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.
It's another Very Special Sponsored Episode this week! We're talking prehistoric animals of all shapes and sizes (and by all sizes we mean mostly TOO BIG). Learn about giant birds hunted by the first people on New Zealand, the giant sea scorpion that will haunt Amber's dreams, and...probably more than you ever wanted to know about wooly mammoth butts.
This week, we bring you a fascinating, poignant, and thoroughly delightful interview with Lynne Engelbert, a handler with the Institute for Canine Forensics. Learn what the talented pups at the ICF do for a living and prepare to be amazed!
This week, Anna and Amber sit down to chat about the Denisovans, the human ancestors we didn't know we had until recently. Learn about what evidence we have for Denisovans, the traits for which we can thank them, and some of the mysteries that remain. Come for big reveals about what's in human DNA, stay for ample use of phrases like "bouts of interbreeding."
It's another Very Special Sponsored Episode this week, about the archaeology of protest, revolt, and rebellion. Join Anna and Amber alongside coal miners in West Virginia, Jewish rebels in the first century CE, enslaved Africans in the Dutch Virgin Islands, and more stories of human defiance and resilience in the face of oppression.
Psst. Do you want to buy some archaeology? WELL WE DON'T HAVE ANY TO SELL YOU, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE WRONG. But that hasn't stopped other people from doing it! Join us this week for a Very Special Sponsored Episode on the antiquities black market, the harm it does to archaeology and to real living people all over the world, and some of the folks doing extremely cool things to protect cultural heritage.
Join Anna and Amber on an excursion to the Indus Valley, and an exploration of some of the ancient societies therein. Learn about the thrills of city planning and indoor toilets, experience the mystery and absurdity of the Indus "unicorn," and enjoy a surprising number of Anna's best seal impersonations.
This week's episode was inspired by news coverage of Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, who, according to his skeleton, may have been intersex. But what does it mean to be intersex, and how do we incorporate this very real form of existence into our understanding of the archaeological record? Learn along with Anna and Amber from forensic archaeology, American history, Indigenous American culture, and a truly heart-wrenching tale from Iran.
Join Anna and Amber on a tour of third millennium BCE Mesopotamia, where they explore the Royal Tombs of Ur. It has everything: musical instruments, very extra jewelry looks, a Great Death Pit (!), a famous excavator with a flair for the dramatic, even a surprise find nearly a century later in a museum basement.
We at The Dirt are excited to be a part of the American Anthropological Association’s Anthro Day activities, and we hopped on to Skype to answer some questions submitted by you, the listener! We talk about our own experiences, the origin of hairstyles, Antarctic archaeology, Neanderthals doing yoga, public outreach, and so much more!
Available on Patreon: Aleister Crowley is known for his work as an occultist, magician, writer, painter, mountain climber, and top-notch weirdo. But did you know that much of his inspiration came from the world of archaeology and ancient history? Did you know that he got it all wrong? Come along!
Available on Patreon: Our roundup of the newest oldest stuff this month includes an exhibition full of clothing items that exemplify contemporary women trailblazers’ work, the scale of cultural heritage destruction in Yemen, how humans will be remembered by the chicken bones we leave behind, and a note found in the butt of a Jesus statue… and other stuff, but get a load of that last one.
Brand new from The Dirt: For a $25 donation, YOU can choose an episode topic for Anna and Amber to cover! (Terms and conditions apply: we won’t do it if it’s fake or terrible, but we’ll work with you to come up with something you’ll enjoy!) You can dedicate the episode to your favorite nerd, special someone, or hey—to yourself! Give a completely unique gift, and support The Dirt at the same time!
Available on Patreon: This month, we do a bit of bopping around the Red Sea, as we talk about the Arabian Peninsula before Islam (and today!), specifically Mada'in Saleh, and what the medieval world's most famous tourist thought of Kilwa Kisiwani.
Available on Patreon: Our roundup of the newest oldest stuff this month includes an encyclopedia of traditional medicine in the Amazon, conversations around repatriation of art and antiquities, itty bitty terracotta warriors, and so much more.
Available on Patreon: Anna and Amber discuss culture-bound syndromes, mass hysteria, and the very real symptoms and consequences they yield. What makes an illness culture-bound, whose cultures are exempt, and what can we learn from it all?
Available on Patreon: We talked about boogeypeople, now let's talk about boggypeople. What exactly happens when someone is buried in a bog? We explain how bogs work, speculate at the lives that preceded some bog mummies, and learn that bog burials aren't limited to northern Europe!
Available on Patreon: Our roundup of the newest oldest stuff this month includes visualizing colonization around the world, some current PR challenges at the British Museum, the anthropology of heavy metal, and the discovery of a mummified body FULL OF BEES.
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!