Ethnocynology
Ethnocynology is the study of dogs in human cultural contexts. This podcast, hosted by anthropologist and comedian David Ian Howe, explores the history and archaeology of dogs, the roles of dogs in modern media, and the latest findings from archaeology in general.
Remembering Jane Goodall with Primatologist Carson Black - Ep 25
Remembering Jane Goodall with Primatologist Carson Black
In this deeply heartfelt episode, David speaks with Primatologist, Biological Anthropologist, and Conservationist, Carson Black, who has spent her academic career studying chimpanzees in Senegal and howler monkeys in Costa Rica.
Together, they reflect on the life and legacy of Jane Goodall, the “living Darwin of the modern era,” and how her groundbreaking work continues to shape the way we understand both chimpanzees and ourselves.
Horses (Part 2) | Horses in Early Contact North America with Cassidee Thornhill - Ep 24
In this episode of Ethnocynology with David Ian Howe, I sit down with my good friend and former graduate school cohort member Cassidee Thornhill, Collections Manager at the University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository.
Cassidee’s research dives into the early contact era in Wyoming, focusing on the arrival and spread of horses before and during European colonization. We discuss her fascinating thesis work on the Black’s Fork River site, where a young foal was found buried alongside three coyote skulls—an extraordinary archaeological discovery that sheds light on early human–horse relationships on the Plains.
Horses (Part 1) | Hoof Beats with Dr. William Taylor - Ethno 23
In this episode of Ethnocynology, host David Ian Howe sits down with archaeologist and anthropologist Dr. William Taylor (University of Colorado Boulder), author of Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History.
While this show usually focuses on dogs, today we shift to the other animal that transformed humanity: the horse. Dr. Taylor walks us through the evolutionary history of horses, their domestication on the Eurasian steppe, and their reintroduction to the Americas after the Ice Age. Together we explore how humans first interacted with horses—as prey, symbols in cave art, sources of milk and meat, and eventually as partners in transport, warfare, and belief systems.