The Archaeology Show

We've got three news articles for you this week. We start in Turkey with a discovery of a Roman mausoleum. We then head to Scotland and the Culloden Battlefield. Archaeologists hope to find out more personal details of some of the soldiers involved and to do some 3D mapping. Finally, it's back to Romans. This time their presence is found under a Norman church in England. Links Archaeologists revea...

In the wake of the new dating of a Viking settlement in North America we decided to discuss that article and two others about Vikings. They were explorers, conquerers, and very interesting people. Enjoy this episode! Links Viking Map of North America Identified as 20th-Century Forgery (Smithsonian Magazine) Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021 (nature) Goodbye, Columbus: Vikin...

With the definitive dating of the “human” footprints at White Sands pushing back the earliest human occupation of North America to 21,000 to 23,000 years BP, we decided to take a look at several well known pre-Clovis sites. These sites are often controversial and heavily debated amongst archaeologists. We’ll discuss the findings from each site, why they are controversial, and what we think. Links...

With the definitive dating of the “human” footprints at White Sands pushing back the earliest human occupation of North America to 21,000 to 23,000 years BP, we decided to take a look at several well known pre-Clovis sites. These sites are often controversial and heavily debated amongst archaeologists. We’ll discuss the findings from each site, why they are controversial, and what we think. In Par...

Released on Hulu in 2020, Ammonite is a fictionalized movie that portrays a few years at the end of Mary Anning's life. She was an amateur paleontologist and with her family discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils in England. We talk about the movie, what it got right and what it didn't, and about the real Mary Anning and her life, work, and discoveries. Links Ammonite IMDB Entry Ammonite movie r...

In this episode we interview Dr. Randy Daniel of East Carolina University about his new book: Time, Typology, and Point Traditions in North Carolina Archaeology. His research interests include the archaeology of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the Southeastern United States, particularly hunter-gatherer adaptations at the end of the last Ice Age. Dr. Daniel recognized the need to update, revise an...

We’ve got three completely different news stories for you this week. We start with a site that was found in Croatia by basically looking at satellite maps and looking for interesting shapes in the water. We then go to Michigan in the USA and look at a Clovis site that was found by a self-taught researcher. Finally, we head to Poland where a farmer found, and reported, a unique hoard of metal artif...

This week we interview Jason Cooper, an archaeologist with the Washington DOT, the current president of the Association for Washington Archaeology, and former archaeologist with the environmental firm, AMEC. In 2008 we were lucky enough to work on an Olcott excavation with Jason, and now he has co-written a book about those findings. We discuss the significance of the Olcott tradition in Washingto...

Timelines is back, and this time we take a look at a time that is extremely significant to the United States: 1776, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We explore the events leading up the the Revolutionary war in America, as well as what was happening at the same time in other parts of the world: China and Africa. Links Timeline of the Declaration of Independence Declaration of In...

Your news for the week includes a Roman basilica, the largest found in Israel, uncovered in the city of Ashkelon. Next is a preserved, mummified, body of a freed Greek slave that lived in Pompeii. Finally, we go to England to find the remains of an Abbey that fell into disuse in the 1500s. Links 2000 Year Old Basilica Unearthed in Ashkelon Archaeologists find mummy, evidence of Greek in Pompeii Ar...

In this week’s episode of The Archaeology Show, we take a look at 3 recent archaeology news articles. First, a Roman graveyard containing an unusually high number of decapitated burials, indicating they may have been executed criminals. Second, lava tubes in Saudi Arabia with thousands of bones deposited by hyenas representing many different animals, including humans. Finally, we discuss spade sha...

On today’s show we start with an article that claims to “debunk” the Paleo Diet. However, what it really does is just talk about a lot of really cool food-related things in history. Next we go to Turkey and learn about a headless statue that was recently discovered. Finally, we end in an Iranian salt mine where naturally mummified sheep were found. Links The real Paleo diet: Scientists debunk anci...

On this weeks episode we have 3 interesting archaeology news articles. First up is the discovery of a Roman Pomerium marker defining the boundary of city of Rome 2000 years ago. Second, a 4000 year old city in Iraq has been discovered. And finally, a reanalysis of skeletons from a Pleistocene era graveyard in Sudan provide new insight into how the people buried there died. Links Ancient Rome's cit...

Paul Zimmerman from the ArchaeoTech podcast joins Chris and Rachel on their archaeological project in the high desert of Nevada. We talk about a dubious piece of Neanderthal art - I mean, art is art, right? We also look at a Nubian cathedral that was recently excavated. Finally, Paul helps us understand the Temple of the Winged Lions at Petra. He's actually worked there! Links A 51,000-year-old ca...

We have three great news stories for you this week. First, we talk about an article from Smithsonian about ancient tombs in Egypt. Check out the documentary coming out in 2021! Next we look at an experimental archaeology article looking at three different cave lighting systems and their effectiveness. Finally, we look at the oldest tattooing tools ever found in North America. Links Inside the Tomb...

This week we discuss three recent news articles about archaeology. First, potential new additions to the hominin evolutionary tree. Then, a CRM firm in South Carolina opens a time capsule from the mid 1800s. And finally, a carved wood staff is found in Finland and it may have belonged to a Shaman. Links Mysterious skull fossils expand human family tree — but questions remain Contents of long-burie...

There are a lot of interesting archaeology articles in the world this week. On today’s episode we cover just three. We start with an uncracked 1000 year old chicken egg. Then we talk about a unique child burial in Poland. Finally, we talk about fancy viking clothes and the cost to make them. Links Archaeologists Discover - and Crack - an Intact 1,000 year old chicken egg Girl buried with finch in...

A recent article discussing the discover of over 200 child burials in Canada has brought the Canadian Residential School system back into the light. The schools were for First Nations children to be indoctrinated into white society. They striped children of languangen and identity and forced them into gender-typical labor. it was a horrifying time in Canada that came to an end, in once case, in ju...

This week we have 3 stories of Archaeology in the news. First, the oldest petroglyphs in Scotland, and also the only animal shapes, were discovered by an amateur archaeologist. Second, we discuss new developments in lithic dating using OSL. And finally, a large scale environmental survey on an Air Force base is announced in Wyoming. Links 'An incredible discovery': Prehistoric animal carvings foun...

We have three articles for you today. The first is about current climate models and how they don't take archaeological information into consideration. For example, how many acres of food were grown per person in 1500 Europe verses China? Next we look at why pig and fish remains were in abundance in some ancient Judean settlements? Weren't they supposed to be Kosher? Finally, a paper that's still j...

This week on The Archaeology Show, we discuss three exciting Archaeology Articles and News stories. First, two obsidian flakes from central Oregon have been found in an early Holocene settlement in Lake Huron. Second, an extensive cemetery in Poland gives the Wielbark civilization its name. And finally, researchers in Arizona have programmed a computer to sort pottery sherds faster and more consis...

This week on The Archaeology show, we discuss 3 recently published Archaeology Articles and stories in the news. First, Neanderthals are back in the news, again! It seems like there is something new about Neanderthals, and this time it is the discovery of 9 individuals with gnawed bones found in an Italian cave. Second, new research uses chemistry to identify beer and wine residue in ancient Sicil...

This week we discuss three interesting archaeology stories in the news. First, new dating techniques are used to date Laos' field of jars. Then, we discuss the oldest known homo sapien burial found in Africa. Finally, excavations of mustatils in Saudi Arabia shed some light on what these structures were used for. Links Archaeologists finally uncovered some of the mystery behind Laos’s Plain of Jar...

On today’s episode Chris and Rachel discuss a recent visit to the historical monuments in Philadelphia, PA and Gettysburg. In the last segment they talk about the recent discovery of a grind stone in Orkney, Scotland and what it means for our understanding of the Neolithic in that area. Links Archaeological Investigation of the Carriage House, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, P...

This week, on the archaeology show, we take a look at a couple new(ish) discoveries that have been in the news this week. First, an extremely well preserved city in Luxor Egypt has been discovered and dated to the reign of Amenhotep III. Next, LiDAR helps researchers discover a new monument in Tikal that appears to be influenced by the people of Teotihuacan, the future conquerers of Tikal. And fin...