In episode 330 of The Archeology Show, we discuss the latest controversy over the site of Monte Verde in southern Chile, long considered a cornerstone pre-Clovis site dated to about 14,500 BP. We summarize a March 2026 study led by Todd Surovell arguing the key occupation layer is much younger (about 8,200–4,200 years ago) based on geological and stratigraphic analyses, including an 11,000-year-old tephra layer allegedly beneath deposits, claims of redeposited older wood from erosion and flooding, and luminescence dating of nearby sediments. We then review strong criticism, including scathing critiques from about 30 researchers including Tom Dillehay (author of the original work), disputing sampling locations, assumptions about redeposition, and whether the tephra identification is correct. It seems like both sides raise points but more collaborative research is needed before rewriting interpretations of early human peopling of the Americas.

When did humans arrive in the Americas? A new study reignites the debate

A mid-Holocene age for Monte Verde challenges the timeline of human colonization of South America (Not open access)

ScienceAdviser: New dating of ancient Chilean site reopens old wounds

Study suggests younger age for Chile's important Monte Verde archaeological site

'Speculation' and 'egregious failure': 30 researchers publish scathing critiques of study that questioned date of early human occupation of Monte Verde in Chile

Chris Webster

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Rachel Roden

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Today we bring you three stories from the news. The first is about an overcrowded cemetery in Colorado and it brings into question other cemeteries that date back over 100 years and the accuracy of records. Next we head to Scotland where a man-made island has been shown to have much more interesting architecture than previously though - and it’s much older than researches believed. Finally, we talk about the archaeology being destroyed by Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

Segment 1

State Archaeologist proposes closing overcrowded Lafayette Cemetery; City Council tables decision

Segment 2

This Island in Scotland Is Actually a Man-Made Mini Landmass Resting on a Wooden Platform, New Discovery Shows

Segment 3

“They Don’t Care”: Trump’s Border Wall Construction Damages 1,000-Year-Old Sacred Indigenous Site

Las Playas Intaglio Destroyed During Border Wall Expansion

Awe, Anger, Sorrow: Thoughts on the Las Playas Intaglio

Las Playas Intaglio Damaged by Border Wall Construction in Arizona

Chris Webster

chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

rachel@unraveleddesigns.com

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In this week’s episode, we cover three archaeology news stories. First up, a Nature-backed report on unusually old woodworking from Kalambo Falls, where waterlogged conditions preserved a wedge, digging stick, and notched logs dated by luminescence to about 476,000 years ago, suggesting advanced planning and challenging simple “Stone Age” assumptions. We then discuss a Pompeii discovery of two skeletons outside the city walls near Porta Stabia, including a man apparently shielding his head with a terracotta bowl and carrying an oil lamp, and we debate the benefits and risks of an AI-generated scene reconstruction. Finally, we examine Peru’s Monte Sierpe “Band of Holes,” over 5,200 aligned pits mapped by drones and analyzed via microbotanical remains, with a study proposing early market use and later Inca-style accounting patterns resembling quipu, while we question how and why such a vast system was built and used.

Segment 1

• World’s oldest wooden structure was built by an unknown species, nearly 200,000 years before modern humans evolved (earth.com)
• Hominins built with wood 476,000 years ago (Nature)

Segment 2

• This Man Fled Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius Erupted. Archaeologists Found Him 2,000 Years Later, Holding a Bowl to Protect His Head and a Lamp to Light His Way

Segment 3

• Study suggests these 5,200 holes dug into a mountain were some form of ancient accounting (earth.com)
• Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru (Cambridge University Press)

Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

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In our latest episode, we unravel fascinating stories of ancient DNA in the news! Uncover the touching story of Anglo-Saxon siblings buried together over 1400 years ago. Then we look at groundbreaking research revealing how natural selection shaped more genes than we ever imagined. Finally, join our exploration of the mysterious origins of Neanderthals!

• Anglo-Saxon burial holds an older sister cradling her little brother after they both died 1,400 years ago, possibly of an infectious disease
• Natural Selection Shaped Hundreds More Human Genes Than We Thought, Massive Ancient DNA Study Finds
• Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?

Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

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Three discoveries, one shifting landscape: a mysterious buried structure beneath the ancient city of Buto, the newly identified tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II near the Valley of the Kings, and the remains of a massive Coptic monastery at Al-Qalaye. We dig into what the finds reveal about Egypt’s long arc—from dynastic power to Christian communities—and how modern tools are changing what archaeologists can see.

• Mysterious Structure Found Buried Beneath an Ancient Egyptian City
• The last missing tomb from this wealthy Egyptian dynasty has been found
• Archaeologists Discovered the Remains of One of the Largest Christian Monasteries Ever

Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

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For decades, Monte Verde in southern Chile has been one of the most famous archaeological sites in the Americas. The site was widely accepted as 14,500 years old, making it one of the strongest pieces of evidence for human presence in the Americas before Clovis.

But what if that interpretation was wrong?

In this special episode, I sit down with Dr. Todd Surovell, professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, to discuss new research that re-examines Monte Verde using modern geoarchaeological methods. The results suggest that the famous site may actually be much younger than previously believed, dating to the Holocene rather than the Ice Age.

If true, this would mean that Monte Verde is not evidence for pre-Clovis humans in South America, and it could force archaeologists to reconsider one of the most influential discoveries in American archaeology.

We discuss:

• The history of the Monte Verde discovery
• Why it reshaped textbooks in the 1990s
• How new geological and dating analyses challenge the original interpretation
• What this means for Clovis-first vs. pre-Clovis models
• Why independent verification and skepticism are essential in science
• This episode explores how science evolves—and how even the most famous discoveries can be re-examined.

• Video Version to follow along
• Surovell’s Study
• Surovell’s UW Page
• davidianhowe.com
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Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
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This week on The Archaeology Show, we tour three very different windows into the ancient world: a 5,000-year-old tomb packed with remarkable treasures, a surprising discovery of upright-buried skeletons beneath a French school, and tens of thousands of Egyptian notes and receipts that capture everyday life in vivid detail. We unpack what these finds reveal about status and burial ritual, how archaeologists interpret unusual body positions, and what “boring” paperwork can tell us about work, money, and people behind the monuments. Three discoveries, one big question: what survives—and what it can still say.

Segment 1

• Archaeologists Discovered a 5,000-Year-Old Tomb Filled to the Brim With Ancient Treasures

Segment 2

• Ancient skeletons sitting upright found at French school. See photos.

Segment 3

• What Archaeologists Found Written on Those 43,000 Egyptian Notes and Receipts
• Upper Egypt site has now yielded more than 43,000 inscribed pot sherds, a record-breaking trove of information

Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

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This week we are back with some News stories! First, we discuss evidence from an Iron Age cemetery in northern Vietnam showing intentional, permanent tooth blackening dating back 2,000 years. Then, we cover a 2,500-year-old Pazyryk culture burial in southern Siberia where CT scans of a mummified woman’s skull suggest a severe jaw injury was stabilized with surgical sutures. And finally, we summarize Bronze Age textile finds from Anatolia dated roughly 1915–1745 BCE and later, including the earliest regional evidence of nalbinding (single-needle “knitting”) and an indigo-dyed hemp fragment identified as the oldest known blue-dyed textile in Bronze Age Anatolia.

• 2,000-year-old skulls reveal people in ancient Vietnam permanently blackened their teeth — a stylish practice that persists today
• Iron Age Surgeons Fixed a Woman's Shattered Jaw With Primitive Prosthetic—and She Survived
• Earliest evidence of indigo-dyed textiles and single-needle knitting discovered in Bronze Age Anatolia
• Untwisting Beycesultan Höyük: the earliest evidence for nålbinding and indigo-dyed textiles in Anatolia

Chris Webster

• chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com

Rachel Roden

• rachel@unraveleddesigns.com
• RachelUnraveled (Instagram)

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
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