The Archaeology Show

In episode 330 of The Archeology Show, we discuss the latest controversy over the site of Monte Verde in southern Chile, long considered a cornerstone pre-Clovis site dated to about 14,500 BP. We summarize a March 2026 study led by Todd Surovell arguing the key occupation layer is much younger (about 8,200–4,200 years ago) based on geological and stratigraphic analyses, including an 11,000-year-old tephra layer allegedly beneath deposits, claims of redeposited older wood from erosion and flooding, and luminescence dating of nearby sediments. We then review strong criticism, including scathing critiques from about 30 researchers including Tom Dillehay (author of the original work), disputing sampling locations, assumptions about redeposition, and whether the tephra identification is correct. It seems like both sides raise points but more collaborative research is needed before rewriting interpretations of early human peopling of the Americas.

Links

When did humans arrive in the Americas? A new study reignites the debate

A mid-Holocene age for Monte Verde challenges the timeline of human colonization of South America (Not open access)

ScienceAdviser: New dating of ancient Chilean site reopens old wounds

Study suggests younger age for Chile's important Monte Verde archaeological site

'Speculation' and 'egregious failure': 30 researchers publish scathing critiques of study that questioned date of early human occupation of Monte Verde in Chile

Contact

Chris Webster

[email protected]

Rachel Roden

[email protected]

RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

ArchPodNet

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Affiliates

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we bring you three stories from the news. The first is about an overcrowded cemetery in Colorado and it brings into question other cemeteries that date back over 100 years and the accuracy of records. Next we head to Scotland where a man-made island has been shown to have much more interesting architecture than previously though - and it’s much older than researches believed. Finally, we talk about the archaeology being destroyed by Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

Links

Segment 1

State Archaeologist proposes closing overcrowded Lafayette Cemetery; City Council tables decision

Segment 2

This Island in Scotland Is Actually a Man-Made Mini Landmass Resting on a Wooden Platform, New Discovery Shows

Segment 3

“They Don’t Care”: Trump’s Border Wall Construction Damages 1,000-Year-Old Sacred Indigenous Site

Las Playas Intaglio Destroyed During Border Wall Expansion

Awe, Anger, Sorrow: Thoughts on the Las Playas Intaglio

Las Playas Intaglio Damaged by Border Wall Construction in Arizona

Contact

Chris Webster

[email protected]

Rachel Roden

[email protected]

RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

ArchPodNet

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Affiliates

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode, we cover three archaeology news stories. First up, a Nature-backed report on unusually old woodworking from Kalambo Falls, where waterlogged conditions preserved a wedge, digging stick, and notched logs dated by luminescence to about 476,000 years ago, suggesting advanced planning and challenging simple “Stone Age” assumptions. We then discuss a Pompeii discovery of two skeletons outside the city walls near Porta Stabia, including a man apparently shielding his head with a terracotta bowl and carrying an oil lamp, and we debate the benefits and risks of an AI-generated scene reconstruction. Finally, we examine Peru’s Monte Sierpe “Band of Holes,” over 5,200 aligned pits mapped by drones and analyzed via microbotanical remains, with a study proposing early market use and later Inca-style accounting patterns resembling quipu, while we question how and why such a vast system was built and used.

Links

Segment 1

World’s oldest wooden structure was built by an unknown species, nearly 200,000 years before modern humans evolved (earth.com)

Hominins built with wood 476,000 years ago (Nature)

Segment 2

This Man Fled Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius Erupted. Archaeologists Found Him 2,000 Years Later, Holding a Bowl to Protect His Head and a Lamp to Light His Way

Segment 3

Study suggests these 5,200 holes dug into a mountain were some form of ancient accounting (earth.com)

Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru (Cambridge University Press)

Contact

Chris Webster

[email protected]

Rachel Roden

[email protected]

RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

ArchPodNet

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Affiliates

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In our latest episode, we unravel fascinating stories of ancient DNA in the news! Uncover the touching story of Anglo-Saxon siblings buried together over 1400 years ago. Then we look at groundbreaking research revealing how natural selection shaped more genes than we ever imagined. Finally, join our exploration of the mysterious origins of Neanderthals!

Links

Anglo-Saxon burial holds an older sister cradling her little brother after they both died 1,400 years ago, possibly of an infectious disease

Natural Selection Shaped Hundreds More Human Genes Than We Thought, Massive Ancient DNA Study Finds

Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?

Contact

Chris Webster

[email protected]

Rachel Roden

[email protected]

RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

ArchPodNet

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Affiliates

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Three discoveries, one shifting landscape: a mysterious buried structure beneath the ancient city of Buto, the newly identified tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II near the Valley of the Kings, and the remains of a massive Coptic monastery at Al-Qalaye. We dig into what the finds reveal about Egypt’s long arc—from dynastic power to Christian communities—and how modern tools are changing what archaeologists can see.

Links

Mysterious Structure Found Buried Beneath an Ancient Egyptian City

The last missing tomb from this wealthy Egyptian dynasty has been found

Archaeologists Discovered the Remains of One of the Largest Christian Monasteries Ever

Contact

Chris Webster

[email protected]

Rachel Roden

[email protected]

RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

ArchPodNet

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Affiliates

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.