The ancient city of Tiwanaku ruled the Southern Andes for 1000 years. From the Pacific Ocean to the Amazon, their empire spread far and wide. 12,500 ft asl on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the city itself boasts the largest megaliths ever created in South America. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed…

In 1997, Ed was part of the excavations that discovered the tomb of Copan's first ruler - Yax K'uk' Mo'. Join him as he tells the story in his usual humorous style. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, M…

There were multiple militaristic civilizations in the ancient Americas. In this episode, Ed talks about their rise to power and weapons of choice. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date calculato…

Linda Schele was the most influential Mayanist of her time - some would say of all time. Ed had the good fortune to be counted among her graduate students. In this episode, he'll tell you some stories from his time with her. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calenda…

All over the ancient Americas, from Chile to Alaska, the Milky Way was seen as the path to the otherworld. Join Ed as he explains his evidence for that assertion. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, May…

Teotihuacan was the most important city in all of ancient Mesoamerican history. Despite almost 200 years of archaeology there, there's a whole lot we don't understand. Join Ed for a discussion of what we know - and still don't know - about Teotihuacan. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024…

Day of the Dead is a captivating and globally celebrated holiday. Accompany Ed on a journey through its rich origins, his personal encounters with this vibrant tradition in Latin America, and discover how you too can participate in its wonderful traditions. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a…

When it comes to lost ancient cities that everyone wants to find, El Dorado runs a close 2nd to Atlantis. Did it really exist? Join Ed as he tries to unravel 500 years of stories and expedition accounts. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://…

Ever wonder how Ed became an archaeologist? Well here's the story. The year was 1990 and the place was Copan, Honduras. A field school experience for the record books! Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots…

Fact - Peru's first pyramids are earlier than Egypt's Not only did they start earlier, they were built for centuries longer. Join Ed as the explains Peru's first civilizations from 3500-200 BCE. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan…

3500 years ago, Poverty Point was a thriving city of over 5000 people in the bayous of northern Louisiana. Despite not having agriculture or even ceramics, those people built North America's 2nd largest pyramid-mound. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log …

The final chapter of the Palenque Mapping Project, Season 1. More snakes, more temples, and a robbery at gun point! I got by with a little help from my friends. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya …

The continued story of how I mapped Palenque - still in 1998, field season 1 of 3. In this episode - forest fires, mangos, and skinny dipping. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date calculator so…

From 1998 to 2000, I led the Palenque Mapping Project. In this episode I'll share the behind the scenes story of how I got the job and the strange things that happened while making the map. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-cale…

The Wari were a civilization of 100's of 1000's of people living in the Andes between 500 and 1000 CE. Never heard of them? You're not alone. In this episode, I'll tell you about them and explain why I believe they were the inspiration for the later Inca Empire. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed …

Mississippian civilization honored its dead by laying them to rest in pyramidal burial mounds. But why? What did it mean to them and where did they get the idea to do it? In this episode, we'll discuss that tradition - including its origins and evolution. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2…

In the centuries before Columbus, millions of people lived in what's now the eastern United States. Today, we call that Mississippian Civilization. In this episode, I'll discuss what we think we know about their religion. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, …

For most people, Indiana Jones is the archetypal archaeologist. But is he? Indie is a lot of things, but a good archaeologist isn't one of them! Join Dr. Ed as he separates fact from fiction. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-ca…

The trailer to begin Season 4 of ArchaeoEd Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date calculator software - https://www.barsanddots.com Ed's day job is Director of Maya Exploration Center, a 501(c)3 …

About 4000 years ago, the civilizations of Mesoamerica created the world's first team sport - older by centuries than any other. It was played with a big rubber ball, in a stone-built ball court, and enjoyed from the Chihuahua Desert to the rainforests of Honduras. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeo…

In this episode I'll ask the age old question - who's a good dog? Dogs were man's best friend in Americas for 1000's of years, from Alaska to the tip of Chile. They were pets, cargo haulers, hunting companions, guides to the afterlife, and at times, food. Join me as I discuss what I know about dogs in the ancient Americas. Support the Show. Support…

Ancient Americans consumed a number of plants that Western society now view as "drugs". But to the ancients, they weren't just plants. They had spirits that could give them strength and aid them to reach an altered state of consciousness through which to interact with the supernatural otherworld. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon!…

The Olmecs are widely considered Mesoamerica's "mother culture". In this episode I'll talk about that amazing civilization's achievements and how recent discoveries may change what we think we know about them. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to ht…

Moises Morales was a legend in Mexico. His contributions to our knowledge and the protection of the Maya ruins of Palenque are unparalleled. In this episode, I'll tell you some stories about my dear friend Moi. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to h…

The 260 day calendar of Mesoamerica is its oldest and most enduring measurement of time. In this episode I'll explain how it works, what it means to modern Maya people, and how the Dresden Codex contains important links between the past and present uses of the sacred Tzolk'in calendar. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://ww…

The Mogollon are a little known ancient civilization of the American Southwest. But you probably know them and just don't know you know them, you know? And if you really don't know them, they're worth knowing. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to ht…

The Moche were an amazingly advanced civilization who lived along Peru's northern coast from about 100 to 750 CE. In this episode, I'll explain how I believe that they were monotheistic, worshipping a creator deity I call the Fanged Deity. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calend…

The Fanged Deity is a ubiquitous character in ancient Andean art. His identity as the same creator deity over thousands of years, through multiple cultures and from Columbia to Chile, is my own potentially paradigm shifting theory. Join me as I explain why I believe the religions of ancient South America were essentially monotheistic. Support the S…

Season 3 is coming on September 1st! Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date calculator software - https://www.barsanddots.com Ed's day job is Director of Maya Exploration Center, a 501(c)3 non-pr…

Part two of the last episode. Stories of my 3rd and 4th seasons mapping Ma'ax Na and some other crazy stuff that happened in my career in 1996 and 1997. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date cal…

Back in the 1990's, I discovered the ancient Maya city of Ma'ax Na in the remote jungles of Northwestern Belize. This podcast tells the story of how I did it. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya da…

The moment of contact between Europe and the Americas in the 15th century brought with it a host of infectious diseases. The result was the spread of epidemics at a scale and speed the world had never known. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to http…

The Inca Khipu - knotted string records of the Inca Empire. The amazingly organized Inca civilization of over 10 million people was kept running smoothly through the use of the khipu, essentially the Inca "writing" system. But sadly, the world forgot how to read them. This episode will explain what they are, what we know about them, and our most re…

Chaco Canyon is without doubt the finest ancient architecture within the modern United States. The Ancestral Pueblo built it over a 300 year period between 850-1150 CE, but the strange thing is - they barely lived there. Join me as we discuss the "Chaco Phenomenon". Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archae…

From 1539 to 1542, Hernando de Soto led an army of Spanish conquistadors through what is now the southeastern United States. What his men saw and documented during those three years was amazing. What they did was psychotic. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar…

Easter Island, or as its known to its inhabitants, Rapa Nui is one of the most remote places on the planet. In this episode, Ed will discuss how the first people made it to the island, the insights their "oral traditions" reveal and how European contact turned the whole place on its head. There's much more to the Rapa Nui than the amazing statues t…

Tulum was an ancient Maya port city on Yucatan's eastern coast and still populated when the Spanish first arrived, but strangely the conquistadors never securely identified or occupied it. Why? I think it's got something to do with the Aztecs. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Ca…

A one minute trailer for the ArchaeoEd Podcast Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-calendar.com Bars and Dots, Maya date calculator software - https://www.barsanddots.com Ed's day job is Director of Maya Exploration Center, a 501(…

The Nazca were a culture in Peru's desert who existed between 100 BCE and 700 CE. This episode will discuss who they were, how they lived and (of course) the famous Nazca Lines they scratched into the desert. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may re…

Palenque is an ancient Maya city nestled into a mountainside in the rainforests of Chiapas, Mexico. This episode will talk about its dynasty, their incredible achievements in mathematics and science, and the beautiful architecture found within its ruins. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Disclaimer: This post contains aff…

The ancient Hopewell civilization of Ohio. Yes, Ohio. Guess where the world's largest collection of ancient geometric earthworks are? Yep, Ohio. And some surrounding states, but mostly Ohio. Support the Show. Support ArchaeoEd through Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/archaeoed For a 2024 Mayan Calendar wall calendar, log on to https://www.mayan-cal…