Épisodes

  • S2 Ep20: Episode 20: Witch Bottles and Obsidian Mirrors
    Oct 6 2024
    Check us out at thepastandstuff.com for images of the historical artifacts we discuss and our blog. In this first episode of Season two, we are gearing up to Halloween. In Stuff in the News this week Ashley talks about NYC Mayor Eric Adams taking bribes from Turkey to not acknowledge the Armenian Holocaust. While, Tracey's Stuff in the News concerns mummies and skeletons, not the Halloween yard decorations, but actual Stone Age mummies and skeletons, and how researchers have been thinking about a system to name them other than dehumanizing numbers. In her piece of stuff this week Ashley's discusses Witch bottles, probably the most numerous, or at least most recognizable and extant anti-witch devices usually from the Early Modern period, but the example she uses is from as late as the American Civil War in the nineteenth century. Tracey's Piece of Stuff in an obsidian mirror from Aztec Mexico, used for divination or scrying, but also worn in ritual costumes, as well as being a facet of the god Tezcatlipoca, or the "Lord of Smoking Mirrors." Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Michele McPhee, “Feds: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Took Bribes From Turkish Official To Ignore Armenian Genocide,” Los Angeles Magazine, September 26, 2024, https://lamag.com/news/feds-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-took-bribes-from-turkish-official-to-ignore-armenian-genocide. Sean Mathews, “First Stop Istanbul’: Mayor Eric Adams Accused of Taking Bribes to Do Turkey’s Bidding in New York City,” Middle East Eye, September 26, 2024, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/first-stop-istanbul-eric-adams-did-turkeys-bidding-armenian-genocide-and-un-compound-federal. Tracey’s Stuff in the News Chemnitz University of Technology, “Archaeologists develop system to produce unique names for skeletons and mummies,” accessed October 1st, 2024 at https://phys.org/news/2024-10-archaeologists-unique-stone-age-skeletons.html Tracey’s Halloween History History.com editors, Halloween 2024, updated Oct 3, 2024, accessed Oct 3rd, 2024 at https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween Joshua J. Mark, “History of Halloween,” Oct 21, 2009 accessed October 3, 2024 at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1456/history-of-halloween/ Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Sarah Bahari, “Why Are Magic ‘Witch Bottles’ Used for Spells Washing Up on Texas Beaches?” NBC, November 27, 2023, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/why-are-magic-witch-bottles-used-for-spells-washing-up-on-texas-beaches/3397188/. Phil Gast, “Artifact Found at Civil War Site May Be a ‘Witch Bottle’ Used to Ward Off Evil Spirits. Really.” CNN, January 27, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/25/us/witch-bottle-virginia-civil-war-trnd/index.html. Simon Ingram, “Witch Bottles’ Filled with Nails and Teeth Were Once Thought to Heal the Cursed,” National Geographic, September 24, 2024, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/witch-bottles-rituals-superstition-17th-century. Samir S. Patel, “Opening a Witch Bottle,” Archaeology Magazine, 2009, https://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/halloween/opening_witch_bottle/. Mark Price, “Eerie ‘Witch Bottles’ Are Washing Up along Gulf of Mexico. It’s Best Not to Open Them.” Fort Worth Star Telegram, November 20, 2023, https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article281997308.html. Thwaite, Annie. “What Is a 'Witch-Bottle'? Assembling the Textual Evidence from Early Modern England.” Magic Ritual Witch 15, no. 2 (Fall 2020): 227-251. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff Stuart Campbell, Elizabeth Healey, Yaroslav Kuzmin, and Michael Glassock, “The Mirror, The Magus and More: Reflections on John Dee’s Obsidian Mirror, “ Antiquity 2021, pp.1547-1564 Emiliano Gallaga and Marc G. Bliney, Manufactured Light: Mirrors in the Mesoamerican Realm, University of Colorado Press, 2016. Marc N. Levine and David M. Carballa, Obsidian Reflections: Symbolic Dimensions of Obsidian in Mesoamerica, University of Colorado Press, 2014. Guilhem Olivier, Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God: Tezcatlipoca “Lord of Smoking Mirrors” University of Colorado Press, 2008. Karl A. Taube, “The Iconography of Mirrors at Teotihuacan,” in Janet Catherine Berlo ed. Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 8th and 9th October 1988, Washington D.C. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections and Trustees of Harvard University, pp.169-204 Nicholas J. Saunders, “A Dark Light: Reflection on Obsidian in Mesoamerica,” World Archaeology 33 (2001), pp.220-236. Paul F. Healey and Marc G. Blaney, “Ancient Maya Mosaic Mirrors: Function, Symbolism, and Meaning,” Ancient Mesoamerica 22 (2011), pp.229-244. Wikipedia, Mirrors in Mesoamerican Culture accessed Oct 1st, 2024 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrors_in_Mesoamerican_culture Wikipedia, Obsidian, accessed Oct 1, 2024 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian Wikipedia, Tezcatlipoca, ...
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    2 h et 4 min
  • S1 Ep19: Episode 19: Kreepy Krampus and Two Non-Voodoo Dolls Part 2
    Dec 25 2023
    In this episode, Tracey talks us through the science behind some of the new news about why olive oil is good for you and why ultra processed foods are bad for you. Ashley, meanwhile, tells us about the plight of Jerusalem’s ancient Armenian Christian quarter that is currently the subject of a seriously dodgy and illegal land grab. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff returns to the theme of figurines with nails coming out of them that are not voodoo dolls (Spoiler: Voodoo dolls are a myth!). This time we are looking at a N’kisi power figurine from the Kongo people and how it ensured social order. To round out our Christmas 2023 offerings Ashley’s Piece of Stuff is a truly creepy greeting card featuring everyone’s favorite Xmas child-kidnapper, Krampus! Tracey’s Stuff in the News: Janis Jibrin, “Ultra Processed Food isn’t Just bad for your health - it messes with your mind,” National Geographic, November 22, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/ultra-processed-foods-damage-brain-depression-anxiety-cognitive-decline Meryl Davies Landau, “No food or medicine can do what olive oil can do. Here’s Why,” National Geographic November 6, 2023 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/olive-oil-healthiest-oil-prevention-heart-disease-cancer Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Mary Hoogasian and Bedross Der Matossian, “The Armenian Community in Jerusalem Faces an Existential Threat,” Armenian Weekly, November 16, 2023, https://armenianweekly.com/2023/11/16/the-armenian-community-in-jerusalem-faces-an-existential-threat/. Elis Gjevori, “East Jerusalem: Israeli Settlers Seek to Take Over Armenian Quarter by Force,” Middle East Eye, November 16, 2023, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-settlers-jerusalem-take-over-armenian-quarter-force. Crispian Balmer, “Jerusalem Christians Rally around Armenian Church over Land Deal,” Reuters, November 19, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/jerusalem-christians-rally-round-armenian-church-over-land-deal-2023-11-19/. “‘We Won’t Leave’: Armenians in Jerusalem Push Back against Armed Settlers,” Al Jazeera, November 24, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/24/we-wont-leave-armenians-in-jerusalem-push-back-against-armed-settlers. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: David Frankfurter "“Voodoo Doll”: Implications and Offense of a Taxonomic Category." Arethusa 53, no. 1 (2020): 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1353/are.2020.0001. David Frankenfurter, “Female Figurines in Early Christian Egypt: Reconstructing Lost Practices and Meanings,” Material Religion 11.2, 190-22. Natalie Armitage, “European and African Figural Magic: The Beginnings of the Voodoo Doll Myth,” in The Materiality of Magic: An Artifactual Investigation into Ritual Practices and Popular Beliefs, eds. Ceri Houlbrook and Natalie Armitage (Oxford, 2015), 185-212. Alisa Lagamma, “The Recently Acquired Kongo Mangaaka Figure,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 43 (2008): 201-210. Alisa Lagamma, Kongo: Power and Majesty (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015). Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Becky Little, “Meet Krampus, the Christmas Devil Who Punishes Naughty Children,” History Channel, December 18, 2020, https://www.history.com/news/krampus-christmas-legend-origin. Amy Tikkanen, "Krampus," Encyclopedia Britannica, October 20, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Krampus. Tanya Basu, “Who is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Beast,” National Geographic, December 5, 2018, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/131217-krampus-christmas-santa-devil?loggedin=true&rnd=1700000799808. Rachel Nuwer, “In Germany, Santa’s Sidekick is a Cloven-Hooved, Child-Whipping Demon,” Smithsonian Magazine, December 20, 2013, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-germany-santas-sidekick-is-a-cloven-hooved-child-whipping-demon-180948178/. Also referenced: Kessler, David. The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York, NY: Rodale Books, 2009. Mehta, Deepa (dir). Earth. New York, NY: Zeitgeist Films, 1998.
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    2 h et 26 min
  • S1 Ep18: Episode 18: Thanksgiving Fiascoes and Not a Voodoo Doll Part 1
    Dec 25 2023
    In this episode Ashley talks about the disgusting way that Citigroup was denying Armenian credit applicants based on their last names. In her Stuff in the News, Tracey talks about new research that suggests an early Jewish Temple in Egypt had priestesses who issued curses. We are exploring possibilities for a Citigroup Defixio (curse). Ashley’s Piece of Stuff is the creepiest Thanksgiving clown ever to terrorize the children of New York city just trying to innocently watch a parade, and a slew of other traumatizing stuff that Macy’s might have wished to avoid in their 97 years of parades. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff is a figure with pins sticking out of it - it's not a voodoo doll, and along with next week’s figure with pins sticking out of it she’ll argue that (spoiler alert) voodoo dolls don’t really exist, at least not how the West has perceived them. Tracey’s Stuff in the News: Gad Barnea, “Justice at the House of Yhw(h): An Early Yahwistic Defixio in Furem,” Religions 14 (2023). https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/10/1324 Tom Metcalf, “There are no Israelite Priestesses in the Bible. A 2,400 year-old curse tells a different story,” National Geographic, November 7, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/jewish-curse-bible-tablet-israelite-priest-women-elephantine Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Emily Flitter, “Citigroup Discriminated against Armenian Americans, Regulator Says,” New York Times, November 8, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/business/citigroup-discrimination-armenian-americans.html. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: Marguerite Johnson, “Spells, charms, erotic dolls: love magic in the ancient Mediterranean,” The Conversation, June 26, 2018. https://theconversation.com/spells-charms-erotic-dolls-love-magic-in-the-ancient-mediterranean-98459 Gideon Bohak, “Aggressive Magic,” Traditions of Magic in Ancient Antiquity,” December, 1995. https://apps.lib.umich.edu/files/exhibits/pap-/magic/def2.html Brent Nongbri, “A cursed figurine,” Variant Readings, January 7, 2023. https://brentnongbri.com/2023/01/07/a-cursed-figurine/ Ogden, Daniel. “NECROMANCY AMONG THE ROMANS.” In Greek and Roman Necromancy, 149–60. Princeton University Press, 2001. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvs32rs3.16. Christopher A. Farone, “Binding and Burying the Forces of Evil: The Defensive Use of “Voodoo Dolls” in Ancient Greece,” Classical Antiquity 10 (1991), 165-205. David Frankenfurter, “‘Voodoo Doll’: Implications and Offense of a Taxonomic Category,” Arethusa 53 (2020): 43-58. Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Madison Horne, “Quirky Vintage Photos of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” History Channel, November 20, 2020, https://www.history.com/news/quirky-vintage-photos-of-the-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade. Christopher Klein, “The First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” History Channel, November 26, 2014, https://www.history.com/news/the-first-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade. Claire Suddath, “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” Time, November 27, 2008, https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1862565,00.html. “Congress Establishes Thanksgiving,” National Archives, accessed November 15, 2023, https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving. Christina Caron, “Macy’s Used to Set the Balloons Free, and Other Thanksgiving Day Parade Facts,” New York Times, November 20, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/20/nyregion/macys-thanksgiving-parade-facts.html.
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    2 h et 26 min
  • S1 Ep17: Episode 17: Eighth Century Sweet Treats and Mysterious Retreats
    Dec 6 2023
    Episode 17: Eighth Century Sweet Treats and Mysterious Retreats In this week’s Stuff in the News, Ashley discusses a new database of searchable information about medieval murders…go waste time. Right now! Tracey’s stuff in the news concerns the ongoing plight of the Uighurs in the Xinjiang province of China, where over a million of them are thought to be kept in prison camps making cheap manufactured goods for Western markets. Both of our pieces of stuff this week coincidentally ended up being from our bailiwick period - the eighth century. Ashley introduces us to an Aztec statue of a merchant holding a cocoa pod, and we talk about chocolate with a lot of glee and giggles. Tracey’s piece of stuff is a clay alien mothman door knocker, not really, but that’s what it looks like. It is from a very remote, very mysterious Siberian island, where a complex was built taking up almost the entirety of the island's surface and immediately abandoned before occupation. The mystery is solved…but no spoilers here! Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Isabella Kwai, “Who Killed the Innkeeper with a Sword in 1315?” New York Times, November 2, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/world/europe/historical-murder-map-england.html?searchResultPosition=1. Medieval Murder Maps, University of Cambridge, accessed November 5, 2023, https://medievalmurdermap.co.uk/. Slave Voyages Database, Slave Voyages Consortium, accessed November 5, 2023, https://www.slavevoyages.org/. Tracey’s Stuff in the News: Joel Gunter, “China has created a hellscape in Xinjiang. Amnesty report says,” BBC, June 10, 202. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57386625 Ted Regencia, “What you should know about China’s minority Uighurs,” Al Jazeera, July 8, 202. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/8/uighurs-timeline Lily Kuo, “Chinese foreign minister is in Washington. This counts as progress.” Washington Post, October 26, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/26/china-united-states-wang-yi-washington/ Sheridan Prasso, “Temu sells products in US linked to forced labor in China’s Uighur region, Analysis shows,” Bloomberg, July 13, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-13/temu-sells-products-in-us-linked-to-forced-labor-in-china-s-uyghur-region “China/Uyghurs,” Jewish World Watch. https://jww.org/site/uyghurs-china/ Michael Walsh, “China’s still building detention camps in Xinjiang - and they're getting bigger,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, September 24, 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/china-building-bigger-uyghur-detention-camps-in-xinjiang/12693338 Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: “Man Carrying a Cacao Pod,” Brooklyn Museum, accessed November 5, 2023, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/50010. MIT Laboratory for Chocolate Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, accessed November 5, 2023, https://chocolate.mit.edu/. John Oliver, “Last Week Tonight: Chocolate,” HBO, October 30, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwHMDjc7qJ8. Cook, L. Russell and R. Paul Singh. "Cocoa." Encyclopedia Britannica, October 28, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/cocoa-food. Watson, Traci. “Earliest Evidence of Chocolate in North America,” Science, January 22, 2013, https://www.science.org/content/article/earliest-evidence-chocolate-north-america. Washburn, Dorothy K., William N. Washburn, and Petia A. Shipkova. “Cacao Consumption during the 8th Century at Alkali Ridge, Southeastern Utah.” Journal of Archaeological Science 40, no. 4 (2013): 2007-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.12.017. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: Markus Milligan, “Por-Bazhyn - The Mysterious Island Fortress in Siberia,” Heritage Daily, March 21, 2021. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/03/por-bazhyn-the-mysterious-island-fortress-in-siberia/138434 “Radiocarbon Dating Pins Construction of Por-Bajin Island Fortress to 777AD,” Ancient Origins. June 9, 2020 https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/por-bajin-0013834 Lauren Dillion, “What was Por-Bazhyn and Why was it Built?” Historic Mysteries, July 8, 2022. https://www.historicmysteries.com/por-bazhyn/ Qingyuan Zhang et al, “Modeling cosmic radiation events in the tree ring radiocarbon record,” Proceedings of the Royal Society, October 26, 2022. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.2022.0497 “Miyake Event,” Wikipedia. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyake_event A.V. Panin et al, “Radio-carbon based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (117), June 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342040721_Radiocarbon-based_approach_capable_of_subannual_precision_resolves_the_origins_of_the_site_of_Por-Bajin/citations
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    2 h et 9 min
  • S1 Ep16: Clockwork Computer, Ice Age Americans, and Big Foot
    Nov 30 2023
    Episode 16: Clockwork Computers, Ice Age Americans and Big Foot In this episode Tracey discusses a new sighting of Bigfoot in Colorado, why Sasquatch is interesting to a cultural historian and could such a creature possibly exist, while Ashley is shocked to discover that new entry requirements for Americans traveling abroad are close to what America has been doing to its own visitors. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff this week is a collection of ancient footprints in White Sands, New Mexico that date to the Last Glacial Maximum, 21k and 23k years ago. Ashley’s Piece of Stuff is the remarkable Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek computer for calculating the movement of stars and the dates of the Olympic Games. Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Allison Pohle, “Trips to Europe Will Require a New Step for American Travelers,” Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/european-travel-authorization-delayed-etias-passports-982e7511. Tracey’s Stuff in the News: Dac Collins, “Watch: Is this the best Bigfoot Sighting Yet or just a Bowhunter in a Ghillie Suit?” Outdoor Life, October 11, 2023. https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/colorado-bigfoot-train-video/ Noah Brode, “US Belief in Sasquatch has risen since 2020,” Civic Science, August 2, 2022. https://civicscience.com/u-s-belief-in-sasquatch-has-risen-since-2020/ Native Languages of America, “Native American Bigfoot Figures of Myth and Legend,” accessed November 20, 2023 https://www.native-languages.org/legends-bigfoot.htm#google_vignette Ben Crair, “Why do so many people still want to believe in Bigfoot?” Smithsonian Magazine 2018 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-so-many-people-still-believe-in-bigfoot-180970045/ “Density-dependent factor,” Britannica. Com, accessed Nov 20, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/science/density-dependent-factor Cecil Adams, “Could Bigfoot exist in America?” Washington City Paper, December 26th, 2014. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/201481/could-bigfoot-exist-in-north-america-the-latest-updates-in/ Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Edmunds, Michael "Antikythera Mechanism." Encyclopedia Britannica. October 13, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Antikythera-mechanism. Freeth, Tony. “An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets.” Scientific American. January 1, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-ancient-greek-astronomical-calculation-machine-reveals-new-secrets/. Freeth, Tony et al. “A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism.” Scientific Reports 11, no. 5821 (2021). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w#citeas. McGreevy, Nora. “Scientists May Have Discovered How the Ancient Greeks’ ‘First Computer’ Tracked the Cosmos.” Smithsonian Magazine. March 17, 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-research-illuminates-how-antikythera-mechanism-first-computer-may-have-functioned-180977257/. Chrysopoulos, Philip. “The Antikythera Mechanism Secret Solved.” Greek Reporter. September 15, 2022. https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/15/antikythera-mechanism-secret/. Marchant, Jo. “Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer.” Smithsonian Magazine. February, 2015. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/decoding-antikythera-mechanism-first-computer-180953979/. Sample, Ian. “Scientists May Have Solved Ancient Mystery of ‘First Computer.’” The Guardian. March 12, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/12/scientists-move-closer-to-solving-mystery-of-antikythera-mechanism. “Scientists Unlock Mysteries of World’s Oldest ‘Computer.’” BBC News. March 12, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56377567. The article Tracey’s mentioned about clockwork birds is: Jimmy Stoop, “A Brief History of Robotic Bird,” Smithsonian Magazine, May 22, 2013. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: J. S. Pigati, et. al., “Independent age estimates resolve the controversy of ancient human footprints at White Sands,” Science, October 5, 2023. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh5007 Matthew Bennet et al, “Evidence of Humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum,” Science, September 23, 202. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7586 Carolyn Y. Johnson, “Ancient Footprints upend timeline of human’s arrival in North America,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/10/05/oldest-human-footprint-americas-white-sands/
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    1 h et 11 min
  • S1 Ep15: Episode 15: Transatlantic Halloween: Coffin Dolls and Headless Horsemen
    Nov 11 2023
    In this episode Tracey will terrify you all with her Stuff in News, that new footprint evidence that shows that those 10ft tall, 30 mph, huge beaked ‘terror birds’ had another deadly weapon in their arsenal - deadly sharp killer claws. Meanwhile, by our usual neat unplanned synchronicity, Ashley’s Stuff in the News reveals that experts have found that to animals in South Africa the sound of our voices are more terrifying than a lion’s roar. In our pieces of stuff this week we both explore the spooky early nineteenth century, Tracey discusses the mysterious coffin dolls found on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh and adds her own unique take to the seven other explanations for them, which include a serial killer’s mementoes. Ashley spins off from a discussion of an 1685 Dutch Reformed church bell, in colonial Sleepy Hollow to discuss Washington Irving, author, ambassador, Christmas traditions influencer, and biographer of Washington, Columbus and the Prophet Muhammad. Tracey’s Stuff in the News Riley Black, “What made ‘terror birds’ so terrifying? New fossil prints reveal killer claws,” National Geographic, Oct 12, 2023 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/prehistoric-terror-bird-new-fossil-prints-reveal-killer-claws Wikipedia, “Phorusrhacidae,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorusrhacidae Ashley’s Stuff in the News: Muthoni Muchiri, “South Africa’s Kruger National Park Study: Animals Fear Human Voices More than Lions,” BBC News, October 6, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67023033. Zanette, Liana Y. et al. “Fear of the Human ‘Super Predator’ Pervades the South African Savanna.’ Current Biology 33 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.089. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: Mike Dash, “Edinburgh’s Mysterious Miniature Coffins,” Smithsonian Magazine, April 15, 2013. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/edinburghs-mysterious-miniature-coffins-22371426/ Scottish History and Archaeology, “The Mystery of the Miniature Coffins,” National Museums Scotland https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/mystery-of-the-miniature-coffins/ The Newsroom, “Buried Secrets of the City Murder Dolls,” December 2nd, 2005. https://www.scotsman.com/news/buried-secrets-of-the-city-murder-dolls-2465728 The Newsroom, “Author claims to have solved Edinburgh coffin-doll mystery,” April 18, 2018 https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/author-claims-to-have-solved-edinburgh-coffin-doll-mystery-1430490 Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned (1919) Wikipedia, The Radical War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_War Wikipedia, Charles Fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fort Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Amy Tikkanen, “Reformed Church in America,” Encyclopedia Britannica, July 7, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Reformed-Church-in-America. Hoffman, Daniel G. “Irving’s Use of American Folklore in ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’” PMLA 68, no. 3 (1953): 425-35. Molly Fitzpatrick, “The Headless Horseman Industrial Complex: How Sleepy Hollow and the River Towns of New York City Went All In on Halloween,” New York Times, October 11, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/nyregion/halloween-sleepy-hollow-headless-horseman.html. “Old Dutch Church,” Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns, https://reformedchurchtarrytowns.org/old-dutch-church/. Henry Steiner, “History of the Village,” Village of Sleepy Hollow, New York, https://www.sleepyhollowny.gov/discover-sleepy-hollow-ny/pages/history-of-the-village. Also referenced by Ashley: Hurren, Elizabeth. “Dissecting Jack-the-Ripper: An Anatomy of Murder in the Metropolis.” Crime, History & Societies 20, no. 2 (2016): 5-30.
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    2 h et 30 min
  • S1 Ep14: Episode 14: African Halloween - A Spider Staff and a Significant Skull
    Nov 3 2023
    In this episode Ashley’s traditionally disturbing Stuff in the News concerns the billion-dollar international trade in monkey skulls and other bits of dead animals you can buy on ebay. Tracey’s traditionally earnest Stuff in the News focuses on a paradigm changing archaeological find from Africa - a nearly half-a-million-year-old, pre-homo sapien, wooden structure that has been unearthed in Zambia. Sticking with African artifacts, Ashley’s Piece of Stuff this week is a linguist’s staff of office from Ghana that prominently features a large spider - the trickster Anansi. Tracey, meanwhile, continues her story of the Piltdown Man Hoax by interweaving the story of the discovery of a real skull from Africa, that of the Taung Child. While this was one of the most significant archaeological and scientific discoveries of the twentieth century, and could potentially have challenged a lot of scientific racism, it was dismissed for decades because of the Piltdown Hoax. Ashley’s Stuff in the News: “Nearly 400 Monkey Skulls Seized at Paris Airport, Destined for US,” Al Jazeera, September 22, 2023, https://www.a ljazeera.com/news/2023/9/22/french-customs-seize-nearly-400-monkey-skulls-destined-for-the-us. Tracey’s Stuff in the News: L. Barham, et al, “Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago,” Nature, September 20, 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06557-9 Margaret Davis, “World’s Oldest Wooden Structures Dating Back Up To 476,000 Years found in Zambia, Discovery Could Rewrite Human History,” Science Times, September 20, 2023. https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/46096/20230920/worlds-oldest-wooden-structures-dating-back-up-476-000-years.htm Katie Hunt, “Extraordinary structure has no real parallel in the archaeological record, scientists say,” CNN, September 21, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/africa/oldest-wooden-structure-zambia-scn/index.html Ian Sample, “Oldest wooden structure discovered on the border of Zambia and Tanzania,” The Guardian, September 20, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/20/oldest-wooden-structure-discovered-on-border-of-zambia-and-tanzania Victoria Allen, “Wood you believe it? World’s Oldest Wooden Structure is discovered in Zambia, dating back 476,000 years,” Daily Mail, September 20, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12540687/Wood-believe-Worlds-oldest-wooden-structure-discovered-Zambia-dating-476-000-years.html Ashley’s Piece of Stuff: Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Staff of Office: Figures, Spider Web and Spider Motif (ȯkyeame).” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314925. Molefi Kete Asante. “Ananse.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified September 19, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ananse. “Akan.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified September 14, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Akan. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: C. K. Brain "Raymond Dart and our African origins," in A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries that Changed Science and the World, edited by Laura Garwin and Tim Lincoln, https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/284158_brain.html Eric Wayman, How Africa Became the Cradle of Humankind,” Smithsonain Magazine, October 17, 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-africa-became-the-cradle-of-humankind-108875040/ For sources on Piltdown Hoax please see show notes for episode 13. Music credit Ashley Bozian. Image credit Tracey Cooper.
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    1 h et 54 min
  • S1 Ep13: Episode 13: Faking Fossils and Reading Livers
    Oct 29 2023
    In this week’s episode Tracey talks about the Mexican Congressional Hearing into UFO’s and some pretty fake looking alien corpses, while Ashley tells us all about the upsurge of syphilis cases in Texas. Tracey’s piece of stuff this week continues the fakery theme with part of two episodes she will be doing on the infamous Piltdown Man hoax of a 500,000 year old hominid in Sussex. Ashley reveals a bronze object used for divination from sheep’s livers and reveals an unanticipated liver-centric world view in ancient times. Tracey’s Stuff in the News Tara Cobham, “Alien Corpses’ shown to Congress as UFO expert is forced to testify under oath,” Independent, September 13, 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/alien-corpses-in-mexico-found-congress-ufo-b2411144.html David Nelson, “Claims of Alien Corpses made at Mexican Congress hearing into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” Diario AS, September 13, 2023. https://en.as.com/latest_news/claims-of-alien-corpses-made-at-mexican-congress-hearing-into-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-n/ Megan Janetsky, “Scientists call fraud on supposed extraterrestrials presented to Mexico’s Congress,” Associated Press, September 13, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/extraterrestrials-ufo-mexico-congress-af7d54fabf3278ef83c39d899c457c76 Ashley’s Stuff in the News Karen Brooks Harper and Jayme Lozano Carver, “‘An Epidemic’: Syphilis Rages through Texas, Causing Newborn Cases to Climb amid Treatment Shortage.” Texas Tribune. September 13, 2023. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/13/texas-syphilis-newborns-treatment/. Texas Department of State Health Services, “Congenital Syphilis – Exploring an Epidemic” Podcast. 2022. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/hiv-std-program/hiv-aids-std-information/syphilis/congenital-syphilis/congenital-syphilis-exploring-an. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff Isabelle De Groote, “Following the Piltdown Man crime: how we worked out there was only one forger,” The Conversation, August 10, 2016. https://theconversation.com/solving-the-piltdown-man-crime-how-we-worked-out-there-was-only-one-forger-63615 Kate Nelson, “Piltdown Hoax: Culprit behind one of history’s greatest ruses finally exposed,” Independent, August 10, 2016. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/piltdown-hoax-solved-who-did-it-evolution-link-arthur-conan-doyle-a7182286.html Keith Stewart Thompson, “Piltdown Man: The Great English Mystery Story,” American Scientist, May-June 1991. https://www2.clarku.edu/faculty/djoyce/piltdown/map_prim_suspects/abbott/abbot_defense/piltman_englishmystery.html Angela Muthana and Ray Ellen, “The Great Eolith Debate and the Anthropological Institute,” Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, Vol. 30, May 8, 2023. https://archaeologybulletin.org/articles/10.5334/bha-623 Michael Price, “Study reveals culprit behind Piltdown Man, one of science’s greatest hoaxes,” Science, August 9, 2016. https://www.science.org/content/article/study-reveals-culprit-behind-piltdown-man-one-science-s-most-famous-hoaxes Nandini Subramaniam, “The Problem of Piltdown Man,” Distillations Magazine, April 27, 2023. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-problem-of-piltdown-man/ Ashley’s Piece of Stuff Olmsted, David. “Translation of Bronze Etruscan Piacenza Liver Reveals Liver Divination Practices (400 BCE).” HCommons, 2021. https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:39396/datastreams/CONTENT/content. Orlandi, Riccardo et al. “‘I Miss My Liver.’ Nonmedical Sources in the History of Hepatocentrism.” Hepatology Communications 2, no. 8 (2018): 982-9. Riva, Michele Augusto, Enrica Riva, Mauro Spicci, Mario Strazzabosco, Marcello Giovannini, and Giancarlo Cesana. “‘The City of Hepar’: Rituals, Gastronomy, and Politics at the Origins of the Modern Names for the Liver.” Journal of Hepatology 55, no. 5 (2011): 1132–6. Roffi, Luigi. “Liver in Mythology: A Different Version of Tityos' Myth.” Journal of Hepatology 57, no. 3 (2012): 710–1. Van der Meer, L.B. The Bronze Liver of Piacenza. Leiden: Brill, 2023. Van Gulik, Thomas M. “The Bronze Liver of Piacenza.” Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition 10, no. 4 (2021): 433. https://doi.org/10.21037%2Fhbsn-2021-17. Visit Piacenza, “Etruscan Liver,” https://visitpiacenza.it/en/art-and-culture/etruscan-liver/.
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    2 h et 26 min