Early Man (film) - Episode 24

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...

Guests

James Dilley @ancientctaftUK; Erin Kavanaugh @geomythkavanagh

Host: Kim Biddulph @kimbiddulph

Links

• The Cheddar Man story
• Bronze Age invasion shown through genetics, maybe
• Dorling Kindersley book James was consultant for

Boy with the Bronze Axe - Episode 23

The Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler is set in the Neolithic Orkney settlement of Skara Brae. Though written for children this book is also really interesting for adults thinking about how interpretations of Skara have changed over the years. Kim talks to Orkney resident and specialist Caroline Wickham-Jones about the archaeology behind the book when it was written in 1968 and how it could be updated for the 21st century

Guests

Caroline Wickham-Jones https://www.mesolithic.co.uk/contact-me/

Host: Kim Biddulph @kimbiddulph

Links

• Buy The Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler: http://amzn.eu/75Jo45n
• Podcast on Schools Prehistory (Kim's website) about Boy with the Bronze Axe: http://www.schoolsprehistory.co.uk/2015/01/19/book-review-the-boy-with-the-bronze-axe-by-kathleen-fidler/
• Buy Caroline Wickham-Jones's non-fiction book about Orkney - Between the Wind and the Water: http://amzn.eu/fAbc9Qz
• Silverskin by Joan Lennon - a book about Skara Brae written in 2016: https://www.birlinn.co.uk/Silver-Skin.html
• Clips from the BBC's documentary Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08819tl
• Episode 2, Series 4 Expedition Unknown: Origins of Stonehenge: http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/expedition-unknown/episodes/origins-of-stonehenge
• Historic Scotland's webpage about visiting Skara Brae: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/skara-brae/
• Orkneyjar - for all things Orkney: http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/sites.htm
• Ness of Brodgar excavations website: http://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/

Archaeologists preparing a raft to take cores in the loch of Skaill. This picture also illustrates how different Skara Brae is from the era depicted in The Boy With The Bronze Axe . The picture is taken by Sue Dawson and the work is funded by Historic Environment Scotland.

Archaeological Comics - Episode 17

Show host Kim Biddulph talks to three archaeological comic writers and artists, John Swogger, Hannah Sackett and Katy Whitaker about their work and the current and potential uses of comics in archaeology. Comics are obviously a great way to engage children in archaeology, but can they be used beyond that?

Links:

• Katy Whitaker's Tale of the Toad Stone
• Hannah Sacket's Mold Gold Cape
• John Swogger's Çatalhöyük comic
• Research at Sheffield Hallam University on the use of comics for learning

Contact:

Kim Biddulph
Twitter (@kimbiddulph, @schprehistory)
Prehistories Blog

Hannah Sackett
Twitter (@DrHcomics)
The "Other" Prehistories Blog

Katy Whitaker
Twitter (@artefactual_kw)
Artefactual Blog

John Swogger, blog

The People of the River by Michael Gear and Katheen O'Neal Gear - Episode 14

To move away from being totally Eurocentric, Prehi/stories takes a look at fiction set in North America. The People of the River is set in Cahokia in Illinois, and so I talk to Thomas Emerson, Director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and expert in the archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands, who gives the background reality of archaeological investigation to this story.

Links

• Information about and publications of Thomas Emerson.
• The People of the River by Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Contacts

• Kim Biddulph
  • @kimbiddulph
  • @schprehistory
• Thomas Emerson isas@illinois.edu

Asterix and the Britons - Episode 9

What can Asterix tell us about the prehistoric past? Not very much, it turns out, but we have a bit of fun anyway. I talk to my husband, Edward Biddulph, as we bridge the divide between Iron Age Gauls, Britons and Romans.

Links

• The official Asterix website: http://www.asterix.com/

Contacts:

• Kim Biddulph @kimbiddulph @schprehistory
  • www.schoolsprehistory.co.uk 
  • http://kimbiddulph.net
• Beccy Scott @beccyscottuk

The Ravens by James Dyer - Episode 5

The Ravens is a children's book about the first Roman invasion in 55 B.C. set around Hertfordshire and particularly the hillfort now known as Ravensburgh Castle. It was written by the excavator himself, James Dyer, who was also a schoolteacher. My guest, Francis Pryor, dug with the late James Dyer on this very site and joins me to share his memories of this early dig and his subsequent experience of digging up roundhouses, among other things.

Links

• The Ravens by James Dyer
• Francis Pryor's Blog

Contact

Kim Biddulph: @kimbiddulph and @schprehistory

Francis Pryor on Twitter: @pryorfrancis

Music provided by Nigel Shaw. The track is "Yew" from Dartmoor Roundhouse by Seventh Wave Music at http://www.seventhwavemusic.co.uk/.

Kim Biddulph Director, Schools Prehistory, www.schoolsprehistory.co.uk

The Gathering Night - Episode 4

The Gathering Night, by Margaret Elphinstone

I go back to the Mesolithic in earnest in this episode and talk to Caroline Wickham-Jones and Spencer Carter about a wonderful tale that is part prehistorical fiction, part family saga, part whodunnit, the Gathering Night by Margaret Elphinstone. We also talk about the relative impact of natural disasters in prehistory.

Links

• The Gathering Night
• Caroline Wickham-Jones' website
• Spencer Carter's Website
• Spencer Carter's Twitter: @microburin

Contact

Kim Biddulph: @kimbiddulph and @schprehistory

Music provided by Nigel Shaw. The track is "Yew" from Dartmoor Roundhouse by Seventh Wave Music at http://www.seventhwavemusic.co.uk/.

Kim Biddulph Director, Schools Prehistory, www.schoolsprehistory.co.uk

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel - Episode 3

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel

What you need when discussing Clan of the Cave Bear are two Neanderthal experts, which is what I got – Rebecca Wragg Sykes of Bordeaux University and Matthew Pope of UCL, London. The fascinating subject of Neanderthal/Homo sapiens relations occupied us at length, when we weren't being diverted by thoughts of an American mini-series of the book produced by Ron Howard.

Book Details

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel, published in 1980 by Crown Publishing Group.

http://www.jeanauel.com/books.php

Contact details

Rebecca Wragg Sykes - @lemoustier on Twitter and blog at therocksremain.org

Matthew Pope – matt.pope@ucl.ac.uk and on Twitter at @matthewpope

Stories and Prehistory: An Introduction to the Podcast - Episode 1

I talk to Tristan Boyle, host of the Anarchaeologist Podcast and the instigator of my podcasting career, and get him to care about stories in archaeology. The sage words of Game of Thrones author, George R. R. Martin are invoked, and, we inquire quite why Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age, is the only one to think of having soft trousers. Plus a bit of Aesop's Fables thrown in for good measure.

Book Details:

• Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age by Raymond Briggs, published in 2001 by Red Fox.
• The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables by Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark, published in 2004 by Orchard Books.

Guest Contacts:

• Tristan Boyle: @anarchaeologist on Twitter

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