The Dirt Podcast

There are surprising intersections between video game creation and archaeology, and that, of course, comes along with the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of mining ancient history for content creation. Neither Anna nor Amber really grew up playing video games, so we are extremely lucky to have a guest expert, Dr. Bill Farley, Associate Professor of Anthropology at South Connecticut State Univers...

First used to describe religious movements that emerged in Melanesia following contact with Allied military personnel in World War II, cargo cults are sects and ritualized behaviors intended to summon outsiders (and their stuff) back and bring about a new age. We’ll explore theories for why they come about, discuss some examples of cargo cults in the traditional definition, and consider what paral...

We’ve had plenty of instances on the show (in the main feed and especially in Old News) of archaeological research bearing out information that existed already in the historical and oral traditions of Indigenous groups. We’ll discuss some examples of this, and we’ll also examine the relationship of Indigenous science and knowledge with the Western systems that actively invalidate and exclude them....

This week, Amber's under the weather, so Anna goes solo with special guest Dr. Naomi Martisius. Naomi tells us how she deciphers clues about human behavior by looking at tiny tiny VERY tiny portions of animal bone surfaces under a microscope. We’ll get into her undergraduate discovery that re-wrote a part of prehistory (no, really), and her work on the extremely cool bone artifacts and ornaments f...

BONUS Hello, friends! We’re moving our episode schedule slightly—episodes will now be coming out on Wednesdays!! But in the meantime—This is a shortened version of a much longer chat that's available to our Patreon members (link below to join and support the show)! Anna and Amber chat about some changes in their personal lives, plus some updates to The Dirt. We also FINALLY answer our own intervie...

Settle in for a HEFTY episode, folks! This week, Amber and Anna examine the world of the Neo-Assyrian empire. This means some substantial time spent context-setting, thanks to the complex nature of early Mesopotamian politics, religion, warfare, and state propaganda. Then we look further at that carefully crafted state propaganda and its influence on Assyriology. THEN we get into a bit of archaeol...

On a listener-sponsored episode, Anna and Amber tackle the archaeology and historical context of maroon communities. These are societies formed by self-liberated Africans during the period when the slave trade was a huge part of the world economy. We discuss some archaeological case studies, and then really think long and hard about what it means to reconstruct these lives, and who has historicall...

In a SURPRISE THIRD INSTALLMENT of our discussion of sci fi and archaeology, we talk about two giants of world building, Octavia E Butler and Ursula K LeGuin. We also talk about a few fictional anthropologists of TV and cinema. Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot! Connect with James on Twit...

We're back! And we're continuing our exploration of science fiction in archaeology AND anthropology in science fiction. Last time, we talked to author Pat Edwards about world-building and storytelling--this time, we tell the stories. Amber gets speculative, Anna spins some yarns, and we investigate the Thousand and One Nights. Show notes coming soon! Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays...

(ENCORE) This week, Anna and Amber decided to clean up their act and take a look at the history of bathing and hygiene. We’re dipping our toes into Roman baths, sweating through Finnish and Russian saunas, discussing the shrewd marketing behind the “Halitosis Effect,” and more. Plus, what even IS soap, anyway? Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Ch...

In this re-release of an EARLY classic, take a whirlwind tour of the Swahili coast and the economic and cultural exchanges over land and sea it has enjoyed for more than a thousand years, before zooming in on the very powerful, and very cool, medieval sultanate of Kilwa Kisawani. Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging...

Pat Edwards is an author, game builder, and creator of all kinds of sci-fi and fantasy content. We all sit down and puzzle through some questions about the boundaries between archaeological interpretation and fiction, the use of anthropological tropes in pop culture, and strategies for drawing from the archaeological record for fictional world-building. We had a blast with this unconventional topi...

We're bouncing back from some bumps in the road this week, and bring you a short and sweet episode about some of the history and archaeology of two sweet substances--maple syrup and sugarcane. Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot! Contact Email the Dirt Podcast: thedirtpodcast@gmail.com Arch...

Hello, lovely listeners--a whole bunch of life stuff has smacked us right in the face recently. Thank you so much for your patience and continued support--we really love you. This week's classic episode is all about mounds and the people that built (and absolutely did not build) them. Links Cahokia: The Great Native American Metropolis (via WorldCat) Cahokia Mounds Watson Brake, a Middle Archaic M...

Amber's traveling for work this week, so we bring you a perfectly dry-aged episode from years past. We bring you a fascinating, poignant, and thoroughly delightful interview with Very Special Guest Lynne Engelbert, a handler with the Institute for Canine Forensics. Learn what the talented pups at the ICF do for a living and prepare to be amazed! Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and s...

How do we know what people ate in the past? How did they make their food? How did food fit into the social aspect of life in the past? We discuss old old recipes, spicy Sichuanese history, an herbal mystery, how food changed our faces, and more! Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot! Start yo...

We dive into Dr. Samuel Redman’s latest book, Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology. Amber and Anna (mostly Amber) have lots of questions about the seemingly paradoxical 19th- and 20th- century urge by American scholars to “rescue” objects and even human remains from “disappearing” Indigenous groups. It’s a fascinating window into anthropology viewed as a moral and academic obliga...

This week, we explore yet another place that’s not a backwater or influenced by aliens! In 1986, two pits were excavated at the site of Sanxingdui (Three Stars Mound) in what is today China’s Sichuan province. These two pits, and six more uncovered in 2021, were full of bronze, jade, gold, and ivory objects that appear to have been “sacrificed” (burned or broken) before burial. The artifacts were...

This week, we bring you the MIRACLE OF BIRTH. Join Amber and Anna for a brief frolic through some ancient birthing wisdom and evidence of pregnancy and childbirth in the archaeological record. We're also joined by the brilliant Dr. Natalie Laudicina, who takes us on a fascinating and slightly terrifying journey through the surprisingly complicated landscape of the primate birth canal. Content warn...

We’re finally introducing our producer, Jenna Hendrick, in an episode! Jenna has been working with us behind the scenes on our social media posts and some of the nuts and bolts of episode organization for several months now. We chat about popular media portrayals of human life in the Paleolithic, and how those affected popular perception of the human past. Tune in to the full episode on Patreon fo...

It's another January Hiatus episode--this time a cleaned-up excerpt from Dirt After Dark. Amber drags Anna back to Arabia, where we discuss possibly its most famous inhabitant of all time: the Queen of Sheba. We look at the source material and the archaeology before really getting into it to discuss racism, misogyny, and--of course--camels. Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your...

Recently, Anna and Amber sat down with Rachel Watkins, a biological anthropologist and scholar-activist whose research centers on social and biological histories of Black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Learn about the social history of biological anthropology, the exemplary case studies with which Dr. Watkins has worked, why you shouldn't discount the creepy things small children someti...

We hope you enjoy this great interview from the archives. If you're doing cool research, and want to talk about it on the show, drop us a note at thedirtpodcast@gmail.com! Anna and Amber sit down with Dr. Rebecca Wragg Sykes, Paleolithic archaeologist and author of the book "Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art." We talk about Rebecca's education and her love for all things ancient, and...

We're closing out the year with a cozy episode about heartwarming things in the archaeological record. That’s right, we’re just going to find examples of nice things that people did and made in the past and tell you all about them. It’s a little year’s-end treat for us all. There's some discussion of Dads Being Dads, some loud opinions from Anna's neighbor's dog, and an all around good time. Start...

When does “The Past” start, and how far back does it go? How long did it take people to get places in the past? How do we attempt to hold the vastness of time and geography in our minds? Not well, especially in an audio medium, but we’re excited to blow your minds. Links The Greatest Animal War (Nautilus) The last slave ship survivor and her descendants identified (National Geographic) How Far Can...