We’ve been remiss in discussing the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) anywhere in the world, so we’re fixing that by spotlighting one particular technology in what is today the US states of Michigan and Wisconsin, and some of the world’s earliest coppersmiths. Plus, a very salty discussion of the pseudoscience and *bad* historical takes behind some alternative theories for the Old Copper Complex's creators.
Read MoreThis week, we've got one more past Patreon episode for you! Thank you all for your patience as we get back into the swing of things. We'll be back with your regularly scheduled new episodes in May. But for now, we're all horses, all the time. Amber gives you an unbridled (har!) look at the Hittite Horse Training Texts, which are much more than just Kikkuli (remember him?). After that, we veer from horsemanship to horse-man-’ship. First there’s a glimpse into the legal mind of the Hittites, and then some interesting commonalities across Indo-European societies and an overview of equine lives in antiquity. Ohhh neigh
Read MoreThis week, Anna and Amber are playing catch-up after attending the SAA conference, recovering from vaccine shots, and life in general. We'll be taking the rest of April off for a short break. In the meantime, please enjoy a cleaned-up version of a Dirt After Dark episode where Anna treats Amber to the story of the Roman emperor Caligula's absurdly large pleasure boats on a tiny, tiny lake.
On this sponsored episode, Anna and Amber follow up on Episode 99 - People of Size to talk about largeness, muscularity, and fatness in bodies that are coded male. Learn how sumo wrestlers spend their time, join us for some Paleolithic bioanthropology by way of elite athletics, and sit in on a meeting of the Fat Mens’s Club.
Read MoreAnna and Amber sit down with Rachel Watkins, a biological anthropologist and scholar-activist whose research centers on social and biological histories of Black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Learn about the social history of biological anthropology, the exemplary case studies with which Dr. Watkins has worked, why you shouldn't discount the creepy things small children sometimes do, and so much more!
Read MoreAmber and Anna discuss some of the different rituals, ceremonies, and traditions associated with coming of age in cultures around the world and throughout time. From tossing baby teeth up to the roof to tying a vine to your ankles and jumping off a wooden tower, it's all fascinating.
Read MoreAmber and Anna examine how different ancient cultures viewed children and childhood. We’ll also discuss how the archaeological interpretation of the lives of children in the ancient past has shifted as we’ve gained more and more evidence.
Read MoreThis week, Anna and Amber journey to the island of Madagascar. Yeah, sure, there were once man-sized lemurs there, but we’re talking about the people of Madagascar, how and when they arrived on the island, their history, archaeology, and more! Plus, Anna discovers that maps are super useful.
Read MoreThis episode happens to fall within Anna's birthday week, so Amber has very kindly indulged Anna's childhood love of knights, castles, magic, and adventure. This week, we're exploring Arthurian legend, and some of the...unique legacies it has left behind. We firmly establish that Arthur had TWO different swords. We also confirm that no, Robin Hood was not a Knight of the Round Table. Plus, the Yelp review that made Amber laugh until she cried.
Read MoreIf you were a pre-Homo sapiens hominin, the place to see and be seen was Africa in what is today colloquially known as the Cradle of Humankind. True to form, we're late to the party, but come along with us anyway for a tour of the cave sites that revolutionized paleoanthropology.
It’s the 20th anniversary of the first publication of the Human Genome Project, and the 10th anniversary of the Neanderthal Genome Project. Since both of these projects began, DNA research has changed what we know about the human story more than we could ever possibly have imagined. Come learn about a tiny fraction of this knowledge with us, and listen to our brains explode
Read MoreLet’s lean into our fear of pyroclastic flow and talk about the traces that volcanoes can leave in the archaeological record. Turns out, it’s a lot more than buried cities. We’ll also take a look at how volcanoes manifest in the myths and legends of various cultures.
Read MoreThis week's episode is a listener-sponsored one! Ancient hunter-gatherers are often painted as egalitarian, with all members contributing to the needs of the group. But what does evidence from prehistory say about things like access to nutrition, or care for the sick or injured? Are there cases where some individuals were clearly treated differently from others? How far back can we go to find clues? Stay tuned, sleuths.
Image: A Mbendjele hunter organizes meat for community sharing after a hunt. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
We’re back! Welcome to The Dirt—new year, same us! This week, Anna introduces Amber to the site of Boxgrove, in what is now Sussex, England. It's one of the oldest known hominin sites in the UK, and features the remains of our early relative, Homo heidelbergensis. Join us to learn more about the Muddle in the Middle, the world's hardest jigsaw puzzle, and the molecular clock.
Read MoreIt's a bonus episode! Anna and Amber are joined by some of the wonderful folks at One Star Archaeology (Twitter: @1starchaeology, Instagram: @onestarchaeology) for dramatic readings of internet reviews of archaeological sites.
Read MoreSeasons greetings! And by that we mean we're wrapping up 2020 by sitting down with Dr. Chris Stantis, who uses stable isotope analyses to learn how people lived in the ancient past. We discuss the real story of the Hyksos Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt. Were they the pushy invaders they've been made out to be? Or is there more to the story? (There's more to the story). Not only ALL THIS, but Dr. Stantis convinces Amber and Anna to love those pesky little atoms--stable isotopes!
Read MoreThis week, Amber takes Anna on a guided tour of her beloved Arabia. Learn about the varied mountains, deserts, and oases that are nowhere near as empty or inactive as Western explorers might have you believe. We examine the archaeology of Tell Abraq, get scammed by a guy named Ea-Nasir, solve the mystery of Magan (hint: not actually a mystery), and share insights from skeletal remains about community care and compassion thousands of years ago. Disappointingly, we still don't know what Dilmun onions are.
Read MoreThis week, Amber and Anna delve into the massive site of the first Chinese Emperor's burial complex. Were there flowing rivers of mercury? Maybe. Are there thousands of terra cotta soldiers? Definitely. Do we understand how metal detectors work? Kind of! Plus, some thumb-related Art Crime, and Anna finally apologizes for attributing Hey Ya to Snoop Dogg when it is absolutely by Outkast. How embarrassing. WARNING: Episode contains spoilers for Waiting for Godot.
Read MoreThis week, Anna and Amber head to ancient Central Asia for a sponsored episode in which they explore the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Come along and learn why there’s BMAC stuff all over the place! Visit Gonur and the man that wants to be buried in its deserts! Consider the who and the why of the BMAC and its collapse (psst it wasn’t a collapse)! Meet some Horse Guys!
This week, Anna and Amber bring you the result of episode planning by two hosts who have had a VERY long year and who refuse to back down from a dumb joke. We're talking Mersons of Interest, aquatic apes, men who wear fish, and more! Make sure to listen through the end for...what can only be described as a musical masterpiece.
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