A discussion on squeezing every possible bit of data from ancient bones. Learn how archaeologists analyze bone artifacts using cutting-edge paleoproteomics, spatial and statistical analyses, experimental archaeology, and more!

How did civilization emerge on the Peruvian coast? Who were the Manchay? How did Amazonian civilization influence the coast, and what role did Shamanism play in Andean prehistory?

Dr. Jackson Crawford joins me to discuss ethics and beliefs in the viking world, through the lens of Hávamál, a collection of Old Norse poetry written from the perspective of Odin. The conversation meanders through topics including violence, relations between the sexes, magic and runes, honor, and reputation. 

In this episode, I speak with Evelynn Combs and Gerad Smith about the history of metalworking - particularly copper - in ancient Alaska. We talk about their experiments trying to reconstruct Dene methods of copper working, and I learn some of the meanings behind this traditional craft. 

In this episode, Dr. Gerad Smith tells me about the archaeology of the indigenous Dene people of the Alaskan interior. He works heavily with Dene elders, informants, and professionals from a variety of organizations.  He also incorporates linguistics, mythology, and ethnography into his studies to better understand the things he digs up.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Justin Cramb, an expert in the archaeology of prehistoric Polynesia. 

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Robert Kelly, an expert in prehistoric archaeology and the study of ancient hunter-gatherers. The topic of the day is his book, The Fifth Beginning: What Six Million Years of Human History Can Tell Us About Our Future.

In this episode Dr. Todd Surovell lays out the case for the Overkill Hypothesis: the claim that ice age hunters triggered a wave of megafaunal extinctions as they entered the New World. 

In this episode I speak with Dr. Catherine Steidl. Dr. Steidl is a Scholar in residence at the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Having earned her PhD from Brown University’s institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World in 2018, she is an expert in the archaeology of the ancient mediterranean. In particular, her work has been focused on the emergence of Greek colonies in the archaic period, from Ionia to the shores of Spain and France. We discuss the intermingling of Greek colonial communities with local populations, and the way ancient migrations can help inform modern social issues, among other things. Show notes and citations are available on my website!

Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton tells me about his research on how anatomically modern humans colonized the globe. We also talk about paleoindian archaeology, ancient ochre mines, ethnography in Mongolia, cave archaeology, and more.