, we unravel the intimate relationship between humans and their pockets, shedding light on a hidden aspect of history that speaks volumes about culture, identity, and everyday life.

April is Archaeology Month in Montana! In honor of this, join Nancy and Crystal as they discuss a significant archaeological site located in southwest Montana called the Barton Gulch site. The oldest occupation of the Barton Gulch site is dated to 9400 BP.  Nancy and Crystal discuss the remains of earth ovens found at Barton Gulch, and talk about the possibly uses for these ovens and the plant remains recovered during archaeological excavation. The presence of these ovens and other cooking features implies that the people who lived and cooked at this place had detailed procedures for preparing plant and animal remains.

Join us for this discussion and to learn more about this important archaeological site and many others, read "Six Hundred Generations: An Archaeological History of Montana" by Carl Davis. 

Join us as we talk with Museum of the Rockies (MOR) Curator, Michael Fox, about historic photographs and cameras in the MOR collection. We look at two historic cameras dating to the late 19th century and 1930s time period. We then dive into a series of historic photographs that capture the historic west through photographic imagery. Historic photographs are an important way for historians and archaeologists to learn more about the past, providing a primary source of information about how people lived, showing how their lives and how they were similar or different from our lives today. They can answer questions we may have, but they can also cause us to ask more questions like why was this photo taken, who took it, why did they take it? But, by looking very closely at photos, we can see information and evidence that can answer our questions.

Join us as we talk with Mark Sullivan, a #1 New York Times bestselling author who wrote The Last Green Valley about a family, the Martels, that flee the Ukraine in 1944 to arrive and eventually settle in Bozeman, MT. We discuss the families harrowing journey as they, along with thousands of others make the Long Trek. Join us for this important conversation with Mark Sullivan.

Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of twenty novels, including Beneath a Scarlet Sky, which has been published in thirty-seven languages, and All the Glimmering Stars, which debuts in May. He has also written the #1 NYT bestselling Private Series with James Patterson and received numerous accolades for his writing. He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in English before working as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Upon his return to the United States, he earned a graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and began a career in investigative journalism. An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana.

Join us as we talk with Museum Educator Ashley Hall about her career as a museum educator at the Museum of the Rockies, her research on Sauropod feet and her books including Fossils for Kids: A Junior Scientist’s Guide to Dinosaur Bones and Ancient Animals, and Prehistoric Life on Earth and Prehistoric Worlds: Stomp Into the Epic Lands Ruled by Dinosaurs (due out at the end of March 2024).  

Ashley is a dynamic paleontologist, naturalist, and museum educator. Originally from South Bend, Indiana, she grew up loving dinosaurs from an early age and was inspired by holiday trips to Chicago’s Field Museum to pursue a career in natural history.

Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology (focus: Zooarchaeology) and animal behavior from Indiana University, Bloomington. After graduation, she spent nearly a decade working as a science educator for various educational institutions in southern California, including the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the La Brea Tar Pits. During this time, Ashley also served as the assistant curator of paleontology at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology in Claremont, California. While with the “Alf,” she managed the fossil collection and participated in fieldwork including Late Cretaceous dinosaur excavations in the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah and Miocene mammal reconnaissance paleontology in the Mojave Desert’s Rainbow Basin.

Ashley relocated to Ohio where she worked as a naturalist for the Cleveland Metroparks reservation system before taking a position with the Cleveland Museum of Natural as the adult programs coordinator. 

When Ashley is not educating the public in person, she is an active science communicator on social media. Ashley has presented several invited workshops on communicating science through social media at professional, scientific meetings, including the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology annual conferences. Her scientific research has focused on sauropod claw morphology and function and the evolution of birds from deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits.