About this episode
This installment of Unearthed! starts with lots of updates! And then some art-related unearthings, and a few things at the end that fall under the category of adult content.
Research:
- Agencia Brasil. “Cave Paintings Discovered in Rio de Janiero Park.” 4/13/2025. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/educacao/noticia/2025-04/cave-paintings-discovered-rio-de-janeiro-park
- Anderson, R. L., Salvemini, F., Avdeev, M., & Luzin, V. (2025). An African Art Re-Discovered: New Revelations on Sword Manufacture in Dahomey. Heritage, 8(2), 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8020062
- Archaeology Magazine. “5,000-year-old Bread Buried in Bronze Age House.” 6/4/2025. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/06/04/5000-year-old-bread-buried-in-bronze-age-house/
- Archaeology Magazine. “Fried Thrush Was a Popular Street Food.” 6/6/2025. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/06/06/fried-thrush-was-a-popular-roman-street-food/
- Arnold, Paul. “Dentist may have solved 500-year-old mystery in da Vinci's iconic Vitruvian Man.” Phys.org. 7/2/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-dentist-year-mystery-da-vinci.html
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). “New revelations on sword manufacture in 19th-century Dahomey, West Africa.” Phys.org. 5/11/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-revelations-sword-19th-century-dahomey.html
- Black, Jo. “Cut-price Magna Carta 'copy' now believed genuine.” BBC. 5/15/2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm23zjknre7o
- Boucher, Brian. “Antique Condom on View at the Rijksmuseum Riles Christian Group.” ArtNet. 6/26/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/antique-condom-rijksmuseum-christian-protest-2661519
- Brown, Mark. “Rare wall paintings found in Cumbria show tastes of well-off Tudors.” The Guardian. 4/4/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/04/rare-wall-paintings-found-in-cumbria-show-tastes-of-well-off-tudors
- Carvajal, Guillermo. “The Oldest Vanilla Pod in Europe, Used in Alchemical Experiments, Discovered at Prague Castle.” LBV. 3/31/2025. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/03/the-oldest-vanilla-pod-in-europe-used-in-alchemical-experiments-discovered-at-prague-castle/
- Carvajal, Guillermo. “Thrushes Were the “Fast Food” of Romans in Imperial Cities, Not an Exclusive Delicacy for Banquets.” LBV. 6/3/2025. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/06/thrushes-were-the-fast-food-of-romans-in-imperial-cities-not-an-exclusive-delicacy-for-banquets/
- Carvajal, Guillermo. The Spectacular Tomb of the Ice Prince, a Medieval Child Buried in an Ancient Roman Villa, Frozen for Study.” LBV. 5/25/2025. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/05/the-spectacular-tomb-of-the-ice-prince-a-medieval-child-buried-in-an-ancient-roman-villa-frozen-for-study/
- Chen, Min. “Roman Villa in Spain Yields More Than 4,000 Painted Wall Fragments.” ArtNet. 4/21/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roman-villa-villajoyosa-wall-fragments-2634055
- Chen, Min. “These Medieval Manuscripts Were Bound With an Unlikely Animal Hide.” ArtNet. 4/12/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/clairvaux-medieval-manuscripts-sealskin-2630996
- Chen, Min. “Think Shakespeare Left His Wife? This Newly Discovered Letter Tells a Different Story.” ArtNet. 4/28/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/shakespeare-anne-hathaway-marriage-letter-2636443
- Chen, Min. “This 6th-Century Bucket Discovered at Sutton Hoo Is More Than It Seems.” ArtNet. 5/22/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sutton-hoo-bromeswell-bucket-not-bucket-2648124
- Dartmouth College. “Archaeologists uncover massive 1,000-year-old Native American fields in Northern Michigan that defy limits of farming.” Phys.org. 6/5/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-archaeologists-uncover-massive-year-native.html
- Davis, Josh. “Ancient humans ritually feasted on great bustards as they buried their dead.” Phys.org. 4/17/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-ancient-humans-ritually-feasted-great.html
- Drenon, Brandon. “Tulsa plans $105m in reparations for America's 'hidden' massacre.” BBC. 6/2/2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dqnz37v1wo
- Equal Justice Initiative. “City Announces Reparations for Tulsa Race Massacre.” https://eji.org/news/city-announces-reparations-for-tulsa-race-massacre/
- “Researchers estimate that early humans began smoking meat to extend its shelf life as long as a million years ago.” 6/3/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086138
- Fox, Jordan. “Anthropologist uncovers the 11,000-year history of avocado domestication.” Phys.org. 6/24/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-anthropologist-uncovers-year-history-avocado.html
- Fratsyvir, Anna. “Ukraine grants Poland permission to exhume 1939 war graves in Lviv.” The Kyiv Independent. 6/11/2025. https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-grants-poland-permission-to-exhume-1939-war-graves-in-lviv/
- Giuffrida, Angela. “Two near lifesize sculptures found during excavations of Pompeii tomb.” The Guardian. 4/1/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/01/two-near-lifesize-sculptures-found-during-excavations-of-pompeii-tomb
- Guardian staff and agencies in Lima. “Peru drops plan to shrink protected area around Nazca Lines archaeological site.” The Guardian. 6/9/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/09/peru-nazca-lines-protected-area
- Hamilton, Eric. “Ancient Andes society used hallucinogens to strengthen social order.” EurekAlert. 5/5/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1082461
- Hashemi, Sara. “Ancient Chinese Poems Reveal the Decline of a Critically Endangered Porpoise Over 1,400 Years.” Smithsonian. 5/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-chinese-poems-reveal-the-decline-of-a-critically-endangered-porpoise-over-1400-years-180986570/
- Hung, Hsiao-chun. “Remote cave discovery shows ancient voyagers brought rice across 2,300 km of Pacific Ocean.” Phys.org. 6/26/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-remote-cave-discovery-ancient-voyagers.html
- Hunt, Katie. “125,000-year-old ‘fat factory’ run by Neanderthals discovered in Germany.” CNN. 7/4/2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/04/science/neanderthal-fat-factory-germany
- Hurriyet Daily News. “5,000-year-old bread unearthed in Küllüoba goes on display.” 5/23/2025. https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/5-000-year-old-bread-unearthed-in-kulluoba-goes-on-display-209487
- Jarus, Owen. “We finally know why Queen Hatshepsut's statues were destroyed in ancient Egypt.” LiveScience. 6/23/2025. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/we-finally-know-why-queen-hatshepsuts-statues-were-destroyed-in-ancient-egypt
- Kuta, Sarah. “Did a Neanderthal Who Lived 43,000 Years Ago Paint a Red Nose on a Rock That Looked Like a Face?” Smithsonian. 6/2/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-a-neanderthal-who-lived-43000-years-ago-paint-a-red-nose-on-a-rock-that-looked-like-a-face-180986704/
- Kuta, Sarah. “How Researchers Discovered a 168-Year-Old Dutch Shipwreck Off the Coast of Australia in Underwater ‘Blizzard’ Conditions.” Smithsonian. 5/16/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-researchers-discovered-a-168-year-old-dutch-shipwreck-off-the-coast-of-australia-in-underwater-blizzard-conditions-180986637/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Tourists Are Stuffing Coins Into the Cracks of the Giant’s Causeway, Damaging the Iconic Site in Northern Ireland.” Smithsonian. 6/4/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tourists-are-stuffing-coins-into-the-cracks-of-the-giants-causeway-damaging-the-iconic-site-in-northern-ireland-180986745/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Why Was a 1940s Car Discovered in the Wreck of an American Naval Ship That Sank During World War II?” Smithsonian. 4/23/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-1940s-car-discovered-wreck-american-naval-ship-that-sank-during-world-war-ii-180986485/
- Larson, Christina. “Ancient DNA confirms New Mexico tribe's link to famed Chaco Canyon site.” Phys.org. 4/30/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-oral-histories-dna-picuris-pueblo.html
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “A Life-Sized Statue of a Bejeweled Ancient Priestess Is Unearthed in Pompeii.” ArtNet. 4/2/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a-life-sized-statue-of-a-bejeweled-ancient-priestess-is-unearthed-in-pompeii-2627176
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Rare Artwork by Emily Brontë Scooped at Auction by Museum.” 4/11/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rare-artwork-by-emily-bronte-scooped-at-auction-by-museum-2631133
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Vatican Brings ‘God’s Architect’ Antoni Gaudí One Step Closer to Sainthood.” ArtNet. 4/15/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/vatican-antoni-gaudi-one-step-closer-to-sainthood-2632185
- Leahy, Diana. “Depictions of the Milky Way found in ancient Egyptian imagery.” 4/30/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-depictions-milky-ancient-egyptian-imagery.html
- MacKay, Mercedes. “'It's a mystery that's hung over our area for 50 years': Salem, Illinois, exhuming grave of unknown Amtrak train derailment victim.” KDSK. 3/13/2025. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/salem-illinois-exhuming-grave-of-unknown-amtrak-train-derailment-victim/63-2770a303-4e54-4647-8b13-dff304b93e30
- net. “Magna Carta at Harvard dates to the Year 1300, historians find.” 5/2025. https://www.medievalists.net/2025/05/magna-carta-at-harvard-dates-to-the-year-1300-historians-find/
- net. “Medieval Merlin Manuscript Fragment Revealed Through Digital Unfolding.” 5/2025. https://www.medievalists.net/2025/04/medieval-merlin-manuscript-fragment-revealed-through-digital-unfolding/
- net. “Medieval Mystery Solved: Sutton Hoo Bucket Was a Cremation Vessel.” 6/2025. https://www.medievalists.net/2025/06/medieval-mystery-solved-sutton-hoo-bucket-was-a-cremation-vessel/
- net. “Rethinking Rye: Study Reveals Medieval Cultivation Was Intensive and Strategic.” 5/2025. https://www.medievalists.net/2025/05/rethinking-rye-study-reveals-medieval-cultivation-was-intensive-and-strategic/
- net. “Tudor Wall Paintings Uncovered in Northern England Lodge.” 4/2025. https://www.medievalists.net/2025/04/tudor-wall-paintings-uncovered-in-northern-england-lodge/
- Mira, Chad. “Multiple bodies found in exhumed Salem, Ill., grave.” Fox2. https://fox2now.com/news/illinois/multiple-bodies-found-in-exhumed-salem-ill-grave/
- Organization of American Historians. “Statement in Response to Secretary Order 3431 and Censorship of History in the National Park Service.” 6/18/2025. https://www.oah.org/2025/06/18/statement-in-response-to-secretary-order-3431-and-censorship-of-history-in-the-national-park-service/
- Oster, Sandee. “New Holocene Aboriginal rock art style identified in recent study.” Phys.org. 4/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-holocene-aboriginal-art-style.html#google_vignette
- Oster, Sandee. “Study provides new insights into medieval sex workers and childcare.” Phys.org. 5/22/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-insights-medieval-sex-workers-childcare.html
- “Exhumations in Volhynia. Wróblewska on the beginning of work in Zboiska.” 6/23/2025. https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/ekshumacje-na-wolyniu-wroblewska-o-poczatku-prac-w-zboiskach
- org. “Race to save Sweden's 17th century warship in preservation project.” 4/9/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-sweden-17th-century-warship.html
- Pinotti, Thomaz et al. “Picuris Pueblo oral history and genomics reveal continuity in US Southwest.” Nature. 4/30/2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08791-9
- Public Library of Science. “Italians spent thousands of years perfecting grape cultivation, ancient seeds show.” Phys.org. 4/23/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-italians-spent-thousands-years-grape.html
- Radio Prague International. “Rare Roman soldier’s wrist purse discovered in South Moravia.” 6/24/2025. https://english.radio.cz/rare-roman-soldiers-wrist-purse-discovered-south-moravia-8854920
- Shams, Housnia. “Work begins to exhume remains of 800 dead babies at unwed mothers’ home in Ireland.” 6/17/2025. https://www.irishstar.com/news/ireland-news/work-begins-exhume-remains-800-35409145
- SO 3431 - Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History https://www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so-3431-restoring-truth-and-sanity-american-history
- Sweeney, Rory Mac. “Leonardo's Vitruvian Man: modern craniofacial anatomical analysis reveals a possible solution to the 500-year-old mystery.” Journal of Mathematics and the Arts. 3/28/2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2025.2507568
- The History Blog. ‘Installation of Vasa’s new support structure begins.” 4/14/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72910
- The History Blog. “16th c. mural found on the Grand Canal.” 4/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72918
- The History Blog. “3,500-year-old bronze daggers found in corn field.” 4/1/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72799
- The History Blog. “First English cheese treatise digitized, transcribed.” 5/1/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/73045
- The History Blog. “Life and death of little “Ice Prince” revealed.” 5/26/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/73246
- The History Blog. “Oldest baked bread flying off the shelves.” 5/29/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/73273
- The History Blog. “Roman soldier’s bronze wrist purse found in Czech Republic.” 6/25/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/73467
- University of Leeds. “Curd your enthusiasm: Secrets of oldest book on cheese revealed.” Phys.org. 4/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-curd-enthusiasm-secrets-oldest-cheese.html
- University of St. Andrews. “New tool to identify toxic pigments in historic books.” Phys.org. 6/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-tool-toxic-pigments-historic.html#google_vignette
- Vargas Ariza, Daniela et al. “The Cobs in the Archaeological Context of the San José Galleon Shipwreck.” Antiquity (2025): 1–6. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/cobs-in-the-archaeological-context-of-the-san-jose-galleon-shipwreck/66532DCA302A8C08A1EBFE4AC7E4E6C1
- Wexler, Ellen. “The Only Black, All-Female Unit to Serve Overseas in World War II Receives the Congressional Gold Medal.” Smithsonian. 4/30/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-only-black-all-female-unit-to-serve-overseas-in-world-war-ii-receives-the-congressional-gold-medal-180986528/
- Whiddington, Richard. “A 19th-Century Condom With a Bawdy Print Makes Its Museum Debut.” 6/3/2025. ArtNet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/old-condom-erotica-rijksmuseum-show-2652526
- Whiddington, Richard. “A Lost WWI Submarine Is Discovered ‘Remarkably Intact’ After 100 Years.” ArtNet. 5/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a-lost-wwi-submarine-is-discovered-remarkably-intact-after-100-years-2649437
- Whiddington, Richard. “Archaeologists Identify France’s Deepest Shipwreck.” ArtNet. 6/20/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/france-deepest-shipwreck-camarat-4-2659029
- Whiddington, Richard. “Nazca Lines Under Threat? Peru’s Downsizing Plan Sparks Alarm.” Artnet. 6/3/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/nazca-lines-reduced-reserve-plan-2652342
- Whiddington, Richard. “Who Designed the Bayeux Tapestry? Its 93 Penises Offer Clues.” 5/2/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bayeux-tapestry-93-penises-offer-clues-2639001
- Wizevich, Eli. “By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption.” Smithsonian. 5/13/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/by-shoving-a-bed-frame-against-the-door-this-pompeii-family-tried-to-survive-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180986608/
- Wizevich, Eli. “It could take years for archaeologists to properly excavate and preserve the delicate wooden vessel, which likely became shipwrecked.” 4/30/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-rare-medieval-boat-discovered-over-18-feet-below-sea-level-in-barcelona-180986524/
- Wong, Jun Yi. “The Afterlife of Hatshepsut’s Statuary.” Antiquity 99.405 (2025): 746–761. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/afterlife-of-hatshepsuts-statuary/F22D001E29438008136B6DA04F57C627
- Zeilstra, Andrew. “Mediterranean hunter gatherers navigated long-distance sea journeys well before the first farmers.” EurekAlert. 4/9/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079385
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yesterday
Eadweard Muybridge
The invention Eadweard Muybridge is known for is his zoopraxiscope, an early movie technology. But he also innovated in photography, had some other inventions, and was the defendant in a murder trial. Research: Ball, Edward. “The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and t ... Show More
39m 16s
Jul 26
SYMHC Classics: Mary Winston Jackson
This 2019 episode covers Mary Winston Jackson, best known as the first black woman to become an engineer at NASA. But she also worked to clear the way for other underrepresented people at NASA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
29m 32s
Jul 25
Behind the Scenes Minis: Good News, Bad News
Tracy talks about current events and how they relate to the show and education. She and Holly also talk about the people who work in national parks and historical sites. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
25m 35s
Feb 2023
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky was an artist, teacher and art theorist in the early 20th century. His work was very influential in the development of modern, abstract art. He was likely able to paint differently because he experienced the world differently. Kandinsky is thought to have had a ... Show More
9m 6s
Oct 2024
Blindness isn't a tragic binary — it's a rich spectrum | Andrew Leland
When does vision loss become blindness? This week we're revisiting a talk by writer, audio producer and editor Andrew Leland as he explains how his gradual loss of vision revealed a paradoxical truth about blindness — and shows why it might have implications for how all of us see ... Show More
7m 37s
Dec 2023
Max Beckmann | The Night
Max Beckmann was a German painter born on February 12, 1884. While he is often associated with the expressionist movement, he actually rejected that label. He was a part of the New Objectivity movement which shared some similarities with expressionists, but while the expressionis ... Show More
10m 11s
Dec 2024
World's Most Detailed Pre-Birth Memory W/ Aaron Thomas Green
Aaron Thomas Green had a near death experience and says we choose our appearance, intelligence, parents, hardships, and even enemies before we are born.
We also explore his vivid description of Heaven, including a place just for dogs. He challenges common ideas about Hell, reveal ... Show More
1h 26m
Jul 2024
CLASSIC: Third Eye Spies, the CIA and the Quiet Mind with Russell Targ
What if you could travel outside your body at will, sending your consciousness across the planet and beyond? While it may sound like a tale of science fiction to some, the phenomenon known as remote viewing was the subject intense government scrutiny for years. Join the guys as t ... Show More
56m 52s
Jan 2024
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky was an artist, teacher and art theorist in the early 20th century. His work was very influential in the development of modern, abstract art. He was likely able to paint differently because he experienced the world differently. Kandinsky is thought to have had a ... Show More
9m 6s
Feb 2025
Gary D. Jaworski, "Erving Goffman and the Cold War" (Lexington Books, 2023)
Erving Goffman has always seen as somewhat of an enigma by sociologists and historians of the discipline. In his provocative new book Erving Goffman and the Cold War (2023, Lexington) Gary Jaworski suggests a ‘marginal man’ trope has grown up around him, whereby Goffman is seen a ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2024
Ep483 - Robert Greene | Mastery
Robert Greene visits Google to discuss his latest book, "Mastery." What did Charles Darwin, a middling schoolboy and underachieving second son, do to become one of the earliest and greatest naturalists the world has known? What were the similar choices made by Mozart and by Caesa ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2024
Qu’est-ce que “l'hypothèse de l'univers à un électron” ?
Imaginez un univers où tout ce que nous voyons — les étoiles, les planètes, les objets autour de nous — est fait de minuscules particules appelées électrons. Ces électrons sont des composants essentiels de la matière, et ils ont tous des propriétés identiques : même charge électr ... Show More
2m 17s
Nov 2024
502. Angry and Red: Color as Emotion | Mark Changizi
Jordan Peterson sits down with theorist and researcher Mark Changizi. They discuss the biological reasons for mass hysteria on the societal level, why we evolved to have color vision, and how we understand and interpret the patterns of the natural world. Mark Changizi is a theori ... Show More
1h 38m