Episode 105: Robin from Ghosts

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are not able to post our regularly scheduled episode today, but in its place we'd like to share a YouTube video Josh made for the ComSciCon Canada conference! You can find it at the following link: https://youtu.be/I_jHuLPhF7I Please check it out, and leave us a comment letting us know what you think! ComSciCon Canada: https://www.comsciconcanada.org/

Today we’re reviewing Sasquatch Sunset (2024), the story of a family of Bigfoots searching in vain for more of their own kind while coming to terms with a new threat to their survival: humans. It’s a beautiful, powerful film about grief, uncertainty, perseverance, hope, and poop. Lots of poop. Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: Ross’ yeti paper: Edwards & Barnett (2015). Himalayan ‘yeti’ DNA: Polar bear or DNA degradation? A comment on ‘Genetic analysis of hair samples attributed to yeti’ by Sykes et al.(2014): https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1712 Sasquatch Birth Journal 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVTw2w6MiFw Riley Keough – Creatures of Nature – grunt version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGlueLd7Kqo Number sense in animals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sense_in_animals The Patterson Gimlin film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q60mSMmhTZU Wild chimps play with dolls: https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132231422/wild-chimps-may-play-dolls Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) - drowning scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3sZedBfIM Bigfoot behaviour: https://www.bfro.net/gdb/show_FAQ.asp?id=587 Why do chimps throw poop? https://www.livescience.com/66042-why-chimps-throw-poop.html Bowland et al. (2025). The evolutionary ecology of ethanol: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.09.005 Did ‘shrooms send Santa and his reindeer flying? https://www.npr.org/2010/12/24/132260025/did-shrooms-send-santa-and-his-reindeer-flying

Ghosts is a BBC sitcom about a young couple who inherit a mansion which happens to be haunted by a cast of spirits from various periods of Britain’s history—including the Stone Age. Today we’re reviewing the character Robin, who is some sort of caveman ghost who has been haunting the grounds since long before Button House was built. His is a tragic story of extreme loneliness and solitude, but through it all he’s developed a strong sense of humour, a sage-like wisdom, and an appreciation of bums. Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: 9 minutes of Robin chaos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrgFgyTGKwI Roger Clark (2012) A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Natural_History_of_Ghosts Greyfriar’s Kirkyard: https://greyfriarskirk.com/visit/kirkyard/ Ghosts of Roman soldiers haunt ancient city of York: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1977/01/19/Ghosts-of-Roman-soldiers-haunt-ancient-city-of-York/6631571073639/ Jaubert et al. (2016). Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18291 The BBC article about the “highly inbred” Neanderthal woman from Denisova Cave: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-25423498

Live from New York: It’s the Stone Age! Today we’re reviewing an anthology of sketches from Saturday Night Live, the long-running American variety show, featuring Cockney cavemen, osteological phobias, Nile Valley girls, a real banger about Ancient Rome, and a lot of celebs humping each other. Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: Watch our Stone Age SNL playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MDF68rM3VM&list=PLzzOAyef3Dyrhg07MnEfFircHodV_OPjj Don’t You Go Rounin’ Round to Re Ro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6p0W4ZsLXw The earliest known fermented beverage: https://historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3424 Moosa et al. (2021). Sexual dimorphic parameters of femur: a clinical guide in orthopedics and forensic studies: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8811676/ The March of Progress: https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.wustl.edu/dist/1/1202/files/2018/10/MarchofProgressComplete-192k4uo.png Sapolsky and Share (2004). A Pacific culture among wild baboons: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020106 Maya vs. Aztec Calendar: https://mymayansign.com/blog/aztec-vs-mayan-calendar/ Ancient Rome Meme: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/09/21/tiktoks-roman-empire-meme-explained/ Hadrian was hella gay: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/antinous-and-hadrian Eosimias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosimias Orang Pendek: https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Orang_Pendek

Today we’re playing Caveman Movie Bingo again! Creatures the World Forgot (1971) is another 70s caveman-sploitation film that’s heavy on the stereotypical tropes and light on plot. Despite the name, it might be most notable for not featuring any forgotten creatures. Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: Watch Creatures the World Forgot on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/creatures-the-world-forgot Play Caveman Movie Bingo: https://bingobaker.com#681e1d01d32b436e Ostrich eggshell beads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich_eggshell_beads Ostrich egg water bottles: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/213331 Elephant bird eggshells: https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/02/28/ancient-eggshells-unlock-discovery-extinct-elephant-bird-lineage Formicola and Buzhilova (2004) Double child burial from Sunghir (Russia): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15197816/ Dance of the Tiger (1995) by Björn Kurtén: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/dance-of-the-tiger/paper The Asaro Mudmen of Papua New Guinea: https://www.tribes.world/en/community/who-are-the-asaro The Dogon People of Mali: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogon_people

Big news! An American biotech company announced this week that they have brought the dire wolf back from extinction! We’ve honoured this great achievement by watching the prophetic film Dire Wolf (2009), a gory werewolf movie in which an American biotech company brought back the dire wolf from extinction... to create a military bioweapon! We’ve got our eyes on you, Colossal Biosciences... Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: Watch Dire Wolf (2009) on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/641656/dire-wolf The Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus): https://tarpits.org/stories/our-evolving-understanding-dire-wolves Bone Clones Dire Wolf Skull: https://boneclones.com/product/dire-wolf-skull-tarpit-finish-BC-020T Colossal Biosciences: https://colossal.com/ Colossal’s Dire Wolf preprint on BioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.09.647074v1.abstract Perri et al. (2021) Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x Janczewski et al. (1992) Molecular phylogenetic inference from saber-toothed cat fossils of Rancho La Brea: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.89.20.9769 Hank Green – They Didn’t Make Dire Wolves, They Made Something...Else: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar0zgedLyTw Beth Shapiro (2020) How to Clone a Mammoth: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691209005/how-to-clone-a-mammoth

Today we’re reviewing Lisa the Skeptic, a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa discovers an apparent angel skeleton at an archaeological dig. In this episode we dig into hoaxes, the use of AI in academic writing, and the work of Stephen J. Gould. But in a larger sense, this episode will settle the age-old question of Science vs. Religion (spoiler alert: Capitalism wins). Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: The Burgess Shale: https://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/ Stephen J. Gould: https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/ The Cardiff Giant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Giant AI in academic writing: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/generative-ai-in-academic-writing/ Operation Flagship: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnd0p192kn2o Operation Flagship on Stuff You Should Know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYcGopqLvEs The Prophecy (1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7PSZ7NDEgU Kenneth Copeland is evil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20y2Alkbc30 Christian Science reading rooms: https://apnews.com/article/christian-science-reading-rooms-religion-65a68fb88b7db958aa1c939e0d69719d Anomalocaris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalocaris Billy Beer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Beer

Today we’ve reached a milestone – 100 Episodes!! To celebrate, Josh is taking Kim and Ross on a trivia-based tour of some of the best and worst movies from our podcast’s prehistory. What have we learned after nearly four years of caveman movies? Let’s find out! Plus, a bonus review of Mastodons (1997). Visit our new website! https://screensofthestoneage.com Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] Watch Mastodons (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXU3BC9Zie4 Part horn sound effect: “Party Horn Close 03” by Lucas_Schacht -- https://freesound.org/s/713658/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Mistress of the Apes (1979) tells the harrowing tale of Susan, an anthropologist who lost her pregnancy and learned of her husband’s murder in Congo Kenya in the same week. But she remained strong, without showing any visible signs of emotion whatsoever, until she learned to love again, in the arms of a Homo habilis her husband had discovered prior to his death (his murder was unrelated). Content warning: this movie contains multiple scenes involving sexual assault. Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: Watch Mistress of the Apes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9bYwBLBiU Homo habilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_habilis Australopithecus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australopithecus Koko banga saka: https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&text=koko%20banga%20saka&op=translate African Genesis (1961) by Robert Ardrey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Genesis Congolian Rainforest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congolian_rainforests Jimmy Kimmel – Can you name a country? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRh1zXFKC_o Rick Mercer – Talking to Americans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHUWas-yQSw Timbits: https://company.timhortons.com/ca/en/menu/timbits.php Writing systems: https://www.britannica.com/topic/writing/Types-of-writing-systems Ape sign language was a bunch of babbling nonsense: https://bigthink.com/life/ape-sign-language/

Curious George (2006) tells the tail of the beloved eponymous monkey (sic) and reimagines (and sanitizes) The Man in the Yellow Hat as an archaeologist. This movie sets up a thoughtful and nuanced take on archaeological ethics and neocolonialism, and then says “Fuck it, it belongs in museum after all.” But George is soooo cuuuute! Get in touch with us: Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social Facebook: @SotSAPodcast Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/sotsa/ Email: [email protected] In this episode: The History of Curious George: https://www.curiousgeorge.com/history/ Nicholas Wade (2007). In Lice, Clues to Human Origin and Attire. New York Times: https://cell2soul.typepad.com/cell2soul_blog/files/Lice.pdf Aiello and Wheeler (1995). The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis. Current Anthropology: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/204350 Richard Wrangham (2009). Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human. Profile Books: https://dn790008.ca.archive.org/0/items/pdfy-DDoNCJJ_Wt0qOH7e/Catching%20Fire%20%5BHow%20Cooking%20Made%20Us%20Human%5D.pdf Ann Nicgorski (2006). Curious George’s Bad Example. Archaeology Magazine: https://archive.archaeology.org/online/reviews/curious.html Curious George and the Looted Idol (2006). Archaeology Magazine: https://archive.archaeology.org/0605/news/insider.html Alfred Russel Wallace: https://wallacefund.myspecies.info/content/biography-wallace Kirk Wallace Johnson (2018) The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. Penguin Random House: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44153387-the-feather-thief Jim Corbett: https://www.corbettnationalpark.in/corbett-heritage.htm Clovis Culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_culture