The Archaeology Show

On a warm sunny day in February Chris and Rachel set up on the beach in Mexico with a live audience and a virtual one to talk about the prehistory of Mexico. Of course they started with tacos! Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord....

This week, we share the live recording of TAS from the 10th anniversary celebration back in December. We deep dive the Gladiator movies and talk about what they got right and wrong in the movies about who gladiators were. We also look at how accurately (or not!) some of the real historical figures were portrayed in the movies. Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden...

Today, Chris interviews explorer and author Tara Roberts. She dove and worked with Diving with a Purpose, a non-profit organization that excavated underwater wrecks of slave ships. She tells the stories of the slave ships and the people doing the work. We talk about her career and her journey to writing the book. Links Written In The Waters - Hardcover on Amazon Written In The Waters eBook on Amaz...

This week we found several news stories claiming that they had new evidence for an artifact or site being “the oldest…” Join us for a discussion on whether we think these claims are accurate! Links 11,000-year-old indigenous site — one of oldest on continent — found in Canada Great Plains Archaeology Podcast The oldest shoes in the world are on display in Oregon Transcripts For rough transcripts h...

On today’s show we talk about three recent news stories including prehistoric cannibalism in Poland, a WWI era German soldier buried in a 2000 year old Roman villa, and a cutting edge new technology where the mitochondrial DNA of soil is analyzed in Spain. Links Brain-eating cannibalistic community lived in Poland cave 18,000 years ago, bones show Archaeologists discover Roman villa in France — th...

This week we cover three archaeology news stories. First, we look at “sun stones” that may have been buried as a ritual to bring back the sun after a volcanic eruption. Then, researchers in Peru think they have found an underground network of Incan tunnels in Cuzcos. Finally, women are found to have more power than previously thought in a Celtic group in Britain. Links Neolithic Farmers May Have B...

This is the second half of our conversation about Season 2 of Ancient Apocalypse on Netflix. If you haven’t heard the first part, you will want to listen to that first. In this episode we cover the rest of the episodes and give our final thoughts on Graham Hancocks “theories.” Transcripts For rough transcripts head over to https://archpodnet.com/archaeology/292 Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeol...

Well, we finally did it. On today’s episode we cover Netflix’s Ancient Apocalypse Season 2 with Graham Hancock. We actually have so much to talk about that it takes two episodes. This is episode one where we make it to talking about Rapa Nui. Links London Bridge episode of TAS Heritage Voices Episode about Rapa Nui Transcripts For rough transcripts head over to https://archpodnet.com/archaeology/2...

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a break for the holiday season. In the meantime, please enjoy this encore episode. It’s a favorite of ours! Happy holidays! A few weeks ago, archaeologist Flint Dibble was invited on to the Joe Rogan Experience to have a dialogue with Graham Hancock. Over the course of the 4 hour show, Flint did a fantastic job engaging and attempting to educate Graham and...

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a break for the holiday season. In the meantime, please enjoy this encore episode. It’s a favorite of ours! Happy holidays! CORRECTION: Graham Hancock wrote Fingerprints of the Gods NOT Chariots of the Gods which was written by Erich von Däniken. Our apologies for mixing up the two titles! The latest archaeological injustice from Graham Hancock is in the f...

This week we tackle one of our favorite topics - controversy! Last summer, the team working on the Rising Star Cave site in South Africa released a series of pre-prints making some incredible claims about the pre-human species, Homo Naledi. They were closely followed by the Netflix documentary, Cave of Bones which captured the attention of the public. However, other researchers are pushing back, c...

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a break for the holiday season. In the meantime, please enjoy this encore episode. It’s a favorite of ours! Happy holidays! This week we have 3 fascinating archaeology news stories. First, experimental research has helped researchers determine the function of an ivory baton. Then, we take a look at a newly discovered Roman villa that may have belonged to P...

Recently, we went to see the movie Moana 2 with our little nieces and we ended up enjoying it so much more than we expected! But, of course, we had to ask the question, how accurate is the story and characters behind the Moana franchise? In this episode we deep dive the history, archaeology, myths, and Polynesian culture on which these movies are based. Links The World Of Moana Explained The Long...

We’ve got a partial theme today but we start with 9000 year old bread making in the near east! We then go to Maya country for a double header. We start with 4000 year old fishing canals build buy the predecessors to the Maya and then talk about a possible solution to the Maya long count calendar. Links Focaccia: A Neolithic culinary tradition dating back 9,000 years ago (Apple) Archaeologists disc...

We get back to the news this week! We start with a cool site from Sweden where…it’s all ritual! Next we go to the Iberian Peninsula and learn about a Neanderthal glue factory, sort of. Finally, we talk about what Hollywood gets wrong, and right, about gladiators after seeing Gladiator II. Links 5,000-year-old sacrificial site stuns archaeologists in Sweden. ‘Extremely unusual’ 65,000-year-old hear...

This week we cover 3 recent archaeology news stories that showcase the bias of both journalists and researchers. First, 12,000 year old spindle whirls may be early evidence of the wheel. Then, we head to Pompeii where DNA evidence is showing the modern bias researchers have about personal adornment. And finally, Indigenous populations in Columbia are sharing their cultural knowledge about local Pi...

This week we take a look at 3 recent news stories that supposedly solved a famous historical mystery. First up, the identity of the famous “horeseman” burial has possibly been identified. Then, a scrap of fabric from a tomb in Greece may have belonged to Alexander the Great. Finally, archaeologists have “solved” the mystery of the Roanoake’s lost colony. Were any of these mysteries truly solved? Y...

This week we check back in with recent archaeology in the news! First, we look at new research on the oldest known battlefield in Europe. Then, we take a look a home renovation in France that turned into an early medieval cemetery excavation! And finally, a flooded Kushite tomb in Sudan is finally revealing it’s secrets thanks to the work of underwater archaeologists. Links Thousands of bones and...

This week we talk out our recent visit to Washington DC where we went to The National Museum of the American Indian, Ford’s Theater, the National Archives and the National Museum of Natural History. Links National Museum of the American Indian WHY I CAN’T VISIT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN Mixed Reviews for Museum of American Indian Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwo...

Today’s episode is a special one where we interview Director Christian Stiefenhofer. In the first segment he gets a special announcement from Arkhaios Film Festival founder Jean F. Guilleux. We discuss the amazing documentary that Christian and his team put together and in the last segment, Rachel and Chris wrap up the show with a discussion about the film. Youtube: https://youtu.be/3VWgYoOok9Y Li...

This week, postdoctoral scholar Laura Heath-Stout joins Chris for a conversation about her upcoming book Identity, Oppression, and Diversity in Archaeology. They explore how the lack of diversity in the field of archaeology has influenced our perception of ancient history, and how this can and should change. Links Identity, Oppression, and Diversity in Archaeology: Releasing on Oct. 31. available...

The Arkhaios Film Festival is a free annual event that takes place every fall. It highlights the work of film makers working in the anthropology and archaeology space. This year the Archaeology Podcast Network participated in the jury selection process and we interviewed a few of the film makers. In this episode you’ll hear from Andrew Jones of Curiosity Trek and Alessio Consorte of The Last Shop,...

This week we take a closer look at three archaeology news articles. In Norway, an archaeology rescue program is finding and recovering archaeological remains when they are exposed to air by glacial melt. Some of the artifacts are incredibly well preserved examples of organic material that normally doesn't survive the archaeological record. Then we head over to the United States and take a look at...

On today’s episode we review the surprisingly historically accurate Apple TV+ reboot of the movie Time Bandits. The new TV show, Time Bandits features a 10-episode season where a group of “bandits” travel through time meeting historical characters along the way. We talk about those characters and the real facts behind them, as well as what we liked about the show. They got a lot of the details rig...

The first news story this week used DNA to find out some interesting things about some Christians in Spain. Not only were they inbreeding, likely to keep their faith and lines pure, but they had small pox and some other interesting characteristics. Next we learn about a small disc found on the island of Crete with an unreadable script on it. Finally, how did early Scandinavian’s build boats? Perha...