The Dirt Podcast

We open this series with a distinguished figure in American anthropology, Alice Beck Kehoe, who provides an illuminating, albeit blunt, history of the social and intellectual environment out of which the discipline of anthropology emerged in the United States. She discusses the roots of anthropological study in American military expansionism, the contributions of anthropologists like Franz Boas and Margaret Mead, her thoughts on the current state of American anthropology, and a particularly scintillating impetus for a teenaged Alice being attracted to the field. This five-part interview series was made possible by the American Anthropological Association, and all interviews took place during the 117th Annual Meeting, held November 14-18, 2018 in San Jose, CA. Check out the rest of the AAA podcast library to find even more great stories from anthropology! https://www.americananthro.org/

In this episode, we conclude our journey along the human timeline with a look at the genus Homo, of which we are all card-carrying members. Amber also contributes a brief study of human butts-- what's up with them?

Were the pyramids the work of extraterrestrials? No, of course they weren't, but why do some people and internet memes seem to think otherwise? Turns out there's a simple answer and a more complex answer, and Anna and Amber get into all of it, starting with a look at Erich von Däniken, author of Chariots of the Gods? and literal criminal. Anna looks at the violence done through denying that people produced the pyramids (like, any of them), and what's going on with Amarna period art in Egypt. in an extra-long episode over on Patreon, Anna gets into the Nazca lines and Ata the "alien" mummy, while Amber looks at what real Sumerian sources say about the planet Nabiru and the Annunaki, and gets very, very real about the short walk from the ideas put forth by Zecharia Sitchin to antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Anna heads further up the family tree (as Amber lags behind, gasping), and introduces us to our Australopith and Paranthropus relatives. You can always rely on us for our australo-pithiness: Anna gives us the scoop on Lucy's new neighbor Selam and tells us about why babies have such grabby little hands, while Amber grapples with the prospect of a world before people and realizes she might have met an extinct hominin at a party once.

Anna and Amber work their way up the trunk of our shared evolutionary tree, tackling the thorny issues of identifying our earliest mammal, primate, and hominin ancestors. We learn about the early development of bipedal walking, and really struggle (as usual) with the question of deep time, but this week it escalates to wondering how anybody knows anything. All we know is, we didn’t come from no monkey.

In a very special mid-week release, Anna and Amber take a look at the handful of rad archaeological discoveries that happened in 2018 that they're resolving to learn more about in 2019. From that juicy sarcophagus in Alexandria, to the bajillion newly detected Maya structures in Guatemala, to the itty bitty bones of the newest addition to our hominin family tree, there's so much research coming our way!

Anna and Amber are keeping the festive mood alive this week with a wine and cheese platter for your ears, and boy howdy, is it a silly one... and we weren't even drinking! Learn about the world's oldest wine gunk and the many (many!) sizes of wine bottles, and then we'll discuss the difference between wine and "wine," and nibble on some stories about very, very aged cheese.

Grab a cup of cocoa (or something stronger) and join Anna and Amber as they don their coziest jammies and tell the story of Mithras, the lesser-known Reason For The Season from the ancient world. Learn how religions shift through time and place, and why you might want to feast on bull meat in a cave with some Romans this holiday season.

Never heard of anthropodermic bibliopegy? That's about to change, friends! This week, Anna and Amber look at some unexpected objects made out of people, and discuss some effects of such objects on the living. Content note: We discuss modification of human remains, so please exercise discretion in listening.

Anna and Amber can’t help you with your real medical complaints, but they’re here with a whole batch of knowledge* about what people used to do for their sniffles (and worse). So grab your tea, lozenges, and a mouthful of miscellaneous herbs, and shuffle along with us as we explore ways in which diseases have been diagnosed and treated over the millennia. *Not medical knowledge! Go see a doctor!

This week, Anna and Amber are in the holiday spirit and ready to celebrate Chrono-kah! A holiday that we just made up where we try to fathom the immensity of time! What's the difference between the Stone Age and the Paleolithic? When is North America finally going to enter the Bronze Age? Why do we call this year 2018? Were the early Middle Ages faked? Some of these questions are easier to answer than others. COME ON THIS JOURNEY WITH US.

Anna and Amber rummage in the history fridge and pile up a Dagwood sandwich of tasty leftover Viking morsels. Learn about Viking games and sports, Norse trade systems, mythology and more!

This week, Anna and Amber have a Thing*: it’s an episode all about the Viking Age. Sail with us through an exploration of life during the Viking Age. We talk about the ships they sailed, the food they ate, and the helmets they DIDN'T wear. Plus, some very experimental archaeology, and Amber learns how the salami is made...and nothing will ever be the same.

This week, while Anna and Amber's actual selves will be on the West Coast, the show heads for the East Coast-- of Africa, that is! Take a whirlwind tour of the Swahili coast and the economic and cultural exchanges over land and sea it has enjoyed for more than a thousand years, before zooming in on the very powerful, and very cool, medieval sultanate of Kilwa Kisawani.

Halloween may be over, but Anna and Amber are keeping it spooky as they discuss curses and their consequences this week. Anna shares some tactics for recovering stolen tunics at Aquae Sulis (Bath, England), and what perils awaited medieval Javanese wrongdoers. Meanwhile, Amber looks at a ritual executioner from Australia, his highly collectible shoes, his supernatural counterpart, and the very real deaths that result from his work.