Dr. Briana Pobiner – What can cut marks tell us about human evolution, migration, and behavior?

Dr. Briana Pobiner of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Human Origins Program joins the show to talk about cut marks. She discusses how we can tell what's a cut mark vs. other bone damage and how cut marks can illuminate human evolution along with illustrating migration and behavioral patterns in the distant past. Recommendations Dr. Pobiner's NMNH staff profile Dr. Pobiner's Google Scholar profile W.A. Barr, B. Pobiner, J. Rowan, A. Du, & J.T. Faith. (2022). No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance of Homo erectus, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 119 (5) e2115540119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115540119. Keevil TL, Pelissero AJ, Negash T, Orlikoff ER, Osborne I, Tolley AM, Pobiner B and Pante MC. (2026). A comparative bone surface modification database for revealing the origins and evolution of human carnivory. Front. Ecol. Evol. 14:1681814. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2026.1681814 Pobiner, B., Pante, M. & Keevil, T. (2023). Early Pleistocene cut marked hominin fossil from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Sci Rep 13, 9896. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35702-7 Egeland, C., Pobiner, B., Merritt, S., & Kunitz, S. (2024). Actualistic butchery studies in zooarchaeology: Where we've been, where we are now, and where we want to go. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 73. 10.1016/j.jaa.2023.101565. Curran, S.C., Drăgușin, V., Pobiner, B. et al. Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago. Nat Commun 16, 836 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9 Pobiner, B., Curran, S., and Drãgușin, V. (2025). Tiny cut marks on animal bone fossils reveal that human ancestors were in Romania 1.95 million years ago. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.vxf9wp6jy Pobiner, B. (2016). Meat-Eating Among the Earliest Humans. American Scientist. 104 (2). The Bear (TV show) Miller, L. (2021). Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life. Simon & Schuster.

Dr. Christiane Baigent of Colorado Mesa University runs the Forensic Investigation Resource Station (FIRS), which is the highest body farm in the world. We talk about how bodies decompose at high altitude and how it can differ from decomp at lower altitude. Dr. Baigent also shares some of the behind-the-scenes of running a body farm. Recommendations Dr. Baigent's faculty profile at Colorado Mesa University Forensic Investigation Resource Station (FIRS) website American Academy of Forensic Sciences website Baigent, C. (2024). The effect of altitude on decomposition: Toward an understanding of the postmortem interval in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado [Doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale]. OpenSIUC. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/2198/ Hansen, E.S., Baigent, C., Reck, S.I. and Connor, M. (2018). Bioelectrical Impedance as a Technique for Estimating Postmortem Interval. J Forensic Sci, 63: 1186-1190. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13695 Bailey, C. A., Lennartz, A. N., Klemm, M. M., Matheson, C. A., Unger, C. A., & George, R. L. (2025). Assessing Patterns of Moisture Content in Decomposing, Desiccated, and Mummified Tissue in Western North Carolina. Forensic Sciences, 5(4), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci5040073 Connor, M., Baigent, C. and Hansen, E.S. (2019), Measuring Desiccation Using Qualitative Changes: A Step Toward Determining Regional Decomposition Sequences. J Forensic Sci, 64: 1004-1011. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14003 Baigent C, Agan C, Connor M, Hansen ES. Autopsy as a form of evisceration: Implications for decomposition rate, pattern, and estimation of postmortem interval. Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Jan;306:110068. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110068. Epub 2019 Nov 19. PMID: 31816485. Garcia, S., Smith, A., Baigent, C. and Connor, M. (2020). The Scavenging Patterns of Feral Cats on Human Remains in an Outdoor Setting. J Forensic Sci, 65: 948-952. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14238 Eds. Haglund, W. and Sorg, M. (1996). Forensic taphonomy: The postmortem fate of human remains. CRC Press. Eds. Haglund, W. and Sorg, M. (2001). Advances in forensic taphonomy: Method, theory, and archaeological perspectives. CRC Press. Eds. Ellingham, S., Adserias-Garcia, J., and Zapico, S. (2023). Burnt human remains: Recovery, analysis, and interpretation. Wiley. Alexander, M. (2020). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press. Stevenson, B. (2015). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. One World. Derby, S. (2021). Sisters in Hate: American Women and White Extremism. Little, Brown.

Dr. Raquel Fleskes of Dartmouth joins the show to talk about her work using ancient DNA to uncover the past in the Tidewater and South Carolina. Most people think about ancient DNA being used for, well, ancient skeletons, but ancient DNA can also be used in more recent contexts to illuminate the near past. We also chatted about ways to make ancient DNA work more accessible to descendent communities. Recommendations Dr. Fleske's lab page Dr. Fleske's staff profile at Dartmouth Dr. Fleske's Google Scholar page Jamestown Rediscovery website Fleskes, R. E., H. M. Palacios, H. Budner, et al. (2025). "Archaeogenomic Analysis of Nineteenth-Century Burials at Saint Mary's Basilica: An Intersectional Analysis of Religion, Race, and Migration." Am J Biol Anthropol, 187, no. 4: e70110. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70110. Masur, L., Fleskes, R., Schurr, T., Brown, D., Harpole, T., Pollard, P., Alukonis, L., Horsley, T., et al. (2025). "Let Perpetual Light Shine upon Them": Forgetting and Remembering Segregated Catholic Cemeteries." American Antiquity. 91. 1-24. 10.1017/aaq.2025.10103. Fleskes, R.E., Gilmore, J.K., Oubré, L.S., Ofunniyin, A.A., Cabana, G.S. and Schurr, T.G. (2025). "Immersive Videography of Ancient DNA Extraction for Community Engagement and Educational Initiatives by the Anson Street African Burial Ground Project." Am J Biol Anthropol, 186: e25055. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.25055 Fleskes, R.E., Johnson, S.J., Honap, T.P. et al. (2024). "Oral microbial diversity in 18th century African individuals from South Carolina." Commun Biol 7, 1213. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06893-0 R.E. Fleskes, G.S. Cabana, J.K. Gilmore, C. Juarez, E. Karcher, L. Oubré, G. Mishoe, A.A. Ofunniyin, & T.G. Schurr. (2023). "Community-engaged ancient DNA project reveals diverse origins of 18th-century African descendants in Charleston, South Carolina." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (3) e2201620120, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201620120. Fleskes, R.E., Johnson, S.J., Honap, T.P. et al. (2024). "Oral microbial diversity in 18th century African individuals from South Carolina." Commun Biol 7, 1213. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06893-0. Raquel E. Fleskes, Alyssa C. Bader, Krystal S. Tsosie, Jennifer K. Wagner, Katrina G. Claw, Nanibaa' A. Garrison. (2022). "Ethical Guidance in Human Paleogenomics: New and Ongoing Perspectives." Annual Review Genomics and Human Genetics. 23:627-652. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genom-120621-090239 Fleskes RE, Ofunniyin AA, Gilmore JK, et al. (2021). "Ancestry, health, and lived experiences of enslaved Africans in 18th century Charleston: An osteobiographical analysis." Am J Phys Anthropol.175:3–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24149 Källén, A. (2025). The Trouble with Ancient DNA: Telling Stories of the Past with Genomic Science. University of Chicago Press. The X-Files Scooby-Doo  

Dr. Andrew Best of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts joined the show to talk about sweat -- what it is, when we do it, how we vary, and why it makes humans different from most other animals. Recommendations Dr. Best's faculty profile at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Dr. Best Google scholar profile My Sport Science from Asker Jeukendrup (website) Asker Jeukendrup (instagram) Gatorade Sports Science Institute Everts, S. (2021). The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration. W.W. Norton & Company. Galloway, S. (2025). Notes on Being a Man. Simon & Schuster.

Ron Romano of Spirits Alive (a non-profit dedicated to preserving Eastern Cemetery and its history) joins the show to talk about gravestone symbolism, mortuary practices, cemetery organization and social status, and the evolution of gravestone creation in Eastern Cemetery of Portland, ME. Cemeteries reveal a lot about the people who made them -- how they think about death, life, and religion; social and economic hierarchies; changing technologies; what's important to them; what causes anxiety. Cemeteries are human-made spaces filled with our bodies and artifacts that we've created. They can't help but be reflections of who we are and what we care about in any particular moment. Historians like Ron help us unpack these layered contexts by using the cemetery as a lens for interpretation of the past. Recommendations Spirits Alive Spirits Alive - Monographs about Portland's Eastern Cemetery by Ron Romano Association for Gravestone Studies Romano, R. (2017). Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery: A Field of Ancient Graves. Historic Press. Romano, R. (2016). Early Gravestones in Southern Maine: The Genius of Bartlett Adams. Historic Press. Giguere, JM. (2024). Pleasure Grounds of Death: The Rural Cemetery in Nineteenth-Century America. University of Michigan Press. Burnett, A. (2015). Gone to the Grave: Burial Customs of the Arkansas Ozarks, 1850-1950. University Press of Mississippi. Blachowicz, J. (2015). From Slate to Marble: Gravestone Carving Traditions in Eastern Massachusetts, 1770-1870 (Vols. 1-2). Graver Press. Bondeson, J. (2002). Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear. W.W. Norton & Company. Hartnell, J. (2019). Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages. W.W. Norton & Company. Hartnell, J. (2019). Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages. Wellcome Collection. Faust, DG. (2009). This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. Knopf Publishing Group. Houlbrooke, R. (1998). Death, Religion, and the Family in England, 1480-1750. Oxford University Press. Houlbrooke, R. (Ed). (2021). Death, Ritual, and Bereavement. Routledge. Doughty, C. (2015). Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. W.W. Norton & Company. Deetz, J. (1996). In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. Anchor Books. Shultz, SR. (2005). Body Snatching: The Robbing of Graves for the Education of Physicians in Early Nineteenth Century America. McFarland & Company.

Dr. Wakefield (Northeast College) and Dr. Neidich (University of Missouri) joined the show to discuss their research on death in early New York mental health institutions and how it differed from the populations around them. Along the way, we talk about the history of mental health institutions in the United States and how differences in the amount and causes of death can illuminate what we care about as a society. Dr. Walker also worked on this project, but unfortunately was unable to join. Her collaborators wanted to make sure that her contributions were noted :) Recommendations Dr. Wakefield's faculty profile Dr. Niedich's faculty profile Dr. Walker's faculty profile Stuhler, L.S. (2011). The Inmates of Willard 1870 to 1900: A Genealogy Resource. Createspace Independent Publishing. Penney, D. (2009). The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic. Bellevue Literary Press. Willard Suitcases photo gallery Moreno-Garcia, S. (2020). Mexican Gothic. Del Rey Books. Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Flatiron Books. Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club series Brindlewood Bay role-playing game  

Dr. Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada - Las Vegas shares how his team found teeth in Ethiopia and what those teeth might mean in terms of who was around when in the evolutionary record. Recommendations Dr. Villmoare's University of Nevada - Las Vegas staff profile Dr. Villmoare's Human Paleontology Lab Villmoare, B., Delezene, L.K., Rector, A.L. et al. New discoveries of Australopithecus and Homo from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09390-4 Kalb, J. (2013). Adventures in the Bone Trade: The Race to Discover Human Ancestors in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Copernicus. Wood, B. (2019). Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. [ Ian Tattersall's books + Ian Tattersall's website Jablonka, E. & Lamb, M.J. (2014). Evolution in Four Dimensions, Revised Edition: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life. Bradford Book. Sapolsky, R.M. (2023). Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. Penguin Publishing Group. Rachel Kushner's books Reiss, T. (2006). The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. Random House. Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club series  

Keri Porter, a PhD candidate at Notre Dame University, joins the show to discuss their research on patterns of violence in a Bronze Age urban center in the Southern Levant. They focus on cranial trauma and what it can reveal about humans attempting to live together along with what it might reveal about who suffers violence. They also share some excellent recommendations for how to think about grad school, whether or not to go, and tips for applying. Recommendations Keri Porter's Notre Dame profile page Martin, D.L., Harrod, R.P., & Pérez, V.R. (Eds.) (2013). The Bioarchaeology of Violence. University Press of Florida. Regev J, De Miroschedji P, Greenberg R, Braun E, Greenhut Z, Boaretto E. Chronology of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant: New Analysis for a High Chronology. Radiocarbon. 2012;54(3-4):525-566. Greenberg, R. (2019). The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700-1000 BCE. Cambridge University Press. Krakowka K. (2017). Patterns and prevalence of violence-related skull trauma in medieval London. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 164(3), 488–504. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23288 Krakowka, K. (2015). Understanding violence in medieval London: an examination of the skeletal evidence. [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford. Gorn, E. J. (1985). "Gouge and Bite, Pull Hair and Scratch": The Social Significance of Fighting in the Southern Backcountry. The American Historical Review, 90(1), 18–43. Collins, S. (2025). Sunrise on the Reaping. Scholastic Press. Fox, J. (2025). Down the Drain. Simon & Schuster. Green, J. (2025). Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection. Crash Course Books. Reinhard, A. (2018). Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games, Berghan Books. Porter, K. (2022, November 4). Digging Up the Digital Past: Archaeogaming and Archaeological Practice in the Sims™ Franchise. UMMAA Brown Bag Lecture Series, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, IN, USA.

Dr. Maria Nieves-Cólon and Jamie Zolik join the show to discuss their ancient DNA research in San Luis de Cañete and what it can reveal about the historical population of the town specifically and the African diaspora in South America generally. They share some of the exciting ways they've forged a partnership with the community in order to carry out the work as ethically as possible. Recommendations Dr. Maries Nieves-Colón's faculty page at the University of Minnesota Nieves-Colón lab Jaime Zolik's bio Museo Afroperuano de San Luis de Cañete Nieves-Colón MA, Ulrich EC, Chen L, Torres Colón GA, Rivera Clemente M, Corporación Piñones se Integra (COPI), Benn Torres J. Genomic variation in Puerto Rican Afro-descendants illustrates diverse histories of African diasporic populations. American Journal of Biological Anthropology.185(3), e25059. Arbour, L., & Cook, D. (2006). DNA on loan: issues to consider when carrying out genetic research with aboriginal families and communities. Community genetics, 9(3), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1159/000092651 Flewellen, A.O., Odewale, A., Dunnavant, J. et al. Creating Community and Engaging Community: The Foundations of the Estate Little Princess Archaeology Project in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Int J Histor Archaeol 26, 147–176 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00600-z Ávila-Arcos, M. C., de la Fuente Castro, C., Nieves-Colón, M. A., & Raghavan, M. (2022). Recommendations for Sustainable Ancient DNA Research in the Global South: Voices From a New Generation of Paleogenomicists. Frontiers in genetics, 13, 880170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.880170 Marciniak, S. Hunting for Pathogens: Ancient DNA and the Historical Record. (2016). In Mant, M., & Holland, A. (Eds.). Beyond the bones : engaging with disparate datasets. Elsevier Academic Press. Harper, K. (2023). Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History. Princeton University Press. Nieves-Colón, M.A. and Stone, A.C. (2018). Ancient DNA Analysis in Archaeological Remains. In Katzenberg, M.A. & Grauer, A.L. (Eds.). Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. Wiley-Blackwell. Kowal E, Weyrich LS, Argüelles JM, Bader AC, Colwell C, Cortez AD, Davis JL, Figueiro G, Fox K, Malhi RS, Matisoo-Smith E, Nayak A, Nelson EA, Nicholas G, Nieves-Colón MA, Russell L, Ulm S, Vergara-Silva F, Villanea FA, Wagner JK, Yracheta JM, Tsosie KM. Community partnerships are fundamental to ethical ancient DNA research. Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. 42(2): 100161. Buffalo, V. (2015). Bioinformatics Data Skills: Reproducible and Robust Research with Open Source Tools. O'Reilly Media. Ted Lasso (TV series) Arcane (TV series) Dungeons & Dragons (game) Marques, G. G. (1967). One Hundred Years of Solitude. Harper & Row. Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Flatiron Books. Osman, R. (2021). The Thursday Murder Club. Penguin Books. Sterling, E. (2021). The Ex Hex. Avon Books. Henry, C. (2022). Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga. Black Spot Books.

Dr. Eric Shattuck of Florida State University joins the show to discuss his research on sickness behavior. He wants to know how humans tend to act when they get sick and why they act that way. Recommendations Dr. Shattuck's faculty page at FSU Dr. Shattuck's personal web page Social Health and Immunology Research (SHIRE) Lab page Dr. Shattuck's Google Scholar profile Shattuck, E.C. and Muehlenbein, M.P. (2015), Human sickness behavior: Ultimate and proximate explanations. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 157: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22698 Shattuck, EC. (2021). Networks, cultures, and institutions: Toward a social immunology. Brain Behav Immun Health. 18:100367. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100367. PMID: 34761241; PMCID: PMC8566934. Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Meyers LA, Bolnick DI. Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature. Science. 2021 Mar 5;371(6533):eabc8881. doi: 10.1126/science.abc8881. PMID: 33674468. Shattuck, Eric & Muehlenbein, Michael. (2020). Religiosity/Spirituality and Physiological Markers of Health. Journal of Religion and Health. 59. 10.1007/s10943-018-0663-6. Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) Scavenger's Reign Common Side Effects Primal Weir, A. (2021). Project Hail Mary. Ballantine Books, New York.