In this third installment of the “Horse Series,” David sits down with Dr. Carlton Shield Chief Gover to explore the intersections of Indigenous oral traditions, radiocarbon dating, and the archaeology of horses across the Great Plains and the Caribbean. Carlton shares how Pawnee oral traditions align with archaeological evidence, revealing new insights into the transitions from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies. The conversation expands into how the reintroduction of horses revolutionized Plains warfare, movement, and culture — transforming not just how people traveled, but how they defined bravery, honor, and trade. The episode then dives underwater — literally — as Carlton recounts his work with the Indiana University Underwater Science Program in the Dominican Republic. From Spanish shipwrecks to 400-year-old hazelnuts used to fight scurvy, the discussion highlights how horses, colonization, and trade converged across continents and oceans.

Remembering Jane Goodall with Primatologist Carson Black In this deeply heartfelt episode, David speaks with Primatologist, Biological Anthropologist, and Conservationist, Carson Black, who has spent her academic career studying chimpanzees in Senegal and howler monkeys in Costa Rica. Together, they reflect on the life and legacy of Jane Goodall, the “living Darwin of the modern era,” and how her groundbreaking work continues to shape the way we understand both chimpanzees and ourselves. Carson shares vivid stories from the field—bucket showers under the Milky Way, mischievous chimps throwing rocks, and the humbling power of seeing the world from their perspective. The two also discuss the history of primatology, the pioneering “Trimates” (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas), and the role of indigenous knowledge in modern science. This episode serves as both a tribute to Jane Goodall and a reminder that anthropology isn’t just about the past—it’s about the relationships that continue to define what it means to be human.

In this episode of Ethnocynology with David Ian Howe, I sit down with my good friend and former graduate school cohort member Cassidee Thornhill, Collections Manager at the University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository. Cassidee’s research dives into the early contact era in Wyoming, focusing on the arrival and spread of horses before and during European colonization. We discuss her fascinating thesis work on the Black’s Fork River site, where a young foal was found buried alongside three coyote skulls—an extraordinary archaeological discovery that sheds light on early human–horse relationships on the Plains.

In this episode of Ethnocynology, host David Ian Howe sits down with archaeologist and anthropologist Dr. William Taylor (University of Colorado Boulder), author of Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History. While this show usually focuses on dogs, today we shift to the other animal that transformed humanity: the horse. Dr. Taylor walks us through the evolutionary history of horses, their domestication on the Eurasian steppe, and their reintroduction to the Americas after the Ice Age. Together we explore how humans first interacted with horses—as prey, symbols in cave art, sources of milk and meat, and eventually as partners in transport, warfare, and belief systems.

In this episode of Ethnocynology, host David Ian Howe sits down with friend and creator North02 to dive into one of North America’s most fascinating and overlooked archaeological stories—the Old Copper Culture. Together, they explore how Native communities in the Great Lakes region began shaping some of the world’s earliest metal tools and weapons, thousands of years before metallurgy took hold in Europe. From massive copper swords and fishing hooks to spear throwers and intricate ornaments, this culture reveals a technological world far beyond the usual “stone tool” narrative.

On this episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, David and Connor talk to Dr. Angela Perri about her lengthy CV and her academic/professional career. Dr. Perri is currently the top researcher in the world in terms of understanding the relationship between humans and dogs in the ancient world. So clearly, David's ears perked up. As usual, we first dive into Angela's early life and career in anthropology, and talk about her interesting transition from a Las Vegas bartender and Oregonian undergrad, to being a PhD student in the UK. We then discuss her time at Durham University and her dissertation research, which took her to Japan, Mongolia, and the American Southeast. We also talk about her time and research at the Max Planck Institute studying dog genomics and DNA. David and Connor also ask Angela multiple questions about dogs, dog domestication, and the human/dog relationship. We then end on Angela's career advice and have a heart to heart conversation about mental health, Academia, and CRM.

An Anthro Chat With Stefan Milo. In this episode of ethnic psychology, David sits down with good friend Stefan Milo, archaeologist, YouTuber, and overall outstanding chap. David and Steve catch up on recent anthropology news and discussed the recent archaeological findings at White Sands national Park, as well as the recent genetic findings surrounding Dragon Man, the Denisovans, and the peopling of the Americas. David and Stefan also discuss the growing concern among content creators regarding automated intelligence and whether or not the recent advancements with AI video generation will put people like David and Stefan out of work. Stefan is a brilliant guy, and this conversation is as educational as it is pretty funny. So be sure to give it a listen!

On this episode of A Life In Ruins podcast, David interviews his former advisor Dr. Todd Surovell. Todd served as an advisor to David and was a committee member for David and Connor‘s MA theses. David begins interviewing Todd about what archaeology means to him, and a discussion of his early life. The conversation later turns into how Todd found his way into anthropology, and his work in graduate school. And in the third segment, Todd and David discuss Clovis archaeology, Clovis and Folsom culture, and megafaunal extinctions. Todd also discusses what it means to be human.

In this episode of ethnic psychology, David sits down with a friend of the pod, Artur Hulu. But you may know him by his Instagram pseudonym Gaius Flavius. Arthur is a prolific memes it is pretty tapped into the cultural Zeitgeist of the Internet. Well, most of his memes have to do with ancient Rome and classical history, they are successful because he understands the complex history of memes and modern internet culture. David and Arthur discuss different memes that have done well, their strategies for posting, and why this is important for science and history.

In this episode of Ethnocynology with David and Howe, David sits down with good friend Jonny Devaney! Jonny recently got back from an extended trip to Italy with his family, where he went to Pompeii, Naples, Venice, Rome, and got to see a mass run by the new Pope Leo. They first start by catching up with each other and then quickly get into the trip. Jonny spent the most time in Rome and Naples, but also got to see lots of Venice and was given a personal tour of Pompeii by an archaeologist. David and Jonny then start talking about their experiences in Rome, the Vatican, the tourist stuff, and of course dogs. Jonny is currently obsessed with Cane Corso’s and they spend a good deal of time talking about that.

In this episode, David answers questions he received from a Q&A on Instagram. While some are archaeological, most are on dogs. The questions range from dogs in the Americas, to dog burials in Europe, why are some wolves black? Why are there so many arrowheads in Wyoming? And were dogs really eaten? David answers these questions, and does his usual rant and tirades in between questions about current anthropology, the Colombian exchange, and people that annoy him on Instagram.

In this episode, David finally discusses the 2018 film “Alpha.” Alpha is a movie that takes place 20,000 years ago in France, in which a boy is separated from his hunting party, and has to survive on his own to get home. That is until he meets a wolf, and the two of them then have to survive together to make it home. It is a story of survival, but also the first domestic dog. David reviews the movie scene by scene and adds anthropological context and discusses the accuracies and inaccuracies using examples from real archeology.

In this episode, David reads some selected short stories and posts from his Instagram that helped build his account.  If you've been following him for a while, you'll recognize some of these posts, and more importantly you'll recognize the illustrations done by Ettore Mazza.

In this episode of Ethnocynology, David chats with friend, colleague, and former A Life in Ruins host, Dr. Carlton Shield Chief Gover. David and Carlton do a brief catch up before diving right into the recent paper released by Colossal Biosciences and a team of researchers regarding newly researched direwolf genetics. David and Carlton discuss the ethics of release the un-peer reviewed paper only after the huge media push, as well as Carlton gives a an analysis of the statistics in the paper.

In this episode, David talks about the recent news about the direwolves that were “brought back from extinction.” However, as he explains, no direwolves were brought back from extinction, and it seems the company is intentionally lying to the public for one reason or the other. David talks biology, speciation taxonomy, and why it seems the public is being duped.

In this episode of Ethnocynology with David Ian Howe, David sits down with friend and wildlife photographer Hannah Rheaume. Hannah, born in Maine, but residing in the Pacific Northwest today, frequently travels to Yellowstone to photograph wolves in the wild. David asks her about her childhood, what led her to photography, and what it must be like to get so close to wolves and understand their behavior.

David then discusses the Bellemeade Mansion and the Hermitage in Nashville, and how these powerful Southern families partook in the war. But mainly, David speaks candidly about how these historic sites have evolved (and not evolved) in their ways of including the story Black Americans and those of the African Diaspora into the landscape of these histories

In this Episode, David discusses his recent travels to California and Connor's visit to Nashville the week before. David and Connor met up with Aaron Deter-Wolf of Archaeology Ink and Danny Riday of Totemic Tattoo in Nashville, who gave David and Connor hand-poked tattoos with bone and stone. David discusses the artistry, history, and process behind Danny's work and his hand-poked tattoo, that is a memorial to his late dog, Strider. David then discusses three Civil War era sites he and Connor toured in the Nashville area called the Carter House, Carnton Plantation, the Lotz House,  which all were part of the Battle of Franklin. This battle was a major part of the Civil War and the eventual collapse of the confederate army. In Part 2, David will then discusses the Bellemeade Mansion and the Hermitage in Nashville, and how these powerful Southern families partook in the war. But mainly, David speaks candidly about how these historic sites have evolved (and not evolved) in their ways of including the story Black Americans and those of the African Diaspora into the landscape of these histories. Transcripts * For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ethnocynology/11 Links: * davidianhowe.com [http://davidianhowe.com/] * Davidianhowe.com/store [http://davidianhowe.com/store] ArchPodNet * APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com [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 Affiliates * Motion [https://www.archpodnet.com/motion]

As laid out in Episode 4, David will be doing deep dives into movies, TV shows, and books that have to do with anthropology and dogs in the apocalypse. In this episode, David does a deep dive on a film called "Children of Men" directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Children of Men explores a near-future where men and women have become infertile, and no one is able to reproduce. In this story, dogs play a role in substituting for children, which is uniquely explored in the film through its cinematography. Some of the things David discusses are the plot Summary, key themes, the role of dogs as surrogates for children, and Cuaron's cinematic techniques and world-building, Transcripts * For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ethnocynology/10 Links: * davidianhowe.com [http://davidianhowe.com/] * Davidianhowe.com/store [http://davidianhowe.com/store] ArchPodNet * APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com [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 Affiliates * Motion [https://www.archpodnet.com/motion]

In this episode of Ethnocynology, David highlights a recent paper published about a bone needle he helped excavate in the summer of 2022. While David wasn't an author on the paper, he was there when it was excavated, recorded the moment, and recently conducted interviews with the two leading authors of the paper. David discusses how he read a comment on his post about the needle that made him stop to think about how important such a small item could be to people on the ice age plains. David discusses how to read an academic paper, while conducting interviews with the researchers into the podcast. Transcripts * For rough transcripts of this episode go to https://www.archpodnet.com/ethnocynology/09 Links: * Early Paleoindian use of canids, felids, and hares for bone needle production at the La Prele site, Wyoming, USA [https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0313610] * davidianhowe.com [http://davidianhowe.com/] * Davidianhowe.com/store [http://davidianhowe.com/store] ArchPodNet * APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com [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 Affiliates * Motion [https://www.archpodnet.com/motion]