Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

This year marks the centenary of the First World War. With the arrival of the hundred year anniversary of the War, battlefield archaeology of World War One sites has been gifted with a new popularity. One of the favorite anecdotal stories of the Great War is the truce that took place between the Allied and German forces during Christmas in 1914. Today Indiana Jones hosts Mr. Martin Brown, a battlefield archaeologist who has spent many years excavating the Western Front, to talk about the No Man’s Land archaeology group and the Plugstreet Project. We will discuss how the memory of the Christmas truce has made its way into mainstream media, the importance of battlefield archaeology, and Great War heritage education.

Two years ago Indiana Jones Myth, Reality, and 21st Century Archaeology interviewed Dr. Tom King about the famed Amelia Earhart. We discussed the ongoing and long-standing research to solve the historically captivating mystery of her disappearance over the Pacific in 1937. This fall it was made known that a piece of aluminum aircraft debris found on a remote, uninhabited South Pacific atoll came from Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft. We take off with her story again with Mr. Richard Gillespie, Executive Director of International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), and discuss the newest developments in her saga. Amelia’s story is gaining altitude thanks to the ongoing interdisciplinary efforts of TIGHAR and revitalized attention from the media. In addition to sharing new data, we touch on role of the media and the use of famous tales in archaeology, and how that colors the public’s understanding and appreciation of archaeology.

An important part of archaeology is recording the context materials are excavated from. Sometimes collections get disorganized or lost after a project concludes and become unusable to researchers due to the lack of contextual information. Dr. Barbara Voss’ research has addressed this issue of collections getting left on the proverbial doorstep and begun to outline potential practices to find homes for “orphaned collections”. Since the early 2000s Dr. Voss has adopted the Market Street Chinatown Project and has dedicated time to figuring out ways to make that site and collection useful to researchers once again. Her work in giving the collection a home has enabled her and others to address questions about the daily life, such as food consumption, and social roles of Chinese immigrants in California. Join us as we talk about the significance of the collection itself and importance of addressing orphaned archaeological collections.

The idea of performance has become increasingly interesting to archaeological inquiry. Performance is a significant part of social activity and examining the remnant structures and materials of a culture provides a context from which we may infer the rituals that shaped daily life. The material culture of a society may explain how an individual or individuals maintained and manipulated social organization. This week Dr. Pam Crabtree joins us to talk about Dún Ailinne, a large ceremonial Irish Iron Age site. She has conducted extensive research at Dún Ailinne exploring the importance of “Royal Sites” and the geophysical techniques used to reveal that realm. Together we delve into how ritual performance can be uncovered through geophysical analysis and excavations as well as what political and social goals the symbolic structures may have served.

Archaeology in major cities can serve a supportive role in the development of the city as well as making accessible its archaeological heritage. This week we delve into the City Archaeology Program in Boston with City Archaeologist Joe Bagley. The City of Boston has a large archaeological collection and this week’s episode touches on the history of the city’s archaeological program and the curation of its surfeit of materials. Our episode will discuss some of the artifacts and history of Boston and what archaeology of a major city entails.

With over 70% of the earth’s surface covered in water, much of the world is inaccessible to archaeologists employing traditional, land-based archaeological techniques. Employing new procedures and methodologies, the father of underwater archaeology, Dr. George Bass, revolutionized the field in the 1960's by demonstrating that rigorous scientific analysis could be conducted under water. Journey into the fascinating and unique world of underwater and nautical archaeology with our very special guest, Dr. James P. Delgado, one of the foremost experts in the field of underwater archaeology. Throughout his distinguished career, and as the host of the underwater archaeology-themed television show “The Sea Hunters,” Dr. Delgado has worked on some of the most famous shipwrecks of our time. He joins the program to provide an overview of the history of nautical archaeology, the future of the field, and its evolving relationship with conservation and heritage management.

Last week you learned about the ancient Egyptian police force under the Ptolemies. This week, delve back a century before the Ptolemaic Dynasty to the city of Elephantine. There thrived a substantial Jewish population who maintained their own temple and left their own texts in Aramaic. When we think of societies where people of many different backgrounds coexist, often what comes to mind is a modern city like New York. But what would life have been like in an ancient metropolis with a multicultural society? Join our host and special guest Dr. Jitse Dijkstra, who has been involved in the excavations at Elephantine since 2001 as a member of the Swiss-German-Egyptian mission. Learn how historical texts and archaeological remains have been connected to better understand the ancient inhabitants of the island.

Throughout the years of Ptolemaic rule, victims of crime in all areas of the Egyptian countryside called on local police officials to investigate wrongdoings. What was this ancient police force like - would it have seemed familiar to someone used to modern law enforcement? Drawing on a large body of textual evidence for the cultural, social, and economic interactions between state and citizen, Dr. John Bauschatz of the University of Arizona demonstrates in his recent book that the police system was efficient, effective, and largely independent of central government controls. No other law enforcement organization exhibiting such a degree of autonomy and flexibility appears in extant evidence from the rest of the Greco-Roman world. Examining the activities of a broad array of police officers in Ptolemaic Egypt (323–30 BC), Dr. Bauschatz argues that Ptolemaic police officials enjoyed great autonomy, providing assistance to even the lowest levels of society when crimes were committed.

Did you ever wonder what happens to the finds that are retrieved in archaeological excavations? How extensively are they studied and what happens to them once the researchers conclude their analysis? Professionals often discuss the Curation Crisis or the problems attendant to too many artifacts, too little room. Today's program offers an in depth discussion of the disposition of archaeological collections and helps chart a pathway that integrates curation procedures with the overall aims of specific archaeological projects. Our panel includes three experts in the field. Join Daniel Benden, Curator of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Francis P. McManamon, the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Antiquity, and Chris Pulliam, an archaeologist and team leader in the St. Louis District Curation and Archives Analysis Branch and assistant director of the Corps' Mandatory Center.

A Mesolithic site in Cornwall provided evidence of human habitation along a marshy streambed in Cornwall. Its spring-fed waters preserved a sustained record of human occupation through the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. However, the site is best known for a series of animal pits whose contents vary but are characterized by similar shapes and contents for the interval A.D. 1640-1970. The earliest pits were lined with swan feathers and small stones. The latter were imported from a source 15 miles away. Through time, the remains changed and included cats, pigs, and dog teeth, with eggs and the typical small stones as well. The most recent of these pits contained plastic artifacts dated to the 1970's, suggesting that these practices are still in force in Cornwall. Our special guest is Dr. Jacqui Wood who runs an archaeological field school in Cornwall dedicated to uncovering the secrets of the pits and tracking their contemporary analogues.

Sinope was the most important pre-modern port on the south coast of the Black Sea, located at the center of the Turkish coast directly opposing the Crimean peninsula to the North. As of 2012, the Sinop Region Archaeological Project has completed eight seasons of archaeological survey and environmental research in the hinterland around Sinope, and has recorded more than 400 archaeological sites ranging from Paleolithic to Ottoman periods. Project director Dr. Owen Doonan is currently preparing a proposal to commence a major international excavation in the heart of the ancient Greco-Roman colony of Sinope. Tune in tonight to hear Dr. Doonan's vision for the project and learn different ways he has utilized it as a way of promoting archaeology for the many audiences often neglected by academics: the local host communities in which we live and work, the communities who support our work, and the young people who can be engaged and captivated by archaeological research.

Archaeologists often confront the paradox of reconciling seminal events and larger than life figures with facts on the ground. Where is Noah’s Ark? Where are Jesus’ bones? Previous episodes have addressed specific cases in rigorous detail, but often with results tinged with variable measures of uncertainty. Yet, every so often spectacular finds can be readily tied to dramatic historic events. Today’s episode is a case in point. A team of British archaeologists from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services discovered the body of King Richard III. Armed with accurate historical documentation, and state of the art testing methodologies, the team confirmed that the body located within the church choir of a Franciscan friary was in all likelihood that of Richard III. That probability was confirmed by DNA testing. Our guest this week, Richard Buckley, Project Manager of the Greyfriars project, recounts the details of this remarkable discovery and its implications for archaeology.

Many of you are interested in the way archaeology is presented in the media to the general public - with television networks like National Geographic churning out increasingly questionable series, it's easy to see why the topic inspires concern in the archaeological community. The Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) was originally founded to address a number of important issues in the field, one of them being the shallowness and inaccuracy of media news items shown to the public. Its founder, tonight's special guest Dr. Richard Pettigrew, has established himself as one of the word's leaders in public education about archaeology and cultural heritage. In this episode, Dr. Schuldenrein interviews Dr. Pettigrew about his experience making cultural heritage films, problems with mainstream media in handling the subject of archaeology, and the Archaeology Channel, ALI's popular news and media outlet.

You've heard from some of our guests about the Mayan calendar and the civilization's rise and collapse - this episode is devoted to the Maya Research Program, which is a non-profit corporation that sponsors archaeological and ethnographic research in Middle America. Special guest Dr. Thomas Guderjan tells us about this extended family of worldwide experts, students, and volunteers, and their role in uncovering and conserving sites throughout the region. Find out what the goals of the project are, and what it's like excavating and conducting research in Central America. Learn how you can get involved with their projects, travel for a cause in order to raise money for the program's scholarships, or even adopt a Maya site in order to directly aid in its conservation!

Global warming on your mind this summer? It turns out we're not the first society forced to deal with the effects of climate change. Cool off in front of the fan this evening and join our host Dr. Joe Schuldenrein and special guest Dr. Miriam Belmaker, who studies the adaptations of past human societies to their climate. Using both zooarchaeological and paleontological methods, she tracks climate change through both space and time to answer a number of research questions. What influence did ancient changes in the world's climate have on the evolution of our earliest ancestors? How do ancient methods of dealing with climate change compare with those of our modern society? Discover the answers to these and more during tonight's episode!

European travelers from as early as the time of Columbus have remarked upon the central role tobacco played in the lives of the Native Americans they encountered. Far more than a leisure activity, the smoking of tobacco played a large role in Native American spiritual and ritual life. What are the practice's prehistoric origins, and how do we know? SUNY Albany's Sean M. Rafferty specializes in residue analysis, a technique that uses chemicals to extract and identify traces of plant and animal materials from pottery. Join us tonight to learn about these fascinating methods and discover the earliest evidence of pipe smoking technology, and its social and religious significance to the prehistoric inhabitants of North America.

If you’re concerned with the way that archeology is presented in the media,, then “reality” shows like Diggers, Nazi War Diggers, and Relic Hunters probably inspire a shudder. According to these programs, archaeology seems to be less about science and knowledge and more about digging up profitable treasures as fast as possible in a way that all but destroys our cultural heritage. But Time Team America, airing its second season on PBS August 19, gives its viewers a glimpse into some of the most fascinating sites in the US while educating them about authentic and ethical archaeological practices. Join our host and Time Team members Chelsea Rose, Allan Maca, and Meg Watters, who will discuss their own views on science and the media and what goes into creating a real reality TV show that portrays responsible methods.

Our series on Archaeology and Relevance has unique applications to the very real issues of contemporary conflict and war. The 21st Century was ushered in by the horrific events of 9/11 in New York City. Subsequent disasters including the tsunami in the South Pacific and the London bombings drew the attention of archaeologists whose traditional and not-so traditional approaches offer unique perspectives for optimizing data recovery at disaster sites. Initiatives to examine the archaeology of Holocaust era concentration camps and mass graves in Eastern Europe and Iraq underscore the unique contributions that our field has to make in adapting site formation (and destruction) studies to locations that highlight the darkest side of the human condition. Our special guest is Dr. Richard Gould, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Brown University, who had the perspicacity to mobilize the first and only systematic excavations at the World Trade Center site immediately after the tragedy.

When Spain, the 16th century European superpower, spread into the Americas it created a plethora of “situations of contact, transforming all groups involved. Foreign items are often appropriated as luxury goods in sociopolitical struggles for power, and European colonialists realized they could use trade goods to manipulate local politics and loaded their ships with such items. Indigenous peoples often transformed desired trade goods into inalienable objects, which played critical roles in local political systems. The competition of local elites for these goods and their subsequent use as power objects transformed political systems and, in some cases, encouraged the formation of internal factions. Dr. Timothy Pugh and his team of researchers from universities in the United States and Guatemala is exploring the shifting role of European objects in the Itza Maya socio-political system during the Contact period (A.D. 1525-1697). They believe that European “trade good politics” with the Maya resulted in increase

“Space Archaeology” may sound like the stuff of science fiction – an archaeologist’s attention is usually focused beneath the earth rather than towards the stars. But the preservation of our cultural heritage in outer space has actually become a very pertinent issue in recent years. Human-made artefacts such as satellites, orbital debris, and launch complexes here on earth all document the story of our first ventures into space, and the increase of national interests in space and the development of commercial spacecraft (i.e. space tourism) present challenges in international preservation. Pioneering archaeologists such as Dr. Beth O’Leary are leading the way in preserving these objects and structures for future generations. Her work includes the evaluation of the significance and future protection of important material culture on Earth, the moon, and in orbit. Join Dr. O’Leary and our host as they discuss the preservation efforts so far and how the protection of space artefacts falls into a legal gray ar