Episodes
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
McKenna Litynski: The Tales Bones Tell
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
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!
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Christopher Milan: The Manchay Culture of Ancient Peru
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
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?
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Jackson Crawford: Odin’s Advice and the Values of the Viking World
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
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.
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Evelynn Combs and Gerad Smith: Precolonial Coppersmiths of Alaska
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
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.
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
Gerad Smith: Ancient Alaska and the Gift of the Tanana
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
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.
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Justin Cramb: The Zooarchaeology of Prehistoric Polynesia
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Justin Cramb, an expert in the archaeology of prehistoric Polynesia.
Monday May 30, 2022
Robert Kelly: The Fifth Beginning
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
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.
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Todd Surovell: The Overkill Hypothesis
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
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.
About Me
I am a professional archaeologist with field experience in Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Belize, and Mongolia. I have a B.A. with a double major in anthropology and history, with a minor in geography. I also have an M.A. in Anthropology, with a technical focus on zooarchaeology. I am primarily interested in the archaeology of the Upper Paleolithic, but I have a general interest in ancient history and prehistory, from the stone age to the iron age.