Peopling the Past

Peopling the Past Podcast is BACK for a third season on a very exciting topic: Women in the Ancient Mediterranean ! Join your hosts Dr. Chelsea Gardner and Dr. Melissa Funke for an introduction to SEASON THREE of the Peopling the Past podcast! This season, listeners will hear about real women from all over the ancient Mediterranean world, from Britain to Nubia, Italy to Cyprus, Greece to Mesopotam...

What does it mean to be free? In our Season 2 finale episode, archaeologist and historian Dr. Katharine Huemoeller joins the podcast to tell us all about her research on the female, forced, and reproductive aspects of ancient Roman slavery and how manumission and marriage can become intertwined. Join us as we dive into the story of woman named Acte and a cursed grave monument from Rome whose inscr...

You might call ceramics the "plastics" of the ancient world...ubiquitous, indestructible, and incredibly useful! But how do we identify the spaces where ancient potters once made these everyday objects? Dr. Elizabeth Murphy joins the podcast to tell us all about the discovery and excavation of ancient tableware workshops at the site of Sagalassos in modern Turkey. Listen in as artisanal techniques...

It's all about Mary this week on the podcast! We are joined by archaeologist and PtP webmaster Dr. Sabrina Higgins, who takes us through catacombs, churches, and monasteries in Egypt, Syria, and Rome to trace the emergence of the cult of the Virgin Mary in the Mediterranean. Dr. Higgins discusses how Mariologists uncover signs of early worship of the mother of Jesus Christ, and emphasizes the role...

The sights, smells, and sounds of an ancient Roman bakery might surprise you...in this episode, historian and archaeologist Dr. Jared Benton joins the show to tell us all about the economics of ancient Roman bread-baking, from the household level to industrial-scale production. Come break bread with us as we talk about capitalism, social classes, Ostia, Djemila, and...donkeys! 

Money makes the ancient Mediterranean world go round...but what happens when there's not enough metal to make official coinage? In this episode, archaeologist Dr. Irene Soto Marín shares her research on quasi-official (not counterfeit!) coinage in Roman Egypt during the 4th century CE, a period of instability and uncertainty. Join us as we learn how the Roman army created a cheap and effective mon...

Today's episode is simply magical! Join us as we welcome Dr. Britta Ager - an expert in ancient Mediterranean magic, spells, and curses - to the show and hear about her experimental work re-creating some sweet and smelly spells based on surviving recipes from the Egyptian Greek Magical Papyri. Listen in to learn about evidence for how and why people practiced magic in antiquity, from getting the g...

Waste not, want not! In this episode, learn all about ancient Mediterranean olive oil production and how real people producing this delicious food used the manufacturing byproducts to create a closed-loop, sustainable system. Dr. Erica Rowan, an expert on archaeobotanical (plant!) remains, joins us to explain how the ancient Romans in North Africa, Spain, and Italy used industrial olive oil waste...

Ever wonder how ancient artists created the vividly-coloured frescoes that adorned the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum? Dr. Hilary Becker joins Chelsea and Melissa to tell us all about nature's palette and the raw materials that were used to create the reds, yellows, blues, whites, blacks, greens, and purples of the Roman world. Focusing on the archaeological remains of the only surviving pigmen...

Water, water, everywhere...but how much of it can we drink?  In this episode, Chelsea and Melissa chat with Dr. Mark Locicero about Roman drainage systems in the ancient North African town of Volubilis (modern Morocco) and the Italian port city of Ostia. Find out how ancient Mediterranean people controlled and accessed clean drinking water and how that differed based on status, class, and location...

What do our choices say about who we are? In this episode, Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about clothing, status, dress, identity, preservation, commemoration, and cultural heritage! Focusing on art historical analyses of ancient funerary portraits from Palmyra (modern Syria), we explore memory and permanence, and dive into issues of protecting our collective past for t...

In this episode, Dr. Liana Brent joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about the archaeological remains of burials in Roman Italy at the ancient cemetery of Vagnari. Find out how archaeologists and anthropologists discover information about the real lives of ancient people through their commemorative practices, funerary rituals, and graves.

In the Season 2 premiere episode, Dr. Elizabeth Greene joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about the archaeological remains of Roman shoes from the site of Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall in present-day England. Why do shoes survive here, and what can they tell us about the men, women, and children who lived at this military fort hundreds of years ago? Listen to find out!

Join your Season 1 host, Dr. Chelsea Gardner, as she welcomes new co-host Dr. Melissa Funke for an introduction to the second season of the Peopling the Past podcast! This season, we'll take listeners on a journey through under-explored aspects of archaeology, history, material culture and everyday life in the ancient Roman world, from Egypt to Italy, Syria to England, Morocco to Turkey, and more!...

In this episode, Sanchita Balachandran joins us to speak about the sensory experience of ancient potters and painters, her experimental archaeology project at Johns Hopkins, and the underdrawings on Greek painted pottery.

In this episode, Dr. Lana Radloff speaks about seascapes, the ancient sensory experience of the Mediterranean, and the ancient city of Miletus.

In this episode, Susan Matheson joins us to speak about representations of old age and the elderly in Greek art.

In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Stager discusses her work on Greek art, polychromy, and materiality.

In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Worsham discusses her work on Bronze age houses, deliberate destruction, and home renovation.

In this episode, Dr. Flint Dibble joins us to discuss his work on zooarchaeology and climate change in the Iron Age.

In this episode, Dr. Carolyn M. Laferrière discusses her work on Greek art, music, and religious ritual by taking a close look at the Vari Cave on Mount Hymettos.

In this episode, Dr. Laura Gawlinksi joins us to discuss her work on religious processions, ancient dress, inscriptions, and the festival at Andania.

In this episode, Katie Petrole joins us to discuss the Nashville Parthenon, its history, and its relationship with the Athenian Parthenon.

In this episode, Dr. Katherine Harrington joins us to discuss her work on women's labour, weaving and textiles, and Bau Z in the Kerameikos.

Join your hosts Dr. Carolyn M. Laferrière and Dr. Chelsea A.M. Gardner for an introduction to Peopling the Past. This season, we'll take listeners for a journey through under-explored aspects of material culture and everyday life in ancient Greece. Follow us on our website, peoplingthepast.com, on Twitter @peoplingthepast with #peoplingpodcast, on our Instagram at peoplingthepast, and on our Faceb...