Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

The Daub Towers (Part 1) - Trowel 63

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It’s time to get out our plastering trowels out, because this episode Ash and Tilly are (re)joined by experimental archaeologist and archaeo-construction expert Caroline Nicolay. Together, the three tackle the quest of reconstructing a Fallohide (hunter-gatherer hobbit) seasonal home for the Anduin Fallohide Fellowship of Museums and Antiquity. But all is not as simple as it seems… Listen in to hear why burnt clay is so important, what a vampire did tohis historic castle, and how you too can become a mud mason.

Books mentioned:

Den of Wolves (Juliet Marillier)
The Bards of the Bone Plain (Patricia A. McKillip)
The Viscount of Adrilanka (Steven Brust)
Your Coffin or Mine (Jacklyn Hyde)
Legends and Lattes (Travis Baldree)
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (Rebecca Thorne)
Carpe Jugulum (Terry Pratchett)

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Fort Berthold Indian Reservation Visit - Plains 38

On this week’s episode, Carlton recounts his recent trip to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is the home of the Three Affiliated Tribes: Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. While recounting his recent trip, Carlton dives back into Middle Missouri Archaeology.

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Turn That Frown Upside Down - The Positives in the Current State of Archaeology - CRMArch 328

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The hosts consider the positives in the current state of CRM and academic archaeology. As anthropologists we are especially conscious of how society impacts our discipline and at times can trend towards the negative and get mired in the fear of what lays ahead. In this episode, we discuss how any challenge can be used for opportunity and how change and progress is best effectuated through a positive attitude.

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Ancient Egyptian Goddesses of Necropolises - TPM 33

In celebration of Women's History Month, this episode is about four lesser-known goddesses of the ancient Egyptian afterlife whose primary roles were to protect, nourish, and occasionally punish those within the city of the dead. While famous deities often dominate pop culture, these four goddesses offer a unique window into how the Egyptians viewed the natural world and the social roles of mortal women.

Discover the stories and archaeological footprints of Imentet who was the personification of the West; Khefethernebes and Meretseger who were both from the Theban Necropolis; and Hapetnebes from the Abydan Necropolis.

From the royal tombs to the graffiti of tomb builders, this episode traces how the divine feminine provided a sense of security for both the physical body and the soul on its journey through the Duat.

Offline Sources Cited:

El Menyawy, Habiba. 2021. The Goddess Xft-Hr Nb.s. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality 0(0):1–33.

Iwaszczuk, Jadwiga. 2017. Sacred Landscape of Thebes during the Reign of Hatshepsut. Royal Construction Projects. Topography of the West Bank, Vol. 1. Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences (IKŚiO PAN), Warsaw.

Jacquet-Gordon, Helen K. 1967. The Illusory Year 36 of Osorkon I. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 53:63–68.

Nagy, Z. 2017. A Study of Scribal Practice in the Late Ramesside Letters: Characteristics of Scribal Mechanisms Deployed in Hieratic to Determine Negative Aorists, 'Not yet' Forms, Second Tenses, Terminatives and Stative Formations PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

Rummel, Ute, et al. 2020. Landscape, Tombs, and Sanctuaries: In Ritual Landscape and Performance, edited by Christina Geisen, 13:pp. 89–120. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ritual Landscape and Performance, Yale University, September 23-24, 2016 No. Yale Egyptology.

Töpfer, Susanne, Paolo Del Vesco, and Federico Poole (editors). 2022. Deir El-Medina through the Kaleidoscope: Proceedings of the International Workshop, Turin 8th-10th October 2018. Formazione e Ricerca No. Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, Modena.

Zago, Silvia. 2022. The Otherworld (with)in This World: Imhet as a (Super)Natural Conduit between Dimensions in Egyptian Sources. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 81(2):283–304.

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

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

Stone Age Advertising (Part 2) - Screens 124

We’re back with more caveman TV commercials! From deodorant to veganism to car insurance, it seems like prehistoric people have been exploited to sell everything. All this commercialism seems to be getting to us and this episode kinda devolves into an anti-capitalist rant. So go plant a garden, buy local, and eat the rich! (This is Part Two of a two-part episode)

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The Anthropology of Tattooing with Aaron Deter-Wolf - Ethno 32

In this episode, David sits down in Nashville with archaeologist Aaron Deter-Wolf, a leading researcher in the archaeology of tattooing and co-editor of Ancient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing.

They explore how tattoos function as deep cultural expressions across human societies, from Ötzi the Iceman’s 5,000-year-old tattoos to newly documented tattooed mummies in Peru. The conversation dives into experimental archaeology, ancient tattoo tools made from bone and stone, and what tattoos can reveal about identity, belief, and social structure in the past.

Together they discuss how tattoo traditions changed under empires, how archaeologists identify tattooing in the archaeological record, and why body modification may be one of humanity’s oldest cultural universals.

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Decolinization and Understanding Cultural Perspective - Rock Art 161

In episode 161, Chris Webster and Dr. Alan Garfinkel discuss decolonization in archaeology and rock art studies, arguing that researchers must take Indigenous perspectives seriously as Native communities gain more political and intellectual influence. They emphasize that Indigenåous cosmologies often frame rock art meaning through interconnected energy, reciprocity, and life-death cycles rather than “gods” and rigid categories, and they highlight the value of shared vocabulary, cultural humility, and collaboration in interpretation.

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What Is a Human? The Evolution of the Nervous System - ADHD 201

Welcome to Season 2 – Episode 1!

In the first episode of Season 2, we explore one of the most fundamental questions in archaeology and human history:

What is a human?

Every person who has ever lived has experienced the world through a nervous system — a biological inheritance that long predates modern humans themselves. In this episode, we look at how the human nervous system evolved over millions of years, from early mammals through to Homo sapiens, and how the development of the brain — particularly the prefrontal cortex — helped shape the way humans think, feel, and interact with the world.

We also consider an intriguing idea: if human nervous systems have always existed on a spectrum, then variation in perception, attention, and sensitivity may have been part of our species for as long as humans have existed.

This episode sets the stage for a season exploring how archaeologists interpret the traces of the past, and what those traces can tell us about the experiences of the people who lived before us.

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  • For rough transcripts head over to https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/adhdbce/201

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Archaeology of clothing - Ep 48

As the seasons change, it’s time to swap out your wardrobes for those clothes that have been stuffed at the back of the shelf or in a box in the attic. And to celebrate this activity, Matilda dives this episode into the archaeology of clothing! But what actually is clothing? What is the oldest evidence we have for the creation of clothing? And what is the link between a bog, an artic tundra, and a desert? Tune in to find out!

As the seasons change, it’s time to swap out your wardrobes for those clothes that have been stuffed at the back of the shelf or in a box in the attic. And to celebrate this activity, Matilda dives this episode into the archaeology of clothing! But what actually is clothing? What is the oldest evidence we have for the creation of clothing? And what is the link between a bog, an artic tundra, and a desert? Tune in to find out!

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  • For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/teabreak/48

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  • Email: matilda@thearchaeologiststeacup.com

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Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Can't Make Dragons Without Clay (Part 2) - Trowel 62

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In this second episode, Tilly and Ash continue their quest with archaeologist and potter, Emma Harrison, to catalogue the Pennykettle Dragon Sanctuary’s current collection of (alive) dragon figurines! Join them as they explore layers of archaeological clay, deep buckets of glaze, and ponder the question: ‘are you made of poo?’

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  • For rough transcripts of this episode, go to: https://www.archpodnet.com/trowel/XX

  • For a transcript of this episode, tap the Zencastr icon on in the upper left corner of the Podcast image.

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Myths Part II - Plains 37

In this episode, Carlton continues with a discussion on Myths brought to his attention from a listener’s email! But this time they’re not on Vikings but of alleged early Irish/Gaelic occupations from the Southeast to the Great Basin.

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Appropriate Use of Technology in Archaeology - CRMArch 327

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The hosts discuss the use of technology in archaeology and the importance of using it appropriately. While our discipline will never escape the shovel and trowel - would we ever want it to? - there are tremendous tools that have been added to our proverbial tool chest over the years. However, just because these tools exist does not mean they are always useful. Employment of technology should be thoughtfully included in work plans and archaeologists have a responsibility to understand technology’s role in our discipline to ensure it is used appropriately.

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Stone Age Advertising (Part 1) - Screens 123

NotToday we’re exploring the crazy world of marketing – caveman style! We’re reviewing a compilation of television commercials featuring prehistoric people. McDonald’s, Budweiser, Doritos—if it’s modern and convenient, you can bet a caveman has tried to sell it. Why? I’m not sure, but I’m kinda craving some cheese products for some reason. (This is Part One of a two-part episode)es

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Tombs of the Tomb Builders Part 2: Deir el-Medina - TPM 32

In this episode, step inside Deir el-Medina, the remarkably well-preserved village of the artisans who built the royal tombs of ancient Egypt. Known in antiquity as Pa Demi or “the village”, this desert settlement near Thebes (modern Luxor) was home to the skilled workers of the Set Maat, the “Place of Truth,” where pharaohs like Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, Nefertari, and Hatshepsut were laid to rest.

Through tomb art, legal documents, and everyday texts, Deir el-Medina offers one of the most intimate portraits of non-elite life in ancient Egypt.

Explore the lives of three individuals whose stories survive in astonishing detail. Meet Ramose, the wealthiest man in the village, whose decorated tombs and appeals to fertility goddesses reveal private hopes for an heir. Follow his adopted successor, Qenherkhepeshef, a prolific scribe whose tomb preserved the famous “Book of Dreams,” a guide to omens written in red and black ink. Finally, Naunakhte, whose surviving will shows that women in the New Kingdom owned property and controlled how it was inherited.

Offline Sources Cited:

  • Blerk, Nicolaas J. 2021. The Contribution of Papyrus Ashmolean Museum 1945.97 (“Naunakht’s Will & Related Documents”) to Our Understanding of The Ancient Egyptian Testamentary Disposition and Succession Law. Fundamina 2021:101–142.

  • Cerny, Jaroslav. 1945. The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 31:29–53.

  • Davies, Benedict. 1999. Who’s Who at Deir El-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of The Royal Workman’s Community. Egyptologische Uitgaven No. 13. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden.

  • Dorn, Andreas. 2022. Tagging in the Valley of the Kings around 1200–1150 BC. Social practices and personal habits. TAG: Name Writing in Public Space. A Reader of the 2017 Conference about Tagging at Freie Universität Berlin, Edited by E. Birzin, J. Abarca and M. Hübner, Berlin 2022, 96–103.

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David's Trip to Mexico - Ethno 31

In this episode of Ethnocynology, David talks about his recent trip to Mexico. Initially, David went to Oaxaca to experience the local culture and take pictures of dogs, and he also spent a lot of time touring mezcal facilities and archaeological sites.

After Oaxaca, David then took a bus to Mexico City, where he gave a talk about his upcoming book at UNAM, the largest university in Latin America.

As well, David details how incredible the Museum of Anthropology is and takes you on a tour of the museum through his words, describing what he saw and how large and grand the collections and displays are.

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America's Oldest Rock Art? with Dr George Harold Nash - Rock Art 160

In this episode, Alan welcomes back Dr George Harold Nash to the podcast to discuss his article on Serra da Capivara National Park, one of the most important archaeological regions in South America. Together, they explore the park’s extraordinary rock art, controversial early dates, and what the evidence might mean for long-standing models of migration into the Americas.

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Welcome Back - Season 2 - ADHD BCE

In this short episode George introduces the return of ADHD BCE for season 2!

This season explores how archaeologists infer behaviour, cognition, and difference from the archaeological record, and what that evidence can tell us about the evolution of the human nervous system.

Across the season we’ll look at:
• How material remains are used to reconstruct past lives
• How the human nervous system evolved over deep time
• How migration shaped human behaviour and adaptation
• How the shift to farming radically changed human environments and experience

Rather than diagnosing the past, ADHD BCE starts from the assumption that human variation has always existed — and that many archaeological patterns only make sense when we allow for different ways of sensing, processing, and interacting with the world.

Season 2 is about learning how to read the past more carefully — and using archaeology to better understand ourselves today.

Welcome back!

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Is Carbon 14 Dating Fake? - Pseudo 180

Today we run head on into a question I have gotten throughout my career: is C14 dating fake? I’m going to go with a complex, multi-faceted answer of “NO.” The question that is much more fun: Why do people keep saying this?

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Slice of Life - DiA 07

The coming new year is a good time to look back at human history and reflect on our choices. A figure that keeps changing with the times while still harking back to his origins is Father Time in his many forms. The tool he carries also changes with the culture, and the sickle is the version that connects to the oldest myths. Dive into deep time through all the cycles of the seasons, life, and death.

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