https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes daily 0.75 2020-05-05 https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-0-introduction monthly 0.5 2019-12-11 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5d8ad38b39a6ab43e0ae53c0/1569379223013/Middle_east.jpg Episodes - Episode 0 - Introduction Modern political map of the region once commonly known as the Near East https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-1-before-the-beginning monthly 0.5 2019-12-11 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5d9e88210bbfa367a021a144/1570670635943/Paratethys.png Episodes - Episode 1 - Before the Beginning Rough map of the Paratethys Sea around 30 million years ago, overlaid modern coastlines (marked by black lines). Note the location of the Near East. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5d9bf4e3d8cbd012c4e438d3/1570501878843/Near+East+Topo+Map.png Episodes - Episode 1 - Before the Beginning Map of key geographic features in the prehistoric Near East. Most of these regions, mountains, deserts, and rivers will remain relevant throughout the podcast, as new terms enter story. This map will be updated over time to reflect what’s most important. https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-2-the-first-near-easterners monthly 0.5 2019-12-11 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dabe652aa1e3231b4ca0a11/1571547250737/Ruins_of_Dmanisi_Castle.jpg Episodes - Episode 2 - The First Near Easterners Ruins of the medieval Dmanisi castle, with the hominin archaeological site visible in the trees in the background. Note the convergence of the two river valleys just beyond the site, as well as the low trees and brush which characterize the modern environment of this part of Georgia. (Credit: Larry V. Dumlao; Source Link) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dabec81ca3a6955cc18dfd6/1571548725071/Homo_Georgicus_IMG_2921.jpg Episodes - Episode 2 - The First Near Easterners Skull 4, the fourth hominin skull found at Dmanisi. This individual was an elderly male, probably in his late fifties, who seems to have lost all of his teeth well before death. Currently located at the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. (Credit: Ryan Somma; Source Link) https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-3-invention-and-retention monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dbf99537e97a73b8285e15d/1572837917517/Oldowan+Chopper.jpg Episodes - Episode 3 - Invention and Retention Simple core tool, typical of those found at the site of Dmanisi. Note the lack of symmetry, the rough, uneven cutting edge, and the majority of the sides which remain untouched. https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-4-the-paleolithic-swiss-army-knife monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dd0fa41d6c0de799e32544c/1573977246385/Ubeidiya.JPG Episodes - Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife Reconstruction of what the local environment of ‘Ubeidiya may have looked like during interglacial periods. Note the stream and marshy lake shore, exposed cliff faces, and diverse fauna drawn to the lakeside. Also note the group of hominins in the bottom center carving up an animal carcass. Hominin sites would have been scattered throughout this field and beyond. (Credit: Herrera, pg. 146) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dd0fdd14149017c6754cd06/1573977655197/Pebble+Core.jpg Episodes - Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife Examples of pebble core choppers. Note the bulky size, variable shape, and rough, obtuse, asymmetrical cutting edges. (Credit: Didier Descouens; Source Link) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5def3b0cc4c5ef230171f653/1575959323726/Paleolithic+Sites.png Episodes - Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife Locations of Dmanisi and ‘Ubeidiya https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5dd0fea76be9a958a6e2628f/1573977915294/LCT.jpg Episodes - Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife Typical example of a long core tool (biface). Note the thin, tear drop shape, long, acute cutting edge, and symmetry. (Credit: José-Manuel Benito Álvarez; Source Link) https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-5-welcome-to-the-neighborhood monthly 0.5 2020-02-10 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5ded61dd1704ea1920212862/1575838182673/Anatolian+Plateau.jpg Episodes - Episode 5 - Welcome to the Neighborhood Anatolian Plateau near the southeastern Taurus Mountains. This provides some idea of the landscape hominins needed to cross in order to reach western Anatolia at Kocabaş or the Gediz River, or to reach Europe. Remember that this is what it looks like during an interglacial period. (Credit: Son Kahraman; Source Link) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5ded62e85704156dcb035973/1575838445474/Kashafrud.jpg Episodes - Episode 5 - Welcome to the Neighborhood Quartz chopper collected from the northeastern Iranian site of Kashafrud. (Credit: National Museum of Iran; Source Link) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5ded5ff205aa792cf3a1657c/1575959143026/Route-Site Episodes - Episode 5 - Welcome to the Neighborhood Location of sites so far discussed in the podcast. Note the over-representation of the Levant in the archaeological record, and the complete or near-complete lack of sites in Central Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran. Also depicted are hypothetical migration routes taken by hominins out of Africa, across the Sinai, and into Asia. The dotted lines represent a possible secondary entry point in southern Arabia across the Bab el-Mandeb. https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-6-arsonists-and-elephant-hunters monthly 0.5 2020-04-07 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5e40c2a1d8d2da072ea2453b/1581303178127/GBY.jpg Episodes - Episode 6 - Arsonists and Elephant Hunters Modern landscape surrounding Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. The Jordan River flows through the ravine at the center of the image, where the famous Jacob’s Ford is located, the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between the Korazim Plateau and the Golan Heights. https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/episodes/episode-7-think-before-you-speak-part-1 monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5eaf691e9e84a23c6247c2c7/1588554023777/Babel.jpg Episodes - Episode 7 - Think Before You Speak (Part 1) The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). This painting depicts perhaps the most famous theory on the origin of human languages in the modern English-speaking world: the Tower of Babel story as told in Genesis 11:1-9. The background of this story, and the other Near Eastern origin myths which preceded it, will be discussed in the future. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5eb10f0e566d6b5e3725f05b/1588662036992/Lion+Track.jpg Episodes - Episode 7 - Think Before You Speak (Part 1) Example of lion tracks, a natural sign best avoided by hominin hunters and foragers at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. (Credit: Joachim Huber; Source Link) https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/about daily 0.75 2019-09-25 https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/maps daily 0.75 2019-09-07 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d742744de49193f0978c915/t/5d744302879dd100b3b720ae/1567900433278/blm-withdraws-support-ca-ab-392-052919-2000x1012-01.jpg Maps https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/content daily 0.75 2019-09-25 https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/home daily 1.0 2019-09-07 https://www.neareasternhistorypod.com/sources daily 0.75 2019-09-25