In this week's episode of PillarTalk, Will, Joe and Lewis are going back to one of the first episodes to do a part two of the real monsters behind mythology. Joe takes a look at the mysterious Wendigo of North America, Will discusses the Abarimon with some of the possible explanations for their appearances in history and Lewis takes a look at the Buddhist origins of the infamous Yeti or the Abominable Snowman.

In this episode of PillarTalk we take a look back at this years podcast episodes, the climate of 2020, some ancient festivals and our hopes for 2021. Thanks to everyone who has listened in 2020, here's to many more!

Our Socials:  

Twitter & Instagram: @uomcahaesociety 

Contact Email: [email protected]

In this week’s episode we are discussing race and diversity within the discipline of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology, the challenges people of colour face within this discipline and ways we as a department can overcome these obstacles. In the episode we are joined by CAHAE Society members Dan and Tahira, fellow UoM lecturers Dr Hannah Cobb & Dr Roberta Mazza and Tanya from Teach Black Studies UoM. Here the CAHAE society we feel very passionately about making our discipline as inclusive and diverse as possible, we hope in the future we can continue to make progress and change in the wider discipline as a whole.

Here are some really important links related to the content in today’s episode:

Follow @nevertaughtinschool for Afro-Caribbean history & culture. To help @teachblackstudiesuom campaign, make sure to:

1. Follow, like & share their socials

2. Sign their change.org petition

3. Email @officialuom senior leadership

4. Donate to their campaign if you can

Society of Black Archaeologists (including the “Archaeology in the time of BLM” talk I mention) https://www.societyofblackarchaeologists.com/

Society of Black Archaeologists resource list https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ba9378ebfba3e7b319e2ce6/t/5f2f05c509e14e53cb898607/1596917190138/Compilation+of+Resources+SBA+2020.pdf

Intersectional GLAM privilege quiz https://intersectionalglam.org/privilege-quiz/

CIfA 10 steps to diversify your workplace https://www.archaeologists.net/news/10-steps-diversify-your-workplace-1575640689

A handy bibliography of readings on archaeology and race can be found here https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766567/obo-9780199766567-0239.xml

For a summary of all the statistics on the lack of diversity in archaeology see Chapter 6 in Cobb, H., and Croucher, K. 2020. Assembling Archaeology: Teaching, Practice and Research. Oxford: Oxford University

Franklin, M. (2001). A Black feminist-inspired archaeology? Journal of Social Archaeology, 1(1), 108–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/146960530100100108

Maria Franklin & Nedra Lee (2020) African American descendants, community outreach, and the Ransom and Sarah Williams Farmstead Project, Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, 7:2, 135-148, DOI: 10.1080/20518196.2020.1718408

Jones, S. 1997. The Archaeology of Ethnicity : Constructing Identities in the Past and Present . London; Routledge.

A google doc full of anti-racism resources (not archaeology or heritage specific, but useful none the less) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YWgZ__fSUqSto20lArFjWl9VFT5YOIu7ZE8JxYQUMao/edit

Our Socials:

Twitter & Instagram: @uomcahaesociety

Contact Email: [email protected]

*Viewer Warning* - Discussion of death + burial - Images of human remains 

DISCLAIMER: This episode was filmed using Zoom due to the current UK COVID-19 restrictions, Lewis and Joe are in the same household so Will joined via Zoom. 

In this week’s episode of PillarTalk, Will rejoins Lewis and Joe for another instalment of 'Dodgy Deaths' - this time looking at Georgie, the young boy found beneath the Vindolanda Fort, Alexander the Great's potential cause of death and La Brea Woman - one of the oldest murder victims in the USA.   Social Media:  Instagram & Twitter: @uomcahaesociety

In this week’s episode Alice, Nikki and Jenny discuss the ins and outs of  Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology! This includes a discussion about what forensic archaeology and anthropology is, how it can be used and also what important ethical problems can occur in this specific area of archaeology. We would like to take this chance to reiterate our disclaimer from the podcast: “This episode of the podcast will be discussing human remains and specific cases, both in terms of domestic homicide investigations and also international disaster and conflict events- in particular, the Asian tsunami of 2004, 9/11, the Grenfell Tower disaster and the mass graves that resulted from the conflicts within the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The information given will, in many cases, not be particularly graphic and furthermore no specific names will be stated. However, if you believe that any of this information may cause you distress, please do not listen to this episode of the podcast”. Please join us next time for “G: Gough’s Cave”.

Bibliography:

Blau, S. and Ubelaker, D. H. (2016). Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology (2 nd edn.). New York: Routledge.

Mires, A. M. (2019). The Use of Forensic Archaeology in Missing Persons Cases, Forensic Archaeology, 111-141.

Mundorff, A. (2009). Human Identification Following the World Trade Center Disaster: Assessing Management Practices for Highly Fragmented and Comingled Human Remains. Available at:https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56373999.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1lONCBUc7g_KLR56plK3W_jh--EYK2OITj_6PRtIpDXT9rGU8ylTmHgpM.

Obledo, M. N. (2009). Forensic Archaeology in Criminal and Civil Cases, Forensic Mag, 6(4), 31-34.

Pringle, H. (2009). Witness to Genocide, Archaeology, 62(1), (a publication of the Archaeology Institute of America).

Walsh-Haney, H. (2002). Skeleton Keys: How Forensic Anthropologists Identify Victims and Solve Crimes. Available at: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2002/06/skeleton-keys-how-forensic-anthropologists-identify-victims-and-solve-crimes?fbclid=IwAR2TkD9WDhLNedQeAwePwhCKgfJUe-GzqgtWoRsoxJkY__27S6KLSGdwjLM#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20many%20of%20t he,%2C%20sticks%2C%20and%2.

We’re already at the 5 th episode of the A-Z of Archaeology! In this episode Jenny and Alice are joined by a very special guest- Dr John Piprani, who joins them to talk all things experimental archaeology. This includes his work in the public engagement aspect of experimental archaeology, how experimental archaeology has been useful in his own research and also how the University of Manchester includes experimental archaeology within the archaeology department! Join us in the next episode for “F: Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology”.

In this week’s episode of PillarTalk, Lewis, Flo and Joe explore the ancient world of demons, deities and demonic possession. We discuss Mesopotamian deity and star of ‘The Exorcist’ - Pazuzu, The Seven Princes of Hell and the number of the beast. This festive Halloween episode raises the question about why the media and Hollywood loves making movies about demons and exorcism and we ponder the impact demons had on the everyday lives of ancient communities.

Social Media:

Instagram & Twitter: @uomcahaesociety

Images used:

The Exorcist (1972) Dir. William Peter Blatty

Bronze Statuette of Pazuzu, 8th century BCE - The Louvre

A second series of the monuments of Nineveh: including bas-reliefs from the Palace of Sennacherib and bronzes from the ruins of Nimroud

The Temptation of St. Anthony by Martin Schöngauer c. 1480-90. Engraving. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

"Beelzebub and them that are with him shoot arrows" from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678)

The number of the beast is 666 by William Blake

In Episode 4 of the A-Z of Archaeology, Nikki, Alice and Jenny are joined by a very special guest- Professor Julian Thomas as he discusses the Neolithic site of Dorstone Hill, the artefacts that have been found there and what is next for University of Manchester excavations in the Dorstone area. Alice and Nikki also discuss their experience of digging at Dorstone, from the section drawings, to the camping, to the local pub. Join us in the next episode for “E: Experimental Archaeology”.

To find out more about Dorstone Hill and the University of Manchester excavations at the site, we recommend reading: Ray, K. and Thomas, J. (2018). Neolithic Britain: The Transformation of Social Worlds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In this week's episode of PillarTalk Will is away in Cyprus on an archaeological dig so in place of him we have this years social secretary and UoM student Flo! We discuss the controversial topic of displaying human remains in different settings and the ethical debate that occurs when we talk about how the remains of ancient people should be treated. Should museums display human remains at all? Is there a justification to display when it is educational? and how do modern humans perceive death and the body? Todays episode includes conversation about Egyptian Mummies, Scientific specimens and modern cultures where death is a crucial part of the community. 

We’re now on episode three of the A-Z of Archaeology! In this episode we join Alice, Jenny and Nikki as they discuss cabinets of curiosities and antiquarians. They delve into the differences between antiquarians and archaeologists and between cabinets of curiosities and museums and also discuss the very relevant topic of whether museums should repatriate their stolen items back to their country of origin! Next up, “D: Dorstone”, with a very special guest (three guesses who it might be).

Bibliography:

BBC. (2012). The Story of Wales: Furnace of Change. Available at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01dczfc/the-story-of-wales-4-furnace-of-change.

Booth, E. and Powell, R. (2016). Museums: From Cabinets of Curiosity to Cultural Shopping

Experiences. In: Katsoni V., Stratigea A. (eds) Tourism and Culture in the Age of

Innovation. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. 131-143.

Evans, T. (2004). Tradition and Illusion: Antiquarianism, tourism and horror in HP

Lovecraft, Extrapolation, 45(2), 176-195.

House, W (2017). We Can’t Ignore H.P. Lovecraft’s White Supremacy. Available at:

https://lithub.com/we-cant-ignore-h-p-lovecrafts-white-supremacy/.

Small, S. (2011). Slavery, Colonialism and Museums Representations in Great Britain: Old

and New Circuits of Migration, Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-

Knowledge, IX(4), 27-38.

Vox (2020). The British Museum is full of stolen artifacts. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoTxiRWrvp8.