Mark Spanjer is an archaeologist, lecturer and speaker and one of the session organisers of Reconnecting Archaeology. In this interview he talks about finding the fun in archaeology, how to deal with alternative archaeology and what conferences represent.
Links
That's right - adulting (Stephen's favorite word!). On this show we talk about setting up advance directives, disability insurance, life insurance, and some other things you really should be doing. We end the show with a few clips from the 2018 Society for American Archaeology conference in Washington, D.C.
Bill @succinctbill; Doug @openaccessarch; Stephen @processarch; Chris W @Archeowebby,@DIGTECHLLC, and @ArchPodNet;
Another interview with great insight into the archaeology sector in the UK. Towergate Insurance has been providing its services to archaeologists for over 20 years and they have gained a great understanding of archaeologists and the industry as a whole.
Links
Rob Lennox is the policy advisor to the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and in this interview we discuss the challenges for archaeology as a profession and the ways in which conferences such as CIFA held in Brighton this year can bring people inside and outside the industry together to work together.
Sir Barry Cunliffe returns for the third time to The Archaeology Show! On today's show, we talk to him about the Ancient Celts and the second edition of the book with the same name. Archaeologists have learned a lot about the ancient Celts since the first edition of the book was released and we scrape the surface on this show.
Chris participated in a forum on virtual and digital ethics at the 2018 Society for American Archaeology annual meetings in Washington, D.C. in April. On today's episode, Chris and Paul talk about the forum and what virtual and digital ethics actually mean for archaeologists.
We also include a few select recordings from the conference.
This is a short interview conducted at the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists conference in Brighton. Dr. Andy Holland is a Post-Doctoral researcher at the University of Bradford, specialising in Forensic Archaeology. We discuss how forensics archaeologists work with law enforcement, and how conferences bring both commercial and academic archaeologists together.
Links
https://www.bradford.ac.uk/life-sciences/arch-sci/our-staff/andy-holland-.php
Chris and Bill attended the 2018 Northwest Anthropological Association conference in Boise, Idaho in March 2018. They talk about what they saw and what they learned. Also, Chris, Doug, and Bill talk about archaeologists as curators. What should we keep? What should we give to curation facilities? What should be digitally recorded and who should store it?
Bill @succinctbill; Doug @openaccessarch; Stephen @processarch; Chris W @Archeowebby,@DIGTECHLLC, and @ArchPodNet;
Historian Billy Griffiths has written a very interesting and unique book related to the historical and ancient past of Australia. Quite a few people came together to create the narrative of history that we know today and their stories are told in this book. Before they did their work the history of Australia was very misunderstood. Check out his podcast then go read the book and learn something new about an amazing place.
Content Warning - Racism, Far Right Wing
Cheddar Man was only meant to be one data point within a wider data-set about prehistoric migrations into Britain. Instead the representation of Cheddar Man with dark skin sent the right wing blog-o-sphere into a media furore claiming conspiracy and bad science. And although its fun to laugh at white supremacists who make such a huge point of having direct lineage have to come to terms with a "black ancestor" - is this really the conversation we need to have? Surely there must be more to talk about when it comes to race, genetics and the representation of the past.
Bibliography:
Richardson, L-J. (2014). Understanding Archaeological Authority in a Digital Context, Internet Archaeology 38. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.38.1
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/cheddar-man-mesolithic-britain-blue-eyed-boy.html
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/07/first-modern-britons-dark-black-skin-cheddar-man-dna-analysis-reveals
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2161867-ancient-dark-skinned-briton-cheddar-man-find-may-not-be-true/
Kevin Logan - (Voice) Person 1 + Customer
https://www.youtube.com/user/ploppy111
Michael Rowlands - (Voice) Narrator
https://www.youtube.com/user/MrTheMusicManMichael
On today’s episode, Chris and Paul discuss an article (linked below) from the Society for American Archaeology’s Advances in Archaeological Practice regarding digital extensions to physical museum exhibitions. We get into the weeds on this and discuss the future possibilities of digital museums.
Today’s podcast features Dr. Antoinette Jackson, Associate Professor at the University of South Florida. We talk about her work with the Gullah Geechee and the importance of representation in telling people’s stories. We contrast their experience with her work with the local communities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the National Park Service. She talks about how to work with descendent communities with less formalized power structures, as well as how to work more ethically with descendant communities in general. Finally, we talk about the town of Archery, which provides an interesting juxtaposition of how stories are told, being both a predominately African-American community and the boyhood home of former President Jimmy Carter. Finally, she shares what it’s like interviewing a former President!
Present Pasts Call for Papers (PDF)
It's hard to believe that it has been two years since we started this podcast! We hope you enjoy our reminiscing over our favorite episodes and our hopes for the podcast in the future.
Stephen Wagner guest hosts this week's show and is joined by Doug Rocks-Macqueen and special guest Bill Auchter. Bill rolls the dice on a DnD-style random encounters table that Stephen has matched to topics in archaeology. They roll the dice for each new topic and come up with a great show. Here's what's discussed:
- Dragon's Hoard: Curation
- Sunset: The end of the road for projects and documents
- Sequestered Monks: Published Materials
- Geomancer: Spatial Data
- The Gorgon: Permanence and your archaeological career
Bill @succinctbill; Doug @openaccessarch; Stephen @processarch; Chris W @Archeowebby,@DIGTECHLLC, and @ArchPodNet;
Why do textbooks cost so much? Part of the reason is that for one person to do it they need to be compensated. Another reason is that books are big, have lots of color pages, and are expensive to produce. That's why this Open Textbook idea is interesting. Today we talk to Katie Kirakosian - a professor at UMASS that is leading a team that is making a North American Archaeology textbook that will be free to download and use for everyone! It's a very interesting idea and we explore a lot of topics surrounding open access on this episode.
On today's episode Chris and Paul answer some listener questions.
Today's panel discusses the wild world of pseudo-archaeology. The regular panel is joined by Stephanie Halmhofer at Bones, Stones, and Books, and Sara Head from Archaeological Fantasies to discuss The nature of pseudo-archaeology, how to identify it, what to do when you see it, and how we as archaeologists can combat it.
On today's episode we play some recordings from the 2018 Society for California Archaeology Meetings in San Diego, CA in March. It's a hodge-podge of stuff but I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Bill @succinctbill; Doug @openaccessarch; Stephen @processarch; Chris W @Archeowebby,@DIGTECHLLC, and @ArchPodNet;
We're joined on today's show by historian and author Justin Jacobs. Jacobs wrote "Indiana Jones in History: From Pompeii to the Moon". It's a great read about the real circumstances in history that produced Indiana Jones-like behavior regarding the acquisition of antiquities across the world. In the final chapter, Jacobs gives an academic breakdown of the franchise and says what he things the 5th movie (Out in 2020) could be about.
CLICK HERE to buy a copy of "Indiana Jones In History!!
I give Early Man the Prehi/stories treatment with James Dilley, an ancient technology specialist, and Erin Kavanagh, who is interested in how the past is represented whether that's the prehistoric past or the footballing past. The film is just a bit of Aardman fun, of course, but it opens up wider topics for discussion about how the past is discussed. With plenty of political prehistory in the news, where does this fit in? The fact it was storyboarded as far back as 2011 suggests we may be reading a little too much into it...
James Dilley @ancientctaftUK; Erin Kavanaugh @geomythkavanagh
Host: Kim Biddulph @kimbiddulph