A Life In Ruins

Latest Episodes:

Ancient Civ - Indus Valley with Stefan Milo - Ep 70 Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of A Life in Ruins, we continue our series on ancient civilization and discuss Indus Valley Civilizations and their precursors. We have Stefan Milo join us to discuss this region. Stefan Milo is a popular Youtuber who has appeared on episodes 20 and 43. He made a video on an Indus Valley Civilization where he discusses the interesting lack of social hierarchy found in this civilization (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxP1zornb-w). We struggle with geography, time periods, and basically everything in this episode but also discuss social hierarchy/structure.

Guest Contact

Stefan Milo Email: hello@stefanmilo.com
Stefan Milo Instagram: @historysmilo
Stefan Milo Youtube: Stefan Milo
Stefan Milo Website: HOME | Mysite
Stefan Milo Twitter: @Historysmilo

Show Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
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Ancient Civ: South America - Ep 69 Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

We celebrate our 69th episode by investigating the rise of early state civilizations in South America. The four early states that we cover are Norte Chico, Chavin, Nazca, and of course, Moche. This episode is a wild ride of pyramids, ceremonial complexes, severed heads, and Moche sex pots.

Sprinkled throughout the episode are references to Star Wars, Civilization, SAA conferences, South Park, Rick and Morty, and a shoutout to The Dirt Podcast.

Literature recommendations:

1) Ancient Civilizations by Chris Scarre & Brian M. Fagan, 4th edition

2) Archaeology by Robert L. Kelly & David Hurst Thomas, 7th Edition

3) Archaeology and Human History by Deborah I. Olszewski

4) Skeleton Sex Pots by Steve Nash. Sapiens Anthropology Magazine.

5) Dirt Podcast on the Nazca

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
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Ancient Civ: Origins - Ep 68 Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Buckle up for an episode on the theory of the rise of early states and ancient civilizations. Episode 68 sets the stage for a series investigating early civilizations across the globe. We break down Elman Service and Lewis Henry Morgan's theories on cultural complexity and go through a couple of definitions for "civilization". Think that's going to be boring? Well just wait, we even talk about primary vs secondary civilizations and the four classic theories on how early complex civilizations rise.

Of course, any episode involving the great mistake of neothilization wouldn't be complete without poking fun of our friend Stefan Milo.

Literature Recommendations

Ancient Civilizations by Chris Scarre & Brian M. Fagan, 4th edition
Archaeology by Robert L. Kelly & David Hurst Thomas, 7th Edition
Archaeology and Human History by Deborah I. Olszewski

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast
Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
Twitter: @alifeinruinspod
Website: www.alifeinruins.com
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Days of AR-CHIVES with Kelly Brown - Ep 67 Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the A Life in Ruins Podcast, we interview Kelly Brown, the Archives Lab Manager at the Augusta Veterans Curation Program. Her main job component is managing archives, her secondary responsibility is being David's workplace babysitter.

She recently graduated with a Master's Degree in Library and Information science (MLIS) and has accepted a position at the Savannah River Site Museum in Aiken, South Carolina. We discuss Kelly’s background in archaeology from the University of Georgia and her field school on the Georgia coast.

Kelly provides the three hosts a glimpse into the world of archives and documentation and discusses why information science is important in all fields, especially in archaeology

Most of the episode, however, is the roast of David Howe’s illiteracy.

Literature recommendations:

1) Google “IMLS” and look it up yourself, pleib

2) TDAR - The Digital Archaeological Record

3) Society of American Archivists

Guest Contact

You can find Kelly Brown on LinkedIn. That's it.

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast
Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
Twitter: @alifeinruinspod
Website: www.alifeinruins.com
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Fantastic Domesticates and Where to Find Them - New World - Ep 66 Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

We wrap up our animal domestication series with a discussion about animals that were domesticated in North and South America. We cover llamas, guinea pigs (so startled), turkey's and a few other domesticates that the three hosts didn't know about. Of course, there are plenty of South Park and Disney Movie references throughout the episode.

Literature Recommendations

Animal Domestication - Table of Dates and Places: How did we ever manage to domesticate so many animals? from thoughtco.com
Domestication - Domestication is the process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use. National Geographic Resource Library
American Museum of Natural History: Domestication Timeline
Serge Morand et al. 2014 "Domesticated animals and human infectious diseases of zoonotic origins: Domestication time matters" in Infection, Genetics and Evolution

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast
Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
Twitter: @alifeinruinspod
Website: www.alifeinruins.com
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Fantastic Domesticates and Where to Find them - Old World - Ep 65 Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of A Life in Ruins podcast, The hosts have another off the rails discussion about domesticates. This time however, talking llamas, guinea pigs, camels, horses, goats, and dogs. You might notice that not all of them are Old World Domesticates. Honestly, you’ll just have to listen to the episode understand.

It is actually a very thoughtful and funny conversation about the idiosyncrasies of domestication, animal behavior, and how humans interact with animals.

National suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-TALK

Literature Recommendations

not "Guns Germs and Steel"
National Geographic Resource Library Encyclopedic Entry: Domestication
Journal of Young Investigators: Our Furry Friends: the History of Animal Domestication
American Museum of Natural History: Domestication Timeline
Melinda A. Zeder 2008 "Domestication and early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, diffusion, and impact" in PNAS
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Farm Animals
Serge Morand et al. 2014 "Domesticated animals and human infectious diseases of zoonotic origins: Domestication time matters" in Infection, Genetics and Evolution
University of Liverpool 16 May 2014. "Domesticated animals provide vital link to emergence of new diseases." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily.

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
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Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
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Folsom Game Drive Blues with Kelton Meyer - Ep 64 Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we delve back into the Paleoindian period. We interview Kelton Meyer, a graduate student in anthropology at Colorado State University about his research on game drives in the Rocky Mountains and the techniques he utilizes to analyze spatial relationships. The three hosts also chat with Kelton about his recent publications and research awards.

Literature Recommendations

David Meltzer: Folsom: New Archaeological Investigations of a Classic Paleoindian Bison Kill
Edwin Wilmsen and Frank Robert Jr.: Lindemeir Investigations
James Benedict: Arapaho Pass: Glacial geology and archeology at the crest of the Colorado Front Range

Guest Contact Info

Kelton's Instagram: @meanderthal13 and @Reddin_folsom
FB - Reddin project

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast
Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
Twitter: @alifeinruinspod
Website: www.alifeinruins.com

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Fantastic Domesticates and Where to Find Them - Dogs - Ep 63 Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

For this episode of Just the Boyz, we kick off our series on animal domesticates, starting with the oldest known domesticated animal: the dog. We are fortunate to have David as a one of the hosts as he is one of the leading public scholars when it comes to the relationship between dogs and humans throughout human history. We chat about the earliest evidence for dog domestication, the leading theories behind Howe and why dogs were domesticated, and delve into a discussion about the Siberian Fox Domestication experiment and animal research ethics.

Literature recommendations

1) "Dogs": Darcey Morey

2) "The Social Dog: Behavior and Cognition" Kominski and Marshall-Pescini

3) “Dogs: Archaeology Beyond Domestication" Bethke and Burtt

4) "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know" Alexandra Horowitz

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast
Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
Twitter: @alifeinruinspod
Website: www.alifeinruins.com

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Back in Black: Primate Microbiomes with Carson Black - Ep 62 Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we are pleased to have Carson Black return to the show. Carson joined us way back on Episode 17 to talk about Primatology and the beginnings of her Master’s thesis research. We are excited to announce that Carson recently graduated with her Master’s degree and are happy to have her back on to talk about her thesis research. We discuss her finishing her degree amid a pandemic, missing out on fieldwork and passing COVID-19 to primates. We then do a deep dive into her thesis research on microbiomes in chimps. We finish up our conversation talking about her experience in graduate school and Carson gives out some tips on how to make it through!

Literature Recommendations

Guest Contact Info

Instagram: @carsonblack
Twitter: @carsblack_

Contact

Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com
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Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast
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Just the Boyz But It's Revolutionary Part II (Do not operate heavy machinery or drive while listening to this episode) - Ep 61 Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we continue talking about the Revolutionary War, aka the War for American Freedom, aka ‘Merica War’.

We hope this one is more factual and just as hilarious as Episode 57.

We recount the events following the Crossing of the Delaware River, highlight Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, the winter at Valley Forge, the alliance between France and the US, and how this alliance changed the outcome of the war, with some archaeological case studies sprinkled throughout the narrative. We get into a discussion about the traitorous Benedict Arnold and his relationship to Eggs Benedict, the Articles of Confederation, and the end of the war.

We spend some time promoting the importance of battlefield archaeology and its importance for learning more about the War for American Independance. We end the snoozer with some ridiculous banter.

Literature recommendations

LiDar Documentation of Historical Sites

Valley Forge Bayonets article

Battlefield Archaeology at Kings Mountain

The importance of battlefield archaeology

Contact