The Extreme History Project

Coming soon . . . Join us for our deep dive into gender and feminism in archaeology with archaeologist, Meg Conkey. Meg is professor emerita of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for introducing feminist perspectives into archaeology. We discuss her early work with Janet Spector, Joan Gero, and others to bring women and gender into the study of archaeology and what it means to do archaeology as a feminist.

.Join us as we talk with archaeologist Scott Carpenter about his career including his time as Chief of Cultural Resources at Yosemite National Park, the excavation of a cache of obsidian artifacts, his work with indigenous communities, and his documentation of a portion of the Lewis and Clark trail.

Join us for this fascinating conversation with Lara Maiklem who is a mudlark. She searches for lost and forgotten objects on the foreshore of the river Thames in London. She has been mudlarking for almost 20 years, searching and finding lost items including Tudor shoes, medieval pins, Roman pots, Georgian wig curlers and modern wedding rings. We talk with Lara about objects she has found along with her collection, research, and curation processes. She has written, Mudlark: In Search of London’s Past Along the River Thames and can be found on Facebook and Twitter ( @LondonMudlark) and on Instagram (@London.Mudlark). Her book is now available in paperback with a color plate section and a gorgeous new cover! 

Join us for our conversation with author Michael Punke on his new book, Ridgeline, a novel that details the story of the Fetterman fight or the Battle of One-Hundred-in-the-Hands. In 1866, with the country still reeling from the Civil War, the U.S. Army established Fort Phil Kearny in the home of the Lakota Nation. In his book, Punke tells the story of the months leading up to this battle between the U.S. Army and the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe. The result was what we now know as the Battle of One-Hundred-in-the-Hands. Michael talks with us about the book, his processes, the characters, the diversity of the west at this time, and why this story is still important today. Michael is the author of several books including The Revenant, a #1 New York Times bestseller and basis for the Academy Award–winning film.    To Learn More: We highly recommend Michael’s other books including The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, The Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West, and Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917. 

Join us as we discuss historic inscriptions, ghost signs, rock art, DStretch, petroglyphs and pictographs. During the 19th and 20th centuries, emigrants on the Northern Plains engaged in a communication behavior that left messages carved, incised, and painted onto the physical landscape. Often mingling with indigenous pictographs and petroglyphs, the emigrants’ messages are called “historic inscriptions” and exist in the form of names, dates, text, and ideographs. Historic inscriptions relay information on identity and cultural value and are a new way of interpreting how people reacted to the landscape of the 18th,19th and 20th century west. Tim Urbaniak is a Professor Emeritus at Montana State University (MSU-Billings).

Coming soon . . . Join us as we talk with archaeologists, Matt Stirn and Rebecca Sgouros about how they have followed their love of archaeology, photography and tea (yes tea) to interpret and bring archaeology to the public. Matt Stirn holds an MSc in Environmental Archaeology and Paleoecology, and specializes in understanding how humans adapted to high elevation landscapes around the world. He has directed several archaeological research projects in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and has been involved in excavations on four continents. Rebecca is an environmental archaeologist and educator. She is a freelance archaeologist focusing on projects in the Rocky Mountains, specifically the Tetons, Gros Ventre, and Wind River Ranges in Wyoming. Current projects include investigating life and food choices at high altitudes, paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Tetons, ice-patch archaeology survey along the Continental Divide, and an ancient food & diet study using biomolecular and experimental archaeology techniques

Join us for this lively conversation with Dr. Kelly Dixon, an archaeologist who studies boomtowns, colonization, colonialism, extractive industries, human-environment interactions, landscape transformations, and marginalized populations. We discuss her work excavating the Boston Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada and the resulting book, Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology And History In Virginia City where Kelly discusses the excavation of four historic saloons in Nevada’s Virginia City and how the artifacts from this handful of drinking establishments, affiliated with a range of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, offers a new perspective on everyday life in the mining West.

In this episode, we talk with Jerry Williams about a television series he has created called, Bozeman, that features the history of Bozeman’s town founder, John Bozeman and his good friend, William McKinzie. We discuss his research in Georgia and Montana, and how this story plays out on the national stage at a critical time in our country’s history from the 1860s to the 1870s.   

Join us as we take a deep dive into the science of human origins with Dr. William Kimbel, Director of the Institute of Human Origins based at Arizona State University. We discuss Dr. Kimbel’s research on human origins, specifically the period between 2.5 and 4 million years ago – during which our own genus Homo emerged from smaller-brained ancestors. 

Join us this week as Crystal interviews Nancy about her research on the history of archaeology in Montana through the lens of three men including amateur archaeologist Oscar Lewis, academic William Mulloy, and advocate Melville Sayre. We discuss their work to bring archaeology to Montana and the significant archaeological sites they excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, including Pictograph Cave and the Hagan Site. 

The Allure of the Archives

Join us for our fascinating conversation with Jan Zauha, Librarian extraordinaire. We discuss the role of libraries in this digital age and how they have changed over time. We dive into the space of archives and talk about issues of accessibility and how these places are becoming more public and welcoming to everyone. We also talk about archival collecting and the push to expand the focus to make it more inclusive. Jan is passionate about her work and her love of learning and her enthusiasm shines through in this conversation. 

Urban Archaeology with Nikki Manning and Kate Gonzales

Join us for our conversation with Nikki Manning and Kate Gonzales as we discuss urban archaeology in Missoula, Montana. Kate and Nikki have both been involved in recovering artifacts from a vacant lot in the heart of Missoula’s red-light district through their capacity as graduate students within the Department of Anthropology at The University of Montana. Join us for this fascinating conversation on urban archaeology and the importance of community outreach and education. 

Messages from Medicine Wheel Country with Shane Doyle

Join us as we discuss a myriad of topics with Extreme History Project board member, Shane Doyle. Shane is a member of the Crow Nation and is a life-long educator. He’s a scholar and an activist, working to bring indigenous knowledge to the forefront in every project does. We talk about his involvement with the Anzick archaeological site, the peopling of the Americas and indigenous people in Yellowstone National Park. Join us for this fascinating conversation! 

Moving Forward in Conservation by Looking Back
Join us as we talk with Laurel Angell about her research on America’s twentieth century conservation movement and the missed opportunities that led it to become both exclusionary and politically polarizing. Laurel grew up in Yosemite National Park, and has herself worked as a Park Ranger before obtaining a degree in environmental law and working on conservation policy initiatives under the Obama administration. Laurel is currently a doctoral candidate in History at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT and remains active in local and national policy initiatives targeted at creating broader and more inclusive conservation goals. 

Join us as we discuss rock art in Montana with archaeologist, Sara Scott. Our conversation revolves around the Hellgate Pictograph Site in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and Pictograph and Ghost Caves, located within Pictograph State Park. We discuss the archaeological context of these rock art sites, how we have come to know more about these important places and the people who used them.

Extreme History News!

Join Nancy and Crystal as they talk about what’s coming up this summer for The Extreme History Project, the new podcast logo, and upcoming podcast interviews. They also delve into women’s history month and talk about vice districting in the 1890s in relation to red-light districts and prostitution in the west.  

Redlining the West: The Spatial Geography of Inequity
Click here to listen to our conversation with graduate student, Kerri Clement about her participation in a research project on the persistent spatial structure of inequality in urban neighborhoods, specifically in Denver, Colorado. We discuss redlining, intergenerational wealth inequality, and spatial segregation – all a result of the Jim Crow era that has persisted to the present.

Indigenous Archaeologist, Joe Watkins, on the Past as Present

Join us as we talk with archaeologist Joe Watkins about Indigenous Archaeology and his current role as President of the Society for American Archaeology. We discuss experimental archaeology in the form of building and living in a pit house for a year, his research with the Ainu of Japan, and so much more! 

Validating Places of History and Memory

Join us for our conversation with Diana Hernández and Dr. Portia Hopkins as we discuss their work through the National Collective Memory Institute to validate and reconcile history of places that have been neglected and undervalued. We focus in on their work to preserve historic sites belonging to communities of color and their mission to develop spaces to reconcile our nation’s past in an effort to rehabilitate our collective memory.

Nasty Wenches, Good Wives, and Foul Bodies

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Dirt on the Past as we speak with Dr. Kathleen Brown about her research on early America. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on the 17^th and 18^th century, and the ways in which historical constructions of gender and race…of cleanliness…and of the human body were foundational to the institutions of slavery and of human rights.

High-Altitude Archaeology Collaboration and Friendship

Click here to hear our discussion with Craig Lee, Shane Doyle, and Ian Van Coller about their collaboration and friendship around high-altitude archaeology. They have worked together on many different projects over the past ten years, each bringing their unique perspective to the work. Craig Lee is a high-altitude archaeologist, Shane Doyle is a member of the Apsaalooke Nation and an educator, and Ian Van Coller is a photographer and professor at Montana State University.  

History of the Chinese Experience in the West

Join us as we talk with Mark Johnson about his research on Montana’s historic Chinese community. He is working to uncover this important history and present it through a global lens and in the voice of the Chinese people who lived and died in Montana. We have a wide-ranging conversation about the historic Chinese experience and Mark’s work to document these long-silenced voices.