A Life In Ruins

On this episode of ALiRP we are joined again by Dr. Devin Pettigrew to talk about his three recent publications. All three discuss experimental archaeology methodologies and the need to revisit the accuracy and precision of previous research under modern techniques. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com so we can get shipping infor...

On this episode, David is by himself and does not know what to talk about. So he rants and rambles about his dog lecture on youtube. Which then leads him to discussing how he edits videos, photos, and how he practices public speaking. He talks about how he went from editing memes on photoshop to how he lights his cave scenes, and then talks about Oppenheimer and Tarentino movies and what makes the...

n this episode, we are pleased to have Raven Todd da Silva and Natasha Billson return to the Podcast. Raven is another OG from the early episodes, appearing on episode 9 and runs a very popular Instagram and Youtube Channel called “Dig it with Raven” and Natasha aka Tash was recently on episode 29, and runs a youtube channel called Behind the Trowel. If you follow us on Social Media, then you know...

On this Encore episode of A Life in Ruins podcast, we chat with Mackenzie Cory, a fellow University of Wyoming Graduate! Mac delves into his formative years, working in Wyoming and his inspiration to take the next step into graduate school. We also discuss his current PhD research and how we can identify and look at childhood in the archaeological record. We then end the episode with a discussion...

In this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast, David does a solo interview with his friend Dr. Margie Serrato, an anthropologist turned empowerment coach. David and Margie begin talking about what Margie does for a living and her life post PhD. After, Margie discusses her childhood moving all over the US and also growing up in Medellin, Colombia during the height of Pablo Escobar’s narcoterrorism. Ma...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, Carlton takes a well-earned break while Connor and David chat. They start out chatting about David’s new tattoo and some Lord of the Rings lore. They do talk some anthropology concerning the effects of tattoos on the body and the experience itself, and also how Boromir applies to anthropology. The last two-thirds of the show, David discusses the history of rice...

On this episode of ALiRP, Carlton recounts his recent return to Pawnee, Oklahoma. The lads chat about Pawnee Homecoming, Culture, and Mourning customs and then they somehow end up talking about rice. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com so we can get shipping information to send you a sticker. If you are listening to this episode...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, Connor and Carlton dive deep into the topic of cannibalism in the past and present. They start out talking about what prompted them to dive down this rabbit hole. They define the terms associated with cannibalism and then discuss the earliest known evidence of cannibalism in the archaeological record. They then detail other examples of cannibalism in tim...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, Connor interviews Dr. Charles Koenig. Charles is a recently crowned Ph. D. from the University of Wyoming. We discuss Charles' upbringing in Summit County, Colorado and his earliest experiences in the Great Basin with archaeology. We then delve into his academic career and he recalls how a rock art field school set him along his current path. Charles then discus...

In this episode of A Life in Ruins, Connor, Carlton, and David discuss the new Homo naledi findings in South Africa, and their implications on modern anthropology. After discussing the articles a bit in depth, they quickly segway to other burial practices and hominid behaviors. The episode ends with personal, cultural experiences around death and funerals. If you have left a podcast review on iTun...

On this episode, the boys talk about a recent publication in American Antiquity : The Injury Costs of Knapping by Gala et al. Transcripts For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ruins/160 Links 2023 The Injury Cost of Knapping, in American Antiquity by Gala et al.  Contact Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast Facebook: @alifeinrui...

On this episode of ALiRP, Carlton is joined by the host of the Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast: Dr. Andrew Kinkella. They talk about Dr. Kinkella’s graduate work in underwater archaeology in Maya Cenotes, the Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast, and science communication. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com so we can get shipping information t...

In this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast, Connor and Davíd interview Joshua Herrin; archaeologist and artifacts laboratory manager of the Augusta Veteran’s Curation Program. Josh originally started his career at Georgia, Southern University, but then found himself in the United States Army. After finishing his tenure with the National Guard, Josh re-enrolled in his undergraduate studies and late...

In this is episode of Ruins, Connor and David talk with Carlton about his experience in the Dominican Republic. Carlton is currently in the DR working with a dive team researching a 16th century shipwreck in the Caribbean. He talks about the good and the bad, but mostly the fascinating. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com so we c...

David and Connor attempt to make a coherent episode that goes through a variety of different topics including knapp-ins, flintknapping, lithic analysis, lithic analysis in CRM archaeology, monitoring in CRM, mapping and data standards in CRM and end with a video game idea/explain why remote video games are the new way to hang out. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please emai...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we talk with our good friend and recent graduate of the University of Wyoming, Jacob Arnzen. We delve into Oregon history, the vegetation and topography of Oregon and random tidbits about the Oregon Trail. He then explains what he did for his thesis and also explains why obsidian is a very interesting thing to study in the past. We finish off talking abo...

For this week we are re-releasing Episode 80 - The “Mane” Event with Dr. William Taylor. Why? Well we will soon be releasing another episode with Dr. Taylor where we will be discussing his recently published article in Science titled: Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies. For this episode, we are joined again by Dr. William Taylor, who first appeared on the...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, we are lucky to be joined by the co-founders of Community Connections LLC, Jessica Ericson and Jasmine Saxon. Community Connections is a Historical Consulting Company based out of Denver. We start out talking about their first experiences with archaeology and anthropology and then delve into the origins of Community Connections. They detail what kind of projects...

In this episode, Carlton is joined by Alex Craib and Mason Niquette from Cultural Resource Analysts, inc. to talk about about archaeology in the 41st Millennium in honor of the return of the Lion of Caliban. Yes, in perhaps the nerdiest episode ever of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we cover the history and techno-archaeology of the Warhammer 40k Universe. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or...

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we dive deep into underwater archaeology. Carlton starts out recounting his experience taking classes in underwater archaeology at Indiana University. He then details the methods and processes to actually record sites underwater. He then talks about where is going to work this upcoming week. We somehow end up talking about Christopher Columbus again. If...

In this episode, Carlton does another solo lecture-style episode. The subject of this lecture? An introduction to Great Plains archaeology with a focus on Pawnee archaeological ancestry. The episode starts off with very introductory history of the Pawnee in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century. Then Carlton dives into Great Plains geography and culture history. The episode ends with a focus on the eth...

In this episode Carlton and David dip their toes into the style vs function debate in archaeology. This debate towards material culture stems from the transition of the Culture History approach into the New Archaeology paradigm of the mid 20th century. David and Carlton talk about the origin of the debate then provide several case-studies to illustrate their point. Per usual, the episode goes off...

In this episode, David chats with his good friend, Vincent Battista about species, Neanderthals, human evolution, and his new job as a PhD in the Private Sector for a pharmaceutical company.  David and Vincent have a conversation regarding how to determine what a “species” is, and whether it is just a construct. They then get into a deep discussion about human origins, and where we fit on the...

For this week's episode, we are joined by McKenna Litynski, a newly minted PhD student at the University of Wyoming. And we say newly, because she literally just defended her MA thesis this past week at the University of Wyoming. McKenna is also the youngest person we know in graduate school, let to have a Master’s Degree. We delve into her early years and how she got into archaeology. Then we tak...

On this episode the lads dive into the exciting world of Upper Paleolithic archaeology by discussing our thoughts on the recent Scientific Advances article   Bow-and-arrow, technology of the first modern humans in Europe 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France by Metz et al. 2023. Does the conversation go off the rails? Absolutley. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please em...