Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Maya Astronomer Named, and Controversy Over Utah Monuments and Smithsonian Signage - TAS 335

Maya Astronomer Named, and Controversy Over Utah Monuments and Smithsonian Signage - TAS 335
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In today’s archaeology news episode, we discuss three articles, starting with a discovery at the Maya city of Xiulán, Guatemala: a small room interpreted as a scribe/astronomer workspace with 11 hieroglyphs naming Sak Ton Wax (“white-chested fox”) and more than 50 mathematical “micro texts” tracking Venus and Mars as the author. We then cover a report that President Trump reduced Grand Staircase–Escalante and Bears Ears by nearly three million acres, opening lands to mining and ending the Bears Ears Commission’s tribal co-stewardship. Finally, we discuss a report on an executive order to post warnings outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History about “inaccurate information,” and we argue it politicizes history and promotes alternative narratives.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Save Ancient Studies Alliance - TAS 334

Save Ancient Studies Alliance - TAS 334
APN - Chris and Rachel
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On today’s episode Chris interviews Dr. David Danzig from the Save Ancient Studies Alliance. It’s a great website dedicated to education and outreach. They’ve got a conference coming up on July 19th and 20th for people listening in real time. It’s free and open to all. Check out the livestream options at the links below.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Timelines: 1450 - Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, and Constantinople - TAS 333

Timelines: 1450 - Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, and Constantinople - TAS 333
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In this “Timelines: 1450” episode, we travel across continents and centuries to see what was happening at the same time in different places around the world: Angkor Wat in the jungles of Cambodia, Machu Picchu in the Andes, and Constantinople in Turkey. Join us as we uncover their origins, uses, and the mysteries that still surround these awe-inspiring sites.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Presenting: Journal Club - TAS 332

Presenting: Journal Club - TAS 332
APN - Chris and Rachel
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Each month on the APN Discord channel the management of the APN will get together and discuss an article or two from recent archaeology and scientific journal publications. You can join live and free on the Discord and see our shining faces! We thought we’d use this show to present the audio from that first recording. We’re aiming for the first Monday of every month. Let us know what you think!

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Did Archaeologists Find a Lost Incan City? - TAS 331

Did Archaeologists Find a Lost Incan City? - TAS 331
APN - Chris and Rachel
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This week we cover three archaeology stories in the news recently. First, ancient and unusual rock art in the Caucuses. Then we head over to Spain where researchers have excavated several graves at a monastery, including the queen who founded it. And finally, Natianal Geographic's June cover story is all about a long lost Incan city that may (or may not!) have been identified in Peru.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Monte Verde Dethroned? - TAS 330

Monte Verde Dethroned? - TAS 330
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In episode 330 of The Archeology Show, we discuss the latest controversy over the site of Monte Verde in southern Chile, long considered a cornerstone pre-Clovis site dated to about 14,500 BP. We summarize a March 2026 study led by Todd Surovell arguing the key occupation layer is much younger (about 8,200–4,200 years ago) based on geological and stratigraphic analyses, including an 11,000-year-old tephra layer allegedly beneath deposits, claims of redeposited older wood from erosion and flooding, and luminescence dating of nearby sediments. We then review strong criticism, including scathing critiques from about 30 researchers including Tom Dillehay (author of the original work), disputing sampling locations, assumptions about redeposition, and whether the tephra identification is correct. It seems like both sides raise points but more collaborative research is needed before rewriting interpretations of early human peopling of the Americas.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Is Destroying Archaeology for the Border Wall OK? Ep 329

Today we bring you three stories from the news. The first is about an overcrowded cemetery in Colorado and it brings into question other cemeteries that date back over 100 years and the accuracy of records. Next we head to Scotland where a man-made island has been shown to have much more interesting architecture than previously though - and it’s much older than researches believed. Finally, we talk about the archaeology being destroyed by Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

Is Destroying Archaeology for the Border Wall OK? TAS 329
APN - Chris and Rachel
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Today we bring you three stories from the news. The first is about an overcrowded cemetery in Colorado and it brings into question other cemeteries that date back over 100 years and the accuracy of records. Next we head to Scotland where a man-made island has been shown to have much more interesting architecture than previously though - and it’s much older than researches believed. Finally, we talk about the archaeology being destroyed by Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Early Hominin Structures, Pompeii Discoveries, and the Band of Holes in Peru - TAS 328

Early Hominin Structures, Pompeii Discoveries, and the Band of Holes in Peru - TAS 328
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In this week’s episode, we cover three archaeology news stories. First up, a Nature-backed report on unusually old woodworking from Kalambo Falls, where waterlogged conditions preserved a wedge, digging stick, and notched logs dated by luminescence to about 476,000 years ago, suggesting advanced planning and challenging simple “Stone Age” assumptions. We then discuss a Pompeii discovery of two skeletons outside the city walls near Porta Stabia, including a man apparently shielding his head with a terracotta bowl and carrying an oil lamp, and we debate the benefits and risks of an AI-generated scene reconstruction. Finally, we examine Peru’s Monte Sierpe “Band of Holes,” over 5,200 aligned pits mapped by drones and analyzed via microbotanical remains, with a study proposing early market use and later Inca-style accounting patterns resembling quipu, while we question how and why such a vast system was built and used.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Unraveling Ancient DNA: Neanderthals, Natural Selection, and Burial Mysteries - TAS 327

Unraveling Ancient DNA: Neanderthals, Natural Selection, and Burial Mysteries - TAS 327
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In our latest episode, we unravel fascinating stories of ancient DNA in the news! Uncover the touching story of Anglo-Saxon siblings buried together over 1400 years ago. Then we look at groundbreaking research revealing how natural selection shaped more genes than we ever imagined. Finally, join our exploration of the mysterious origins of Neanderthals!

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

From Pharaohs to Crosses: Egypt’s Hidden Worlds - TAS 326

From Pharaohs to Crosses: Egypt’s Hidden Worlds - TAS 326
APN - Chris and Rachel
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Three discoveries, one shifting landscape: a mysterious buried structure beneath the ancient city of Buto, the newly identified tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II near the Valley of the Kings, and the remains of a massive Coptic monastery at Al-Qalaye. We dig into what the finds reveal about Egypt’s long arc—from dynastic power to Christian communities—and how modern tools are changing what archaeologists can see.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Treasures, Seated Skeletons, and Egyptian Receipts - TAS 325

Treasures, Seated Skeletons, and Egyptian Receipts - TAS 325
APN - Chris and Rachel
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This week on The Archaeology Show, we tour three very different windows into the ancient world: a 5,000-year-old tomb packed with remarkable treasures, a surprising discovery of upright-buried skeletons beneath a French school, and tens of thousands of Egyptian notes and receipts that capture everyday life in vivid detail. We unpack what these finds reveal about status and burial ritual, how archaeologists interpret unusual body positions, and what “boring” paperwork can tell us about work, money, and people behind the monuments. Three discoveries, one big question: what survives—and what it can still say.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Blackened Teeth, Jaw Surgery, and Ancient Knitting - TAS 324

Blackened Teeth, Jaw Surgery, and Ancient Knitting - TAS 324
APN - Chris and Rachel
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This week we are back with some News stories! First, we discuss evidence from an Iron Age cemetery in northern Vietnam showing intentional, permanent tooth blackening dating back 2,000 years. Then, we cover a 2,500-year-old Pazyryk culture burial in southern Siberia where CT scans of a mummified woman’s skull suggest a severe jaw injury was stabilized with surgical sutures. And finally, we summarize Bronze Age textile finds from Anatolia dated roughly 1915–1745 BCE and later, including the earliest regional evidence of nalbinding (single-needle “knitting”) and an indigo-dyed hemp fragment identified as the oldest known blue-dyed textile in Bronze Age Anatolia.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Early Human Footprints, Ancient Clothing, and a 150-Year-Old Drink - TAS 323

Early Human Footprints, Ancient Clothing, and a 150-Year-Old Drink - TAS 323
APN - Chris and Rachel
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From a 150-year-old alcohol bottle unearthed in Utah—where the “real treasure” might be what it once tasted like—to footprints in White Sands New Mexico which are more than 20,000 years old, this episode spans the surprisingly fragile side of archaeology. We also dig into a discovery being called the oldest clothing in human history, and what it can (and can’t) tell us about early humans, preservation, and the everyday technologies that rarely survive.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Ancient Egyptian Rock Art, a Funeral Pyre in Africa, and an Animal Skull Collection - TAS 322

Ancient Egyptian Rock Art, a Funeral Pyre in Africa, and an Animal Skull Collection - TAS 322
APN - Chris and Rachel
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This week we deep dive three interesting archaeology news stories. First up, a rock art panel from Ancient Egypt depicts the conquest of the nomadic groups that lived in the Sinai peninsula. Then, we head over to Africa, where a burial that is the oldest example of intentional cremation with an intact funeral pyre has been found. Finally, Neanderthals collected animal skulls and placed then in a cave 43,000 years ago, and, as usual, archaeologists are baffled!

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Strat Chat: Troy – Digging Deeper into the Layers of Legend - TAS 321

Strat Chat: Troy – Digging Deeper into the Layers of Legend - TAS 321
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In Episode 321 of The Archaeology Show, we take a deep dive into the long and complex history of Troy. We discuss the stratigraphy of the site, starting from modern times and moving backward through key periods, including the famous era of the Trojan War as described by Homer. The episode covers the archaeological discoveries, the evolution of the city's fortifications, trade networks, burial practices, and cultural significance. We also delve into the early archaeological excavations and the ongoing debate about the historicity of the Trojan War.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Stone Walls Beneath the Sea and Horns of War - TAS 320

Stone Walls Beneath the Sea and Horns of War - TAS 320
APN - Chris and Rachel
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This week we discuss three fascinating discoveries across Western Europe: a 7,000-year-old underwater stone wall off the coast of France, an exceptionally rare Iron Age war trumpet potentially linked to Boudica’s era in Britain, and a mysterious medieval cemetery in Wales dominated by female burials. Join us while we unpack what these finds reveal about prehistoric coastal societies, Iron Age warfare and symbolism, and early religious communities.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Timelines: Linking Petra, the Nazca Lines, and the Great Wall of China - TAS 319

In this “Timelines” episode, we connect three iconic sites built during the same era: Petra’s stunning rock-cut city in Jordan, the mysterious Nazca Lines etched across Peru’s desert, and the monumental Great Wall of China. Explore how the Nabataeans engineered Petra’s hidden oasis, why the Nazca created massive geoglyphs only visible from above, and what drove dynasties to construct thousands of miles of wall across China. Discover the origins, uses, and enduring mysteries of these world wonders, and see how ancient ingenuity and ambition shaped civilizations across continents—all within a shared moment in history.

Timelines: Linking Petra, the Nazca Lines, and the Great Wall of China - TAS319
APN - Chris and Rachel
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In this “Timelines” episode, we connect three iconic sites built during the same era: Petra’s stunning rock-cut city in Jordan, the mysterious Nazca Lines etched across Peru’s desert, and the monumental Great Wall of China. Explore how the Nabataeans engineered Petra’s hidden oasis, why the Nazca created massive geoglyphs only visible from above, and what drove dynasties to construct thousands of miles of wall across China. Discover the origins, uses, and enduring mysteries of these world wonders, and see how ancient ingenuity and ambition shaped civilizations across continents—all within a shared moment in history.

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Segment 1: Petra

Segment 2: Nazca Lines

Segment 3: Great Wall of China

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Neanderthal DNA, Prehistoric Crayons and Early American Sailors - TAS 318

Neanderthal DNA, Prehistoric Crayons and Early American Sailors - TAS 318
APN - Chris and Rachel
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There’s a lot of Neanderthal research in the news these days and the first two articles highlight some of those achievements. The first article references research about ancient Neanderthals and their migration patterns. Turns out they got around more than we think they did! The second article highlights new research about Neanderthal art and symbology using ochre coloring devices. Finally, we head back to the western hemisphere to learn about 20,000 year old Japanese ancestors possibly being some of the first to cross the ocean and explore the Americas.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

News: Footprints, First Streets, and Prehistoric Pioneers - TAS 317

News: Footprints, First Streets, and Prehistoric Pioneers - TAS 317
APN - Chris and Rachel
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We kick off this episode with our latest RV adventures before exploring three remarkable archaeological discoveries. First, we discuss newly uncovered ancient human footprints. in Germany. Next, we examine the excavation of one of the world’s oldest streets in central Türkiye, revealing how early communities organized their living spaces nearly 10,000 years ago. Finally, we dive into the surprising story of the Greek island of Naxos, where evidence shows the first settlers weren’t human at all, but Neanderthals and other archaic hominins.

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

The Stones are Speaking: Gault Site Documentary - TAS 316

The Stones are Speaking: Gault Site Documentary - TAS 316
APN - Chris and Rachel
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The Gault site is world famous for it’s Clovis and pre-Clovis occupations. It’s also famous for the dedication of the principal archaeologist, Michael Collins. In the new documentary, “The Stones are Speaking”, Writer/Producer/Director Olive Talley tells the story of the Gault site and the story of Michael Collins and his efforts to preserve the site. We also talk to the Director of Photography, Kenneth Garrett. Kenneth is a National Geographic photographer and has known and worked with Michael Collins on other pieces since the beginning of the Gault site’s journey.

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