Built On Bones #423

May 26, 2017

This week we dig into the world of bioarchaeology to discover what a bunch of dead people's bones can tell us about our past. We spend the hour with Brenna Hassett, bioarchaeologist and author of the new book Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death", learning about the surprising information stashed away in teeth, bones, and mass graves.

Guests:

  • Brenna Hassett
Listen Now

Featured Book

Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death

Written by Brenna Hassett

Book Blurb Find On Amazon

Guest Bios

Brenna Hassett

Brenna Hassett is a bioarchaeologist whose work looks at the clues to our past lives locked in the evidence of our bones and teeth. Her new book Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death" uses the scientific techniques of archaeology and her research experience from sties around the globe to examine the effects of our recent urban evolution written into our very bones. She is one quarter of Team TrowelBlazers, a science advocacy organisation dedicated to resetting imaginations and supporting women’s contribution to the earth sciences.

Other Episodes About Anthropology & Archaeology

Peopling the Americas

Thousands of years ago, people crossed a land bridge from Siberia to Western Alaska and dispersed southward into what we now call the Americas. The story of exactly when that was, how... Read More

April 11, 2023

Ancient Migrations

Humans are a roaming species. We've been traveling from continent to continent since our very earliest evolution. In fact, we've been doing it even before we were humans. This week, we're talking... Read More

June 05, 2023

We are what we eat

You are what you eat, right? Well then, who were the ancient Romans, and who were the people they colonized? And who are we? And why do we eat so much chicken?... Read More

August 28, 2023

Other Episodes About Science History

Spark: The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life

Usually when we talk about electricity we're talking about the technology that runs the modern world, but electricity is a lot more integral to our existance than making our tech work. Without... Read More

October 17, 2022

Breathless

In January 2020 a race began to identify, control, and understand a novel coronavirus that quickly spread around the world creating a global pandemic. In his most recent book "Breathless: The Scientific... Read More

February 16, 2023

Peopling the Americas

Thousands of years ago, people crossed a land bridge from Siberia to Western Alaska and dispersed southward into what we now call the Americas. The story of exactly when that was, how... Read More

April 11, 2023

Other Episodes About Biology

Our Friend, the Wasp

Is there an insect more universally despised than the wasp? What have they done to incur so much of our ire? No one likes them. Well... almost no one. Seirian Sumner, Professor... Read More

May 25, 2023

How birds go the distance

Birds carry out some of the most amazing feats of athleticism in the world. Hummingbirds cross the entire Gulf of Mexico, their tiny wings beating continuously for three days straight. A single... Read More

July 05, 2023

The Jewel Box

A lot of us learned basic ecology in primary school. Maybe we took a biology class in high school or secondary school and dug in a little more. We use terms like... Read More

July 31, 2023