This week we tackle one of our favorite topics - controversy! Last summer, the team working on the Rising Star Cave site in South Africa released a series of pre-prints making some incredible claims about the pre-human species, Homo Naledi. They were closely followed by the Netflix documentary, Cave of Bones which captured the attention of the public. However, other researchers are pushing back, claiming lack of solid evidence and published peer reviewed research. Join us while we look at both sides of the debate, and let us know where you land!

• Controversial Claims About Homo Naledi Are Stirring Up Evolution
• Enigmatic Hominin Seemingly Buried Dead and Carved Symbols 100,000 Years Before Modern Humans
• Unknown: Cave of Bones - Netflix Documentary
• No scientific evidence that Homo Naledi buried their dead and produced rock art
• Cave of Bones Explorer’s Club Talk with Dr. Lee Berger
• 241,000 to 335,000 Years Old Rock Engravings Made by Homo naledi in the Rising Star Cave system, South Africa

• Chris Webster
  chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com
• Rachel Roden
  rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
  RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

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• Motion

The Archaeology Podcast Network is taking a break for the holiday season. In the meantime, please enjoy this encore episode. It’s a favorite of ours! Happy holidays!

This week we have 3 fascinating archaeology news stories. First, experimental research has helped researchers determine the function of an ivory baton. Then, we take a look at a newly discovered Roman villa that may have belonged to Pliny the Elder. Finally, Amelia Earhart is back in the news with some new and potentially controversial findings!

• Experiments suggest ancient four-holed ivory baton was used to make rope (Phys.org)
• Rope making in the Aurignacian of Central Europe more than 35,000 years ago (Science Advances)
• 1st-century villa discovered near Mount Vesuvius may be where Pliny the Elder watched catastrophic eruption
• Amelia Earhart's plane may have crashed in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, explorer claims (Live Science)
• The Earhart Project in a Nutshell
• Scientists discover new possible clue in Amelia Earhart mystery

• Chris Webster
  chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com
• Rachel Roden
  rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
  RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• Tee Public Store: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/archaeology-podcast-network?ref_id=5724

• Motion

Recently, we went to see the movie Moana 2 with our little nieces and we ended up enjoying it so much more than we expected! But, of course, we had to ask the question, how accurate is the story and characters behind the Moana franchise? In this episode we deep dive the history, archaeology, myths, and Polynesian culture on which these movies are based.

• The World Of Moana Explained
• The Long Pause

• For rough transcripts head over to https://archpodnet.com/archaeology/290

• Chris Webster
  chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com
• Rachel Roden
  rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
  RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• Tee Public Store: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/archaeology-podcast-network?ref_id=5724

• Motion