On this episode of ALiRP we are joined again by Dr. Devin Pettigrew to talk about his three recent publications. All three discuss experimental archaeology methodologies and the need to revisit the accuracy and precision of previous research under modern techniques. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinr…

On this episode, David is by himself and does not know what to talk about. So he rants and rambles about his dog lecture on youtube. Which then leads him to discussing how he edits videos, photos, and how he practices public speaking. He talks about how he went from editing memes on photoshop to how he lights his cave scenes, and then talks about O…

n this episode, we are pleased to have Raven Todd da Silva and Natasha Billson return to the Podcast. Raven is another OG from the early episodes, appearing on episode 9 and runs a very popular Instagram and Youtube Channel called “Dig it with Raven” and Natasha aka Tash was recently on episode 29, and runs a youtube channel called Behind the Trowe…

On this Encore episode of A Life in Ruins podcast, we chat with Mackenzie Cory, a fellow University of Wyoming Graduate! Mac delves into his formative years, working in Wyoming and his inspiration to take the next step into graduate school. We also discuss his current PhD research and how we can identify and look at childhood in the archaeological …

In this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast, David does a solo interview with his friend Dr. Margie Serrato, an anthropologist turned empowerment coach. David and Margie begin talking about what Margie does for a living and her life post PhD. After, Margie discusses her childhood moving all over the US and also growing up in Medellin, Colombia durin…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, Carlton takes a well-earned break while Connor and David chat. They start out chatting about David’s new tattoo and some Lord of the Rings lore. They do talk some anthropology concerning the effects of tattoos on the body and the experience itself, and also how Boromir applies to anthropology. The last two-thirds…

On this episode of ALiRP, Carlton recounts his recent return to Pawnee, Oklahoma. The lads chat about Pawnee Homecoming, Culture, and Mourning customs and then they somehow end up talking about rice. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com so we can get shipping information to send yo…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, Connor and Carlton dive deep into the topic of cannibalism in the past and present. They start out talking about what prompted them to dive down this rabbit hole. They define the terms associated with cannibalism and then discuss the earliest known evidence of cannibalism in the archaeological record. The…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, Connor interviews Dr. Charles Koenig. Charles is a recently crowned Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming. We discuss Charles' upbringing in Summit County, Colorado and his earliest experiences in the Great Basin with archaeology. We then delve into his academic career and he recalls how a rock art field school se…

In this episode of A Life in Ruins, Connor, Carlton, and David discuss the new Homo naledi findings in South Africa, and their implications on modern anthropology. After discussing the articles a bit in depth, they quickly segway to other burial practices and hominid behaviors. The episode ends with personal, cultural experiences around death and f…

On this episode, the boys talk about a recent publication in American Antiquity: The Injury Costs of Knapping by Gala et al. Transcripts For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ruins/160 Links 2023 The Injury Cost of Knapping, in American Antiquity by Gala et al. Contact Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com Instagram:…

On this episode of ALiRP, Carlton is joined by the host of the Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast: Dr. Andrew Kinkella. They talk about Dr. Kinkella’s graduate work in underwater archaeology in Maya Cenotes, the Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast, and science communication. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please email us at alifeinruinspodc…

In this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast, Connor and Davíd interview Joshua Herrin; archaeologist and artifacts laboratory manager of the Augusta Veteran’s Curation Program. Josh originally started his career at Georgia, Southern University, but then found himself in the United States Army. After finishing his tenure with the National Guard, Josh…

In this is episode of Ruins, Connor and David talk with Carlton about his experience in the Dominican Republic. Carlton is currently in the DR working with a dive team researching a 16th century shipwreck in the Caribbean. He talks about the good and the bad, but mostly the fascinating. If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spotify, please…

David and Connor attempt to make a coherent episode that goes through a variety of different topics including knapp-ins, flintknapping, lithic analysis, lithic analysis in CRM archaeology, monitoring in CRM, mapping and data standards in CRM and end with a video game idea/explain why remote video games are the new way to hang out. If you have left …

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we talk with our good friend and recent graduate of the University of Wyoming, Jacob Arnzen. We delve into Oregon history, the vegetation and topography of Oregon and random tidbits about the Oregon Trail. He then explains what he did for his thesis and also explains why obsidian is a very interesting thi…

For this week we are re-releasing Episode 80 - The “Mane” Event with Dr. William Taylor. Why? Well we will soon be releasing another episode with Dr. Taylor where we will be discussing his recently published article in Science titled: Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies. For this episode, we are joined agai…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, we are lucky to be joined by the co-founders of Community Connections LLC, Jessica Ericson and Jasmine Saxon. Community Connections is a Historical Consulting Company based out of Denver. We start out talking about their first experiences with archaeology and anthropology and then delve into the origins of Commun…

In this episode, Carlton is joined by Alex Craib and Mason Niquette from Cultural Resource Analysts, inc. to talk about about archaeology in the 41st Millennium in honor of the return of the Lion of Caliban. Yes, in perhaps the nerdiest episode ever of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we cover the history and techno-archaeology of the Warhammer 40k Univers…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we dive deep into underwater archaeology. Carlton starts out recounting his experience taking classes in underwater archaeology at Indiana University. He then details the methods and processes to actually record sites underwater. He then talks about where is going to work this upcoming week. We somehow en…

In this episode, Carlton does another solo lecture-style episode. The subject of this lecture? An introduction to Great Plains archaeology with a focus on Pawnee archaeological ancestry. The episode starts off with very introductory history of the Pawnee in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century. Then Carlton dives into Great Plains geography and culture…

In this episode Carlton and David dip their toes into the style vs function debate in archaeology. This debate towards material culture stems from the transition of the Culture History approach into the New Archaeology paradigm of the mid 20th century. David and Carlton talk about the origin of the debate then provide several case-studies to illust…

In this episode, David chats with his good friend, Vincent Battista about species, Neanderthals, human evolution, and his new job as a PhD in the Private Sector for a pharmaceutical company. David and Vincent have a conversation regarding how to determine what a “species” is, and whether it is just a construct. They then get into a deep discussion …

For this week's episode, we are joined by McKenna Litynski, a newly minted PhD student at the University of Wyoming. And we say newly, because she literally just defended her MA thesis this past week at the University of Wyoming. McKenna is also the youngest person we know in graduate school, let to have a Master’s Degree. We delve into her early y…

On this episode the lads dive into the exciting world of Upper Paleolithic archaeology by discussing our thoughts on the recent Scientific Advances article Bow-and-arrow, technology of the first modern humans in Europe 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France by Metz et al. 2023. Does the conversation go off the rails? Absolutley. If you have left a pod…

In this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, the lads sail themselves into the tempest that is the hoaxes, pseudoscience, and popular culture of Vikings in North America. We start off by going into the history and timing of the Viking Age and their settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and their short stay in Newfoundland. Then we get into hoaxes like …

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we experiment with a new format. Each cohost will be taking a segment to talk about a topic within archaeology. Carlton will start us off, David will be the second segment and Connor will bore you to death in the third segment. Let us know if you like it! If you have left a podcast review on iTunes or Spo…

In this episode, Carlton goes rogue and does an episode by himself. No co-hosts, no guest, just Carlton letting out his thoughts. For episode 143, Carlton delves into People of the Americas, Clovis vs Pre-Clovis, and Pleistocene Megafauna extinctions. What starts off as a lecture in the first two segments definitely turns into a rant by the time he…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we delve into the post-Boas anthropological theorists. We begin with an overview of four of Boas’s most well known students: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, Edward Sapir and Alfred Kroeber. We then just focus on the history of archaeological theory beginning with the Culture Historical approach, New Archaeo…

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Mason Brown, a guest assistant professor for Kathmandu University Department of Music and Affiliate Scholar for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Asian Studies. We delve into his early interests in ethnomusciology/Tibetan culture and get into the details of what ethnomusicology is. Dr. Brown talks abo…

We are back! All three cohosts return and start a new series of episodes on everyone’s favorite topic: Archaeology Theory! Before we delve into the theory, we start off by talking about feedback we have received from listeners about how we can improve our podcast. After we address that, we take a deep dive into a history of North American archaeolo…

On this episode, Carlton has a solo interview with a leading figure in Indigenous Archaeologies - Dr. Joe Watkins. Dr. Watkins is a Citizen of the Choctaw Nation and has been an advocate for archaeological collaboration with Indigenous Communities throughout his career as an archaeologist. Carlton explores Dr. Watkins' career in Archaeology and the…

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, Carlton is off galivanting across Europe and you know what that means; chaos. Connor and David talk about megafauna, the overkill hypothesis and get real weird. Transcripts For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ruins/138 Literature Recommendations Population reconstruction…

Well, it is that time of the year again. In keeping with tradition, the New Year's first episode features Archaeology Podcast Network owners Christ Webster and Rachel Roden. The three hosts catch up with their APN overlords, discussing the upcoming year for the APN, what show we gained and lost in 2022, and how the A Life in Ruins Podcast has been …

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, the three lads are joined by Dr. Jesse Tune and Dr. Shane Miller to review Episode 6 of Graham Hancock's new show: Ancient Apocalypse. Before recording this podcast, the five of us watched the show together, took notes, and immediately recorded this episode. We outline the show's narrative, the sites Grah…

In this episode, Carlton interviews Daniel Riday, a tattoo artist specializing in traditional hand-poke and ancestral tattooing techniques. Daniel talks about his background in tattooing and how a simple Instagram DM to Dr. Aaron Deter-Wolf (@archaeologyink) propelled Daniel into becoming a collaborator in archaeological research on experimental ta…

In this episode, Carlton interviews Dr. Jayne-Leigh Thomas, the Director of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act at Indiana University. We start with a conversation about their education and background in Anthropology and how they ended up with a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. For the remainder of the episode, we delv…

In this episode, Carlton talks with Josh Wolford about his background in anthropology and his work on the relationships between Anishinaabe cosmology and the geologic/climactic events in the upper Great Lakes. Specifically on how they relate, where this fits in anthropology, ethno-geoarchaeology, and how we can look at other Indigenous creation sto…

In this episode, Carlton has a solo interview with Ashleigh Thompson, a Tribal Citizen of the Red Lake Ojibwe and Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at the University of Arizona. The episode begins with Carlton asking about Ashleigh's background in Anthropology: where she went to school, what degrees she obtained, and how her multidisciplinary backgro…

Honestly, Carlton is writing this episode description the night before the episode releases and he completely forgot most of what we talked about. Generally, the three fill each other in on what they've been up to since September, why the APN went on hiatus in October, how Carlton is handling being a new professor (spoiler alert: he's still conside…

Just a heads-up, this episode was recorded back in September before the APN went on a brief recording hiatus. Chris and Rachel deserved the time off. This episode was recorded after Carlton and David had watched episode 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Since then, the show has wrapped up. In this episode, Carlton and David try to tal…

On this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast Connor and David sit down with Matt Stirn, a professional archaeologist, photographer and journalist. After catching up, the podcast as usual begins with how Matt got into archaeology. And as you might’ve guessed, he’s involved with Wyoming archaeology, and got his start when he was only 13 years old. Matt…

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a bit of a break for October, 2022. In the mean time, we’re introducing you to some of the other fantastic shows that we produce. Here’s an episode from The Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast about the Cerutti Mastodon site.The 130,000-year-old Cerutti Mastodon site in San Diego is a place where you can definitely …

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a bit of a break for October, 2022. In the mean time, we’re introducing you to some of the other fantastic shows that we produce. Here’s an episode from The Archaeology Show about Sutton Hoo and the Netflix film, “The Dig”. With the recent release of The Dig, a Netflix film focused on the excavation of the …

On this episode of a Life in Ruins Podcast, Connoe is joined by Dr. Alex Garcia-Putnam and Christine Halling to talk all things bioarcheology. We start off by delving into Christine's career in archaeology/anthropology and take about how her and Alex met. We then dive into their jobs, what they do and how buried remains can move miles or so during …

In this episode, Carlton and David are joined by six-time veteran guest Stefan Milo to discuss the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The lads talk about the controversy surrounding the existence of the monarchy, the global political quagmire of removing the Royal Family from leadership, and their general reactions to the news of the Queen's pas…

On this episode of the podcast, Connor and David sit down and chat with veteran guests Drs. Jesse Tune and Shane Miller to discuss the recent LSE mounds paper. They first dive into how Jesse and Shane have been on the show multiple times, and that they always have an educated and constructive conversation. Beginning with an overview of Southeastern…

In this episode, Carlton is joined by Chance Ward, an M.A. student in Museum and Field Studies at CU Boulder and a Tribal Citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The two start the episode with a discussion on how Chance got into Anthropology at Fort Lewis College. We then delve into his post-undergrad career in CRM and working for the Southern U…

In this episode, Connor and David take the reins while Carlton settles into his new position at in Bloomington. After establishing Connor hasn’t seen Amazon’s “The Rings of Power” yet, they decide to delve into the topic of “how to not be offended by bad science.” The two spend the 3 segments discussing how the media inaccurately advertises scienti…

ENCORE: To kick off the new year, the boys invite Dr. Shane Miller (Mississippi State University; Ep. #21) and his friend Dr. Jesse Tune (Fort Lewis College) to investigate the controversy surrounding the Cerutti Mastodon Site. The conversation is a holistic discussion from different perspectives about evidence, ethics, Indigenous Sovereignty, and …