For its practitioners, archaeology can feel like it is unearthing events deep in the past … until it doesn’t. What is the experience of researchers who discover their life stories are tied to an archaeological site? Dr. Kisha Supernant and Lenora McQueen share their journeys to the unmarked graves of First Nations and Métis peoples and African American burial grounds, respectively, and how their connections to their ancestors transform their work.   (00:00:16) The Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks to understand what happened at Indian residential schools. (00:01:02) Dr. Kisha Supernat introduces her work as a Méthis archaeologist uncovering unmarked Indigenous graves at residential schools. (00:03:34) Introduction. (00:06:43) How Dr. Kisha locates unmarked graves. (00:10:45) Lenora McQueen shares her search to unmarked African American burial grounds. (00:12:23) The story of the Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground. (00:15:58) Introducing heart-centered archaeology. (00:23:41) Credits.   SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists, with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii, _91nova, and Justnormal. For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org.    Additional Sponsors: This episode was made possible by the University of Michigan’s Museum of Anthropological Archaeology and the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas.   Additional Resources:   Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground - https://www.richmondcemeteries.org/potters-field/ From SAPIENS: A Weak Commission Brought Forth Survivors’ Truths, but Has It Made Reconciliation Possible? - https://www.sapiens.org/culture/indian-residential-schools-reconciliation/ From SAPIENS: Archaeology’s Role in Finding Missing Indigenous Children in Canada - https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/archaeology-residential-school-graves/ Guests: Dr. Kisha Supernant is Métis/Papaschase/British and the director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology at the University of Alberta. Follow her on Twitter @ArchaeoMapper. Learn more here: https://www.kishasupernant.com/. Lenora McQueen is an educator, researcher, community historian, and advocate for the preservation and interpretation of African American historic sites in Virginia. Learn more here: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/virginia/articles/2021-05-30/woman-wants-to-memorialize-unmarked-african-burial-ground.

SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human

At the Heart of It All

For many, archaeology means digging up historical artifacts from beneath the ground. But to some, that framework is also violent and colonial. What would it mean to leave ancestors and belongings where they’re found? In this episode, Gabrielle Miller, a PhD student studying African Diaspora Archaeology at the University of Tulsa shares a story about excavations in St. Croix. And Dr. Ayana Flewellen and Dr. Justin Dunnavant discuss how black archaeologists began uncovering sunken slave ships.     (00:02:26) What parts of Archaeology as we know it should be preserved? And what needs to be destroyed?     (00:02:51) Introduction.     (00:03:24) Gabrielle Miller explains their research on the Free Black Community in St. Croix.     (00:07:07) Meet, A ship called the Guerriero.     (00:08:43) How Diving with a Purpose originated.     (00:09:39) Justin Dunnavant and Ayana Flewellen create The Society of Black Archaeologists.     00:12:25) A guide to underwater, or maritime archaeology.     00:16:09) What Black Feminist archaeology is adding to the field.     (00:21:29) How learning from artists can help stretch the academic container.     (00:25:17) Credits.     SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists, with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii, _91nova, and Justnormal. This episode was also sponsored by the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology at the University of California, San Diego - https://scma.ucsd.edu and The Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas - https://www.fftc.org/. For more information and transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org/. Additional Resources:   Diving with a Purpose- https://divingwithapurpose.org/     Cornell University's RadioCIAMS - https://soundcloud.com/user-664136257     Gabrielle Civil, an American performance artist - https://blackartstory.org/2020/05/30/profile-gabrielle-civil     La Vaughn Belle artist statement - http://www.lavaughnbelle.com/info   Guests: Gabrille Miller is a PhD student at the University of Tulsa studying African Diaspora Archaeology. Her current research engages the expressions and legacies of freedom and resistance in an eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century free Black community in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands in collaboration with the heritage practitioners, artisans, historians, and descendants of that community. Another extension of her work is with the organization Diving with a Purpose as an Instructor Candidate and in Youth Diving with a Purpose (YDWP)/National Park Service as an underwater archaeology intern, educator and mentor. For more information about Gabrielle, visit https://utulsa.academia.edu/GabrielleMiller.   Dr. Justin Dunnavant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. His current research in the US Virgin Islands investigates the relationship between ecology and enslavement in the former Danish West Indies. In addition to his archaeological research, Justin is co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists and an AAUS Scientific SCUBA Diver. In 2021, he was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and inducted into The Explorers Club as one of “Fifty People Changing the World that You Need to Know About,” and has been featured on Netflix's "Explained," Hulu's "Your Attention Please" and in print in American Archaeology and Science Magazine. For more information about Dr. Justin Dunnavant, visit https://justindunnavant.com/.   Dr. Ayana Omilade Flewellen (they/she) is a Black Feminist, an archaeologist, a storyteller, and an artist. Flewellen is the co-founder and current President of the Society of Black Archaeologists and sits on the Board of Diving With A Purpose. They are an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Her research and teaching interests address Black Feminist Theory, historical archaeology, maritime heritage conservation, public and community-engaged archaeology, processes of identity formations, and representations of slavery. Flewellen has been featured in National Geographic, Science Magazine, PBS, and CNN; and regularly presents her work at institutions including The National Museum for Women in the Arts. For more information on Dr. Ayana Flewellen, visit https://www.ayanaflewellen.com/.

Redrawing Boundaries

Hosts Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali share how they found their way to archaeology and what it means to be Black and Indigenous archaeologists. From defying the status quo in a classroom to diving through sunken ships, Ora and Yoli bring listeners on a journey of reclaiming stories and reimagining history.     (00:00:10) How hosts Dr. Ora Merek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali met.     (00:03:27) Why Indigenous archaeology is not the same as non-Indigenous archaeology.     (00:09:11) What is Maritime archaeology?     (00:12:18) Important vocabulary for Season 4.     (00:18:10) What is the future of archaeology?     (00:19:38) Credits.     SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists, with music from Jobii, _91nova, and Justnormal. Additional Sponsors:     The Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies - https://archaeology.cornell.edu     The Denver Museum of Nature & Science - https://www.dmns.org/     The Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas - https://www.fftc.org/     For more information including episode transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org and check out the following resources:   From the Margins to the Mainstream: Black and Indigenous Futures in Archaeology - https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/black-and-indigenous-futures-in-archaeology/ Land Acknowledgments Are Not Enough  -https://www.sapiens.org/culture/land-acknowledgments-soverignty/   About The Hosts: Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez (she/her/asdzaìaì) is a citizen of the Diné Nation, she's also Nez Perce. A Director at the Native American Cultural Center, her work includes supporting & ensuring the success of Northern Arizona University Native American & Indigenous students through Indigenized programming & services. An Assistant Professor in the Northern Arizona University Anthropology Department, her research interests include Indigenous archaeology & heritage management, research and approaches that utilize ancestral knowledge, decolonizing & Indigenizing methodologies and storytelling in the creation of archaeological knowledge to reaffirm Indigenous connections to land & place. Dr. Marek-Martinez is a founding member of the Indigenous Archaeology Coalition. For more information about Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez, visit https://directory.nau.edu/departments?id=50350&person=ovm&src=native-american-cultural-center   Yoli Ngandali (she/he/hers) is a member of the Ngbaka Tribe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Ronald E. McNair Fellow, and a Ph.D. Candidate in Archaeology at the University of Washington. Her research interests span Archaeologies of colonialism, Indigenous archaeology, Archaeologies of Central Africa, Trans-Indigenous traditions of culture sharing, Black & Indigenous futurity, digital conservation science, remote sensing, and multi-spectral imaging. Her doctoral dissertation develops digital and community-based participatory research approaches to Indigenous art revitalization within museum settings and highlights Indigenous carving traditions in the Pacific Northwest. For more information about Yoli Ngandali, visit https://anthropology.washington.edu/people/yoli-ngandali

Guided by the Past

We're launching a new season, asking what makes you … you? And who tells which stories and why? SAPIENS hosts Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali explore stories of Black and Indigenous scholars as they transform the field of archeology and the stories that make us … us.     (00:00:02) Meet Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali.     (00:00:51) How season four came to be.     (00:01:53) Season four previews.     SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archeologists, with music from Jobii, _91nova, and Justnormal.   For more information and transcripts: Visit https://www.sapiens.org. Check out the Webinar Series: From the Margins to the Mainstream: Black and Indigenous Futures in Archaeology - https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/black-and-indigenous-futures-in-archaeology/.     About The Hosts: Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez (she/her/asdzaìaì) is a citizen of the Diné Nation, she's also Nez Perce. A Director at the Native American Cultural Center, her work includes supporting and ensuring the success of Northern Arizona University Native American and Indigenous students through Indigenized programming & services. An Assistant Professor in the Northern Arizona University Anthropology Department, her research interests include Indigenous archaeology and heritage management, research and approaches that utilize ancestral knowledge, decolonizing and Indigenizing methodologies and storytelling in the creation of archaeological knowledge to reaffirm Indigenous connections to land and place. Dr. Marek-Martinez is a founding member of the Indigenous Archaeology Coalition. You can learn more about her at: https://directory.nau.edu/departments?id=50350&person=ovm&src=native-american-cultural-center   Yoli Ngandali (she/he/hers) is a member of the Ngbaka Tribe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Ronald E. McNair Fellow, and a Ph.D. Candidate in Archaeology at the University of Washington. Her research interests span Archaeologies of colonialism, Indigenous archeology, Archaeologies of Central Africa, Trans-Indigenous traditions of culture sharing, Black & Indigenous futurity, digital conservation science, remote sensing, and multi-spectral imaging. Her doctoral dissertation develops digital and community-based participatory research approaches to Indigenous art revitalization within museum settings and highlights Indigenous carving traditions in the Pacific Northwest. You can learn more about her at: https://anthropology.washington.edu/people/yoli-ngandali

Our Past is the Future

SAPIENS host Chip Colwell speaks with evolutionary geneticist Hugo Zeberg about his surprising discovery of a connection between Neanderthal DNA and a greater risk for severe COVID-19. Zeberg is also a researcher at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.Read the paper in Nature Zeberg co-authored announcing the discovery: “The Major Genetic Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19 Is Inherited From Neanderthals.”

A Startling Link Between Neanderthals and COVID-19

SAPIENS host Chip Colwell speaks with Melanie Adams, the director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), about #Moments of Resilience, the ACM’s effort to document and eventually tell African Americans’ stories about the times we're living through now. They also discuss the unique role of a community museum, the value of oral history, and the communities the ACM serves from its home in Washington, D.C.  Check out these links to the three stories Melanie reads in this episode: Spreading Joy; One Rock at a Time More Than a Cup of Coffee The Resurrection of Gloria The following pieces are sources Chip mentions in his introduction: “As Pandemic Deaths Add Up, Racial Disparities Persist—and in Some Cases Worsen” by Daniel Wood “No, ‘Racial Genetics’ Aren’t Affecting COVID-19 Deaths” by Sonia Zakrzewski 

Moments of Resilience Amid a Pandemic

SAPIENS host Jen Shannon speaks with biological anthropologist Helen Fisher about her research on love, sex, and everything in between. Fisher is the author of six books, the chief scientific adviser for the online dating site Match.com, and a leading researcher on dating trends in America. In this episode, Fisher shares insights from a recent survey.  The New York Times piece Fisher references in this episode is available here: “How Coronavirus Is Changing the Dating Game for the Better.”  

Is the Pandemic Slowing Down Love?

SAPIENS host Chip Colwell talks with experimental archaeologist Farrell Monaco about her work re-creating ancient Roman bread and what it means to reconnect with bakers of the past. Farrell also offers some tips for pandemic-era bakers who want to take their new hobby to the next level.  For more from Farrell, her award-winning website is Tavola Mediterranea.  Read more about experimental archaeology, including Farrell and her work, at SAPIENS.org: “Pandemic Bakers Bring the Past to Life.” And go ahead and try to make the Roman bread recipe described by Cato the Elder.   

When at Home, Bake as the Romans Baked

SAPIENS host Jen Shannon speaks with Agustín Fuentes, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University, to unpack his insight that the COVID-19 pandemic is a biosocial phenomenon. They also discuss his recent suggestion that the virus “is not the only hazard to human health and well-being” right now. Recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fuentes is a decorated anthropologist and an author of many books. His latest is Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being. For more from Fuentes, an excerpt of Why We Believe is available at SAPIENS.org: “How Did Beliefs Evolve?” Also on SAPIENS.org, he hosted the debate, “Why Are Humans Violent?” 

A Vaccine Will Not Be Enough

The SAPIENS podcast will return in several months, and we want you to help us understand what it means to be human amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you have a question, thought, or idea about what it means to be human right now? Tweet at us @SAPIENS_org, message us on Facebook, or leave us a voicemail at 1-970-368-9730.

We're (Still) Going Viral

Everyone seems to have a story about the moment when the novel coronavirus pandemic stopped being an abstract problem “somewhere out there” and started being a very real and personal threat. In this episode of the SAPIENS podcast, hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell interrogate the problem with abstract threats with the help of anthropologists Hugh Gusterson and Kristin Hedges. In closing, Steve Nash returns to discuss a different abstract concept: time. Hugh Gusterson is a professor of anthropology and international affairs at George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @GustersonP and read his recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “The Problem of Imagining the Real.” Kristin Hedges is an applied medical anthropologist who studies how understanding cultural constructions of illness is essential for successful health intervention campaigns. She is an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Follow her on Twitter @kristinhedges6 and read her recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “The Symbolic Power of Virus Testing.” Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Follow him on Twitter @nash_dr, check out his column Curiosities, and read the column post he mentions in this episode: “The Long Count.”   

The Problem With Abstract Threats

At some time in the future, the novel coronavirus pandemic will fade. What will this globally traumatic contagion leave in its wake? In this episode of the SAPIENS podcast, hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell keep an eye on the future while looking to the past for answers: In the 14th century, the Black Death killed as much as one-third of the population of Europe, but it also sparked new ideas that linger to this day, including one of our favorite modern myths.  In closing, Steve Nash returns to discuss the plague doctors of Venice and the many meanings of masks. Sara Toth Stub is a journalist based in Jerusalem who writes about religion, business, travel, and archaeology. Follow her on Twitter at @saratothstub and read her recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “Venice’s Black Death and the Dawn of Quarantine.”  Matteo Borrini is a forensic anthropologist in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. Check out one of his academic papers for more about “Carmilla.”  Jane Stevens Crawshaw is a senior lecturer in early modern European history at Oxford Brookes University and the author of Plague Hospitals: Public Health for the City in Early Modern Venice.  Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Check out his column Curiosities and follow him on Twitter @nash_dr.  

What Pandemics Leave Behind

SAPIENS host Jen Shannon interviews Laurence Ralph, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University. Ralph is also a co-director of Princeton’s Center on Transnational Policing, the editor of Current Anthropology, and the author of the new book The Torture Letters: Reckoning With Police Violence, which exposes the Chicago Police Department’s history of torturing black men and women, and documents the community activism intent on stopping such violence.  The poll Jen mentions in this episode was conducted by Monmouth and published on June 2, 2020.

Police Violence and the Pandemic

SAPIENS host Chip Colwell interviews Elic Weitzel, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Connecticut, about his recent article for SAPIENS that considers how the global pandemic may impact climate change—for better or for worse. Weitzel is currently working on his dissertation on the environmental effects of the Black Death on 14th-century Eurasia and the depopulation of Native Americans in the wake of European colonization. Read his SAPIENS article: “Are Pandemics Good for the Environment?”

Could the Coronavirus Pandemic Be Good for the Environment?

With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, the SAPIENS podcast is going viral. In this first episode of season 3, SAPIENS hosts Chip Colwell and Jen Shannon revisit a story about preppers from our first season. Jen calls Chad Huddleston, one of the anthropologists featured on that show, to find out how he and the preppers he studies are handling the COVID-19 crisis. In closing, Chip reaches out to SAPIENS columnist and anthropologist Steve Nash to discuss panic buying, toilet paper, and more. Chad Huddleston is an adjunct assistant professor at St. Louis University and an instructor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Read his SAPIENS article: “For Preppers, the Apocalypse Is Just Another Disaster.” Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Check out his column Curiosities and follow him on Twitter @nash_dr. 

Preppers and the Pandemic

What makes you … you? Is it your DNA, culture, environment? SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon, Esteban Gómez, and SAPIENS.org Editor-in-Chief Chip Colwell speak with anthropologists from around the globe to help us uncover what makes us human. Subscribe now to learn more. The SAPIENS podcast is supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.

hubhopper

SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human

hubhopper