Screens of the Stone Age

Happy Halloween! In this episode of Screams of the Bone Age, we’re joined by special guest Marta Borovčanin to discuss The Descent (2005), a horror movie about a group of explorers who get trapped in a cave and stalked by prehistoric monsters. We talk about our scariest experiences working in caves, and speculate on the possibility of human monsters evolving in caves (Spoiler alert: it probably wo...

We’re getting into the spooky season with a scary movie! The Neanderthal Man is a classic ‘50s monster movie about a mad scientist who creates a serum to turn back evolution and transforms himself into a primitive beast. Actually, it’s not very scary to modern day viewers. It’s not remotely scientifically accurate either. Also, the acting is pretty bad. Still, we had a lot of fun watching it! In t...

It’s a madhouse! A MADHOUSE! In this episode we review Planet of the Apes , the 1968 sci-fi classic in which an astronaut finds himself stranded on a backwards planet where apes rule over humans. For such a silly concept, this movie has some thoughtful things to say about human nature that are sadly as relevant today was they were half a century ago. Oh, and spoiler alert: you’re not going to beli...

We watched it; we can’t unwatch it! In this episode we review four episodes of Futurama , an animated series about a pizza delivery boy who accidentally gets cryogenically frozen and wakes up in the year 3000. What does the future have to do with the stone age? There’s only one way to find out! So grab a can of Slurm and a bowl of Bachelor chow and settle in for this Anthology of Interest! In this...

It had to be done eventually, so we’ve done it! In this episode we meet the Flintstones, a modern stone-age family from the town of Bedrock. Does this movie get the facts right? No, of course it doesn’t. But does it matter? It has dinosaurs! In this episode: ♪ Simpsons! ♪ Meet the Simps- I mean, Flintstones! SAA public perceptions of archaeology study (Archaeologists don’t dig up dinosaurs!): http...

Today we’re joined by Prof. Mirjana Roksandic to discuss The Clan of the Cave Bear, a story about a modern human adopted by a clan of Neanderthals. Author Jean Auel did a commendable amount of research for her book series, but scientific paradigms change fast in palaeoanthropology. How does the movie hold up 35 years later? Let’s find out! (Note: this episode contains a brief discussion of scenes...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Advait Jukar to discuss the 2002 classic Ice Age, the story of three unlikely Pleistocene mammals who team up to rescue a non-adult Homo sapiens , and in the process discover the value of family. If you like Cenozoic mammalian taxonomy, then you’re going to love this episode! Find Advait on Twitter @amjukar and at https://advaitjukar.weebly.com/ In t...

Deja Vu! We’re reviewing Iceman again, but it turns out it’s a totally different movie. This one tells the story of the final days of Ötzi, a neolithic mummy found frozen in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. Compared to the fictional stories we’ve reviewed previously, this one has a lot of real-life archaeological data to work with. Do the filmmakers get the facts right? And more importantly, does th...

In our third episode, we’re reviewing the movie Iceman from 1984. Haven’t heard of it? Neither had we, but it’s about a Neanderthal who was frozen in ice and thawed out in the 20th Century, just like Encino Man. Unlike Encino Man, however, they don’t take him to high school – they debate the ethics of murdering him for science purposes! Does this movie hold up? Well,...

In our second episode we’re reviewing Encino Man (aka California Man), the story of two unpopular teenagers from Encino, California, who dig up a frozen caveman and, naturally, take him to high school. Is this the best caveman movie of all time? Spoiler alert: yes it is. In this episode: We fawn over Brendan Fraser and Pauly Shore. Sean Astin is in the movie too. Mousterian bowls: http://www...

It’s our first episode! To kick things off, we’re reviewing William (2019), a story about a teenaged Neanderthal clone being raised by his ethically-dubious scientist parents in the 21st Century Pacific Northwest. Spoilers ahead! In this episode: The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195450.The_Ugly_Little_Boy Dolly the Sheep: https...