In this episode, Micah and Jason start the discussion with news from Egypt involving the alluring scents associated with mummified remains. The discussion then turns to news from White Sands, New Mexico. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of ancient transport technology in the Americas, suggesting that early North Americans used travois-like sleds for transport nearly 22,000 years ago. The team is then joined by Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton to discuss the latest discoveries from the La Prele, Wyoming Mammoth kill site.

Spencer Pelton is the Wyoming State Archaeologist and an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming. Spencer has maintained a varied career in federal and state government, private, and academic sectors, working in Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming during his 17-year career. He maintains research interests in the peopling of the Americas, but his field projects are increasingly focused on the latest prehistory and earliest history of the Wyoming High Plains and the Rocky Mountains. In addition to his academic and field research, Spencer is interested in the politics of heritage preservation and writes about that topic extensively in his Substack newsletter, Social Stigma.

Guest Links

Early Paleoindian use of canids, felids, and hares for bone needle production at the La Prele site, Wyoming, USA

Spencer Pelton's Social Stigma