Peopling the Past
Episodes
Looking Forward: Ethical Futures for Archaeological Practice with Yannis Hamilakis
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for the final episode of season 4, featuring Dr. Yannis Hamilakis, who talks to Chelsea and Melissa about his vision for a decolonial future f...
Protecting Heritage in Times of Conflict with Isber Sabrine
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In times of ongoing war, how can antiquities be protected from damage and looting? On today's episode, Dr. Isber Sabrine, the co-founder of Heritage f...
Between the Tigris and the Thames: Heritage Practice with Zena Kamash
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can archaeologists connect to the communities that share the cultural heritage they work on? Dr. Zena Kamash joins Chelsea and Melissa this week t...
Critical Futures for Ancient Studies with Mathura Umachandran
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How should we confront modern inequities in ancient Mediterranean studies? Is it possible to reenvision the place of Greece and Rome in the ancient wo...
Selective Salvage: Archaeology and Hydropolitics
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to people and antiquities when giant dams are built and lands are flooded? In this week's episode, Dr. William Carruthers joins Chelsea a...
Hired Hands, Silenced Voices: Archaeology and Local Communities with Allison Mickel
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who counts as an archaeologist? Contrary to images from popular culture, excavation teams are a diverse group working to produce knowledge of the past...
Classics, the Grand Tour, and Invented Legacies with Hardeep Dhindsa
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What makes Classics classic? How did members of elite British society use ancient Greek and Roman culture to shape their own identities on the Grand T...
Naturalizing Inequalities: The Colonial Museum with Dan Hicks
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did objects from around the globe and across millenia end up in major museums, far from their places of origin? What role has empire played in sha...
Curating with Care: Transparency in Museums with Lisa Saladino Haney
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The story of natural history museums and their relationship to ancient objects, but also people, is entangled with colonialism and capitalism. How sho...
Communities on Display: Re-centering Egyptian Voices with Heba Abd el-Gawad
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when Egyptomania overshadows contemporary Egyptian people? This week Heba Abd el-Gawad joins Chelsea and Melissa to discuss the relations...
Fragments and Falsehoods: The Papyrus Trade with Roberta Mazza
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forged provenance, forensic investigations, and placing ancient papyri in dish soap! In this episode, scholar Dr. Roberta Mazza shares tales from the ...
Trafficking through the Metaverse: The Antiquities Trade in the Internet Age with Katie Paul
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the first episode of our season on cultural heritage and legacies of colonialism, we look at the role of messaging apps and social media in the bl...
Season 4 Promo Episode!
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peopling the Past Podcast is BACK for a fourth season on a very exciting topic: Cultural Heritage and Legacies of Colonialism. Join your hosts Dr. C...
Special Episode - Let's Talk About Podcasts, Baby! with Liv Albert
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this special episode of the Peopling the Past Podcast, we are joined by Liv Albert, creator and host of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!, the long ru...
How do you Solve a Problem like Cleopatra? : Shelley Haley and the last Egyptian Pharoah
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the final episode of our season on women in the ancient Mediterranean, we feature the most famous woman in antiquity: Cleopatra! Dr. Shelley Haley...
These Boots were Made for Walking: Women's Mobility and Migration in the Roman Empire with Marie-Adeline Le Guennec
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Travel, displacement, religious pilgrimage - these are just some of the motivations for ancient migration, but how and why did people move from one pl...
(Not so) Risky Business: the Potential Perils of Childbirth in ancient Rome with Anna Bonnell Freidin
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, Dr. Anna Bonnell Freidin joins Melissa and Chelsea to talk about risk, pregnancy, and childbirth in the ancient Roman empire. List...
Not a Puella, Not Yet a Femina: Roman Girlhood with Lauren Caldwell
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ah, youth! We are all familiar with that mysterious and formative period of life between childhood and adulthood, but how did the ancient Romans descr...
Do Not Afflict the Widow: the Women of Ancient Nubia with Jacke Phillips
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're celebrating Black History and African Heritage month with a very special episode on the women of ancient Nubia! Join Chelsea and Melissa as they...
Beyond the Bare Bones: Women in the Osteological Record with Efthymia Nikita
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What better way to understand the real lives of everyday folk in the ancient Mediterranean than to look at the bones of the people themselves? On this...
Portrait of a Lady: Discovering Seianti with Judith Swaddling
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Countless faces of real people survive in ancient portraiture, but how often do we know their names, or anything about their lives? In this episode, D...
Nevertheless, She Persisted: Boudicca and Imperial Resistance with Caitlin Gillespie
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What can we say about Boudicca, one of the most famous women from the ancient world? Who was she, and was she even real? Why is she still so important...
Sisters are Doing it for Themselves: Mesopotamian Free Women with Stephanie Budin
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be a "free woman" in the ancient Mediterranean world? Listen in as our guest, Dr. Stephanie Budin, joins Chelsea and Melissa to d...
Call the (Roman) Midwife: Ancient Delivery and Childbirth with Tara Mulder
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, our featured guest Dr. Tara Mulder tells us all about the oldest profession in the world: midwifery! Listen in on a discussion bet...
So Long as There is Hope: Wonder Women in Classics and Comics with Natalie Swain
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the first ever LIVE episode of Peopling the Past! Join our featured expert, Dr. Natalie Swain, and hosts Drs. Chelsea Gardner and Melissa F...
Season Three Trailer!
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peopling the Past Podcast is BACK for a third season on a very exciting topic: Women in the Ancient Mediterranean! Join your hosts Dr. Chelsea Gardn...
Breaking the Bond: Forced Marriage and Cursed Freedom in Ancient Rome with Katharine Huemoeller
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be free? In our Season 2 finale episode, archaeologist and historian Dr. Katharine Huemoeller joins the podcast to tell us all ab...
Seize the Clay: Pottery Workshops in Sagalassos with Elizabeth Murphy
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You might call ceramics the "plastics" of the ancient world...ubiquitous, indestructible, and incredibly useful! But how do we identify the spaces whe...
There's Something about Mary: Early Cult and Veneration of the Virgin with Sabrina Higgins
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's all about Mary this week on the podcast! We are joined by archaeologist and PtP webmaster Dr. Sabrina Higgins, who takes us through catacombs, ch...
Rolling in the Dough: Bread-Making and Roman Bakeries with Jared Benton
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The sights, smells, and sounds of an ancient Roman bakery might surprise you...in this episode, historian and archaeologist Dr. Jared Benton joins the...
Breaking the Mold: Quasi-Official Coinage in Roman Egypt with Irene Soto Marín
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Money makes the ancient Mediterranean world go round...but what happens when there's not enough metal to make official coinage? In this episode, archa...
Practical Magic: Ancient Roman Smells and Spells with Britta Ager
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode is simply magical! Join us as we welcome Dr. Britta Ager - an expert in ancient Mediterranean magic, spells, and curses - to the show ...
Using Olive It: Sustainable Fuel Production in the Ancient Mediterranean with Erica Rowan
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Waste not, want not! In this episode, learn all about ancient Mediterranean olive oil production and how real people producing this delicious food use...
In Living Colour: Painting and Pigments with Hilary Becker
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder how ancient artists created the vividly-coloured frescoes that adorned the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum? Dr. Hilary Becker joins Chel...
Going with the Flow: Water Systems in North Africa with Mark Locicero
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Water, water, everywhere...but how much of it can we drink? In this episode, Chelsea and Melissa chat with Dr. Mark Locicero about Roman drainage sy...
Portrait of a Palmyran Man: Ancient Syrian Identity with Blair Fowlkes Childs
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do our choices say about who we are? In this episode, Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about clothing, status, dress, i...
Grave Matters: Resting Places for Regular People with Liana Brent
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Liana Brent joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about the archaeological remains of burials in Roman Italy at the ancient cemetery ...
If the (Roman) Shoe Fits: Elizabeth Greene and Footwear from Vindolanda
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the Season 2 premiere episode, Dr. Elizabeth Greene joins Chelsea and Melissa to talk about the archaeological remains of Roman shoes from the site...
Season Two Trailer!
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join your Season 1 host, Dr. Chelsea Gardner, as she welcomes new co-host Dr. Melissa Funke for an introduction to the second season of the Peopling t...
Thrown Together: Potters, Painters, and Ceramic Production with Sanchita Balachandran
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Sanchita Balachandran joins us to speak about the sensory experience of ancient potters and painters, her experimental archaeology pr...
Making Waves in the Aegean: Lana Radloff and the Milesian Seascape
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Lana Radloff speaks about seascapes, the ancient sensory experience of the Mediterranean, and the ancient city of Miletus.
Golden Years and Silver Hair: The Greek Art of Aging with Susan Matheson
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Susan Matheson joins us to speak about representations of old age and the elderly in Greek art.
Living in a Material World: Jennifer Stager and Technicolour Statues
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Stager discusses her work on Greek art, polychromy, and materiality.
Extreme Home Makeover, Ancient Greece Edition: Bronze Age Houses with Rebecca Worsham
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Worsham discusses her work on Bronze age houses, deliberate destruction, and home renovation.
No Bones About It: Climate Change in the Ancient World with Flint Dibble
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Flint Dibble joins us to discuss his work on zooarchaeology and climate change in the Iron Age.
The Sound of Music: Art and Ritual with Carolyn M. Laferrière
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Carolyn M. Laferrière discusses her work on Greek art, music, and religious ritual by taking a close look at the Vari Cave on Mo...
Building a Mystery: Festival Processions with Laura Gawlinski
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Laura Gawlinksi joins us to discuss her work on religious processions, ancient dress, inscriptions, and the festival at Andania.
Athenashville: Parallel Parthenons with Katie Petrole
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Katie Petrole joins us to discuss the Nashville Parthenon, its history, and its relationship with the Athenian Parthenon.
Spindles and the City
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Katherine Harrington joins us to discuss her work on women's labour, weaving and textiles, and Bau Z in the Kerameikos.
Introducing Peopling the Past
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join your hosts Dr. Carolyn M. Laferrière and Dr. Chelsea A.M. Gardner for an introduction to Peopling the Past. This season, we'll take listeners fo...