Seven Ages Audio Journal

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Bonfire Shelter Bison Jump: Paleoindian and Archaic-Period Excavation | SAAJ 52 Mar 09, 2022

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In this edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we lead off the discussion with news from around the world of archaeology, highlighting a 9,000-year-old shrine in Jordan and a new article from the Mammoth Trumpet Journal discussing perishable technologies with former SAAJ guests J.M. Advasio and Tom Dillehay. We then feature an in-depth interview with David Kilby of Texas State University and the Ancient Southwest Texas Project to discuss the Bonfire Shelter bison jump. David Kilby has a long history of archaeological work at famous sites such as Blackwater Draw, Murray Springs, Mockingbird Gap, Folsom, and the Rio Rancho Folsom site. Follow the Seven Ages Research Associates online: Twitter

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David Kilby | Texas State University

Mississippian Imagery: Unlocking an Ancient American Cosmology | SAAJ 51 Jan 19, 2022

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On this edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we lead off the discussion with a memorial to the late Tennessee archaeologist David Dean. Remembering David's life and work with us is a friend of the program, Chase Pipes of the Smoky Mountain Relic Room, along with fellow Tennessee archaeologists Jay Franklin and Zoen McLachlan.

Then for the remainder of the program, the team is joined by Bretton Giles and Shawn Lambert, who are the co-editors of a new anthology entitled New Methods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery. Bretton T. Giles is an assistant research professor in sociology, anthropology, and social work at Kansas State University. Shawn P. Lambert is an assistant professor of anthropology and senior research associate with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University.

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THE BOOK: New Methods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery

The Destruction of Tall el Hammam: Anatomy of a Cataclysm | SAAJ 050 Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

Approximately 3600 years ago, new evidence may indicate that a cosmic airburst leveled the ancient city of Tall el-Hammam, a Middle-Bronze-Age site in the southern Jordan Valley northeast of the Dead Sea.

On this edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we are joined by returning guests Malcolm Lecompte, Christopher R. Moore, and for his first appearance, Timothy Witwer for an in-depth discussion about their paper, "A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea."

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Göbekli Tepe Part II: Mysteries in Stone | SAAJ 49 Sep 04, 2021

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In this episode of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we continue our series on the enigmatic site of Göbekli Tepe in Anatolia, Turkey, as we are joined by Martin Sweatman, Ph.D., author of the book Prehistory Decoded and a number of research publications related to Göbekli Tepe.

Sweatman's academic background is in statistical mechanics, the physical theory that links the properties of particles to the properties of matter. He heads a research group is mainly interested in theoretical aspects of classical statistical mechanics, as well as the design of new kinds of advanced material or engineering process. Typically, this involves developing or using Monte Carlo molecular simulation or classical density functional theory methods.

However, Sweatman's study of the rock carvings at Göbekli Tepe have brought statistics into the study of this ancient site, which expands the possibilities as far as their meaning to the ancient hands who carved them.

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Göbekli Tepe Part I: Art & Ancient Origins | SAAJ 48 Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

Göbekli Tepe is arguably one of the most captivating archaeological sites in anywhere in the world, not just for its age, but for its artisanship. The location is perhaps best known not just for its age, but for the iconic pillar structures that are a mainstay of the site. In this special edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we look at this enigmatic ancient site, and what its discovery has meant for Archaeology in the 21st century.

Joining us to discuss her work at the site is Sarah Kielt Costello, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Humanities Program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the State University of New York, Binghamton and her M.A. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College. Her research areas include Mesopotamian and Cypriot prehistory and museum and heritage studies. She is a co-editor of several volumes, and her work is also published in the journals Cambridge Archaeological Journal and Antiquity.

Dr. Costello has excavated in Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, and Greece and in 2013 participated as a Fulbright Fellow in the Summer Session at the American School of Classical Studies. In 2021, she was awarded a University Faculty Fellowship in recognition of exemplary teaching, research, and service to UHCL. We discuss her work at Göbekli Tepe on this edition of the podcast, and what can be derived about the ways of life in the ancient world from the study of this site's captivating art and monumental structures.

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The Lost Colony of Roanoke | SAAJ 47 Jun 02, 2021

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On this edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, the team focuses on one of the earliest and greatest mysteries in early American History: the famous Lost Colony of Roanoke. Joining us to discuss this historical mystery is Phillip Evans of The First Colony Foundation, a North Carolina 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that, according to its website, is "dedicated to conducting archaeological and historical research, combined with public education and interpretation, relating to the story of America's beginnings with the attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to establish English colonies at Roanoke Island in the 1580s under his charter from Queen Elizabeth I." We discuss the Foundation's efforts to utilize archaeology in resolving the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

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The Collapse of Cahokia | SAAJ 46 Apr 11, 2021

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On this edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we discuss the ancient Mississippian city of Cahokia, its mysterious collapse, and cultural significance in pre-Columbian North America. Joining us to discuss the riddle of Cahokia and its decline is Tim Pauketat, the Illinois State Archaeologist and a professor of Anthropology and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Pauketat is the Director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, one of the largest archaeological research units in the United States. He was trained in global archaeology at the University of Michigan but has chosen to focus on the peoples and history of eastern North America and the Plains. Director Pauketat has published extensively on his research at the ancient city of Cahokia and other medieval-era sites along the Mississippi, having written or edited 16 books, including The Archaeology of Ancient North America, Medieval Mississippians, and Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City. We discuss the ancient earthworks of the site, and what archaeology tells us about the mysterious rise and fall of this ancient American city.

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"Cahokia" image in this episode's art by Michael Hampshire, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

The Clovis Enigma | SAAJ 45 Feb 27, 2021

Show notes

On this special edition of the podcast, we go in search of answers to one of American Archaeology's most enduring mysteries: the enigmatic Clovis people and their unique technology. Who were the hunters that designed the fluted projectile point, regarded by some as "America's first invention," and what happened to them and their technology at the end of the last ice age? Did they truly vanish, or does the rise and sudden disappearance of what archaeologists call Clovis represent something far more complex?

Our investigation of the Clovis enigma takes us back to the first decade of the 20th century with the discoveries at Folsom, New Mexico, followed by those at Blackwater Draw, which effectively put Clovis on the map. We then examine archaeological perspectives on the Clovis people, including who they were, how and when they arrived in the Americas, and what makes their highly specialized technology so significant. Finally, we also explore the lingering shadow of "pre-Clovis" sites that predate the appearance of these distinctive fluted lithic points.

Our exploration of the Clovis enigma leaves us with more questions than answers, and stands testament to why archaeologists remain fascinated with this enigmatic cultural manifestation, their technology, and their lasting imprint on the world of the Ancient Americas.

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The Archaeology of Magic | SAAJ 44 Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

On this special "After Dark" edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, the gents join for an after-hours gathering in the Cross-Tyme Pub, as we explore the more esoteric side of archaeology and humanity's past. With that, our focus during this discussion has to do with the archaeology of magic.

We are joined by Dr. C. Riley Augé, the University of Montana's Anthropological Collections Facility curator and instructor of many archaeology and cultural anthropology courses, such as "Myth, Ritual, and Religion." She specializes in the anthropological and archaeological study of belief systems where her research and national and international publications emphasize the emotive and sensorial aspects of ritual behaviors and religious and magical beliefs. She was awarded the Society for Historical Archaeology 2016 Kathleen Kirk Gilmore Dissertation Award for her work on gendered magic, which is the basis for her book The Archaeology of Magic: Gender and Domestic Protection in Seventeenth-Century New England.

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Paleoindian Discoveries in Florida Archaeology | SAAJ 43 Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

On this special holiday edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, after the team recaps some of the top archaeological stories of 2020, we are then joined by guests Andy Hemmings and Jim Dunbar, for a discussion of archaeological work being conducted along Florida's waterways.

Andy Hemmings grew up in Minnesota around the Twin Cities. In 1991 he graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in Anthropology, and after doing contract archaeology for a time, he worked in the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department before heading to graduate school at the University of Florida. Hemmings received his Anthropology Masters in 1999, and Ph.D. in 2004 from the University of Florida, followed by a Post-doctoral Fellowship with the Gault Project at the University of Texas.

Jim Dunbar is an archaeologist with a research focus on Paleoindian (and pre-Clovis) populations, primarily in Florida. He was an employee with the Bureau of Archaeological Research and is now engaged full-time in archaeological research. He has an extensive publication record and completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 2012. His research includes the excavations at Wakulla Springs (funded by National Geographic), as well as the Norden site, Page-Ladson on the Aucilla River, and dozens of other sites. And, as we have heard, he has probably seen more Paleoindian sites than anyone in Florida.

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NEWS: The Top 10 Archaeological discoveries 2020
JUDITH JESCH ONLINE: University of Nottingham Bio Page

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