Sphinx Thinks
14 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -I'll be interviewing specialists, leading researchers and passionate figures to find out about their field, interests and what the future holds.
Dedicated to understanding humanity vis-à-vis evolution, behaviour, culture, history, and the environment.
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Episodes
From Curation to Repatriation: a Career in Osteology with Dr Trish Biers
March 06, 2024 19:00 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBDr Trish Biers is Curator of the Duckworth Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. We discuss her early start in the field and where her interests have taken her - across the world in a variety of incredible positions from the Smithsonian Institute to right here in Cambridge. We cover everything from repatriation and paleopathology to advice on studying in the US vs the UK and getting into a career in osteology.
Childrearing: How Different Systems Shape Us with Dr Emily Emmott
August 27, 2023 12:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBDr Emily Emmott is a lecturer in Human Behavioural Ecology at UCL. Specialising in extended and institutional child-rearing systems (such as parenting, grand-parenting, schooling and social care provisions) and their implications for health and wellbeing (including health-related behaviours. We discuss the limitations of taking an evolutionary perspective on childrearing, the burden on intensive parent systems on caregivers, and gender differences in parental investment and offspring prospec...
Biomolecular Archaeology with Professor Matthew Collins
August 01, 2023 17:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MBProfessor Matthew Collins is a Niels Bohr Professor at the University of Copenhagen and the McDonald Chair of Palaeoproteomics at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. We discuss his journey to becoming a leading academic in the field, and his interests within the discipline. Within the world of biomolecular archaeology we track through palaeoproteomics and its applications, the integration of scientific disciplines into archaeology, and ZooMS...
The Indus Valley with Professor Cameron Petrie
June 02, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MBProfessor Cameron Petrie is professor of South Asian and Iranian Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. We discuss his journey to becoming an archaeologist, and finding his field, as well as his present work in the region. In the Indus region, we discuss the relationship between the settlers in the past and how they interacted with their environment - as well as what this means for the future of sustainable research. Check out the website www.sphinxthinks.com for more on archaeology a...
Palaeolithic: Mobility & Group Relations with Dr Amy Clark
December 27, 2021 17:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBMovement, mobility and migration - what can these facets of human behaviour in the archaeological record tell us about our past social relationships? Dr Amy Clark - lecturer and researcher at Harvard University - joins me to discuss this topic as well as her research in Morocco. Amy discusses what the structures and spatial distributions of groups across a landscape can tell us about group size, relationships and movement. We cover what evidence is used to explore these patterns in the arc...
Primates: Cognition, Culture & Environment with Dr Kathelijne Koops
November 23, 2020 20:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBCognition, culture and environment - how do they work together to influence primate behaviour? What can tool use and behavioural patterns tell us about primate society? Studying primates provides one of the best insights into the evolutionary origins of human behaviours. To truly understand how and why certain behaviours are adopted (and differ) in primate species, a combination of factors must be considered. If you want to learn about tool use, nesting and behavioural patterns, if you wan...
Zooarchaeology with Professor Peter Rowley-Conwy
November 17, 2020 07:00 - 26 minutes - 18.2 MBFrom agriculture to human culture and society, there is more to zooarchaeology than just bones! Discover what we know about the human past from zooarchaeology and how we use animals to decipher history... When and why was agriculture adopted so differently across the globe? How can we use zooarchaeology to explore domestication and feasting? What does zooarchaeology tell us about status and human society? In this episode Peter and I discuss all of these questions and explore much more about...
Palaeolithic with Professor Paul Pettitt
October 10, 2020 13:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBThe earliest period in our human past - the Palaeolithic. This fascinating period covers human evolution and our early innovations as Homo Sapiens. The Palaeolithic really encompasses everything about us as a species... Why did humans develop art? When do we first see cave art? When did humans start burying the dead? Professor Paul Pettitt and I discuss all this and much more in the episode - it's all about the Palaeolithic! Follow @thesphinxthinks on Instagram, @sphinx_thinks on Twitter ...
Neanderthals, Bones & Burials with Dr Emma Pomeroy
October 05, 2020 21:00 - 35 minutes - 24.4 MBNeaderthals are plagued with stereotypes - brutish, simple and less human hominids. However, evidence increasingly suggests they were capable of abstract thought and compassion just like us. What evidence do we have of Neaderthal compassion? How can we learn about the cultures of our ancestors through archaeology? How can studies of health in the past inform our understanding of health today? For all this and more, join me and Dr Emma Pomeroy as we discuss Shanidar Cave and osteoarchaeology...
Bioarchaeology with Dr Rebecca Gowland
October 01, 2020 18:00 - 32 minutes - 22 MBArchaeology tells us about the human past, but it's not all dirt and digging. We can explore how human biology has changed through time, through skeletons and sampling, it's all about bioarchaeology! Ever wondered how healthy people were in the past? Why we know where prehistoric people have lived and travelled? Or even what an Egyptian ate for breakfast? Then today's episode is for you. Rebecca and I discuss how we can find out about the biology, behaviour and even cultures of people in t...
Chimpanzee Communication with Dr Cat Hobaiter
September 19, 2020 14:00 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MBChimpanzees are our closest living ancestor, and we are also theirs. We know how our biology has evolved - but what about our communication. Communication is a trait common to many organisms - but we don't all communicate in the same way. Join me (Georgina Holmes) and Dr Cat Hobaiter as we uncover why language is more than just vocalisation, and find out how we can understand what our fellow primates are trying say... Follow @thesphinxthinks on Instagram, @sphinx_thinks on Twitter and chec...
Primatology with Charlotte Frearson
September 09, 2020 20:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBPrimates are our closest living relatives. We know they can learn from us, but what can we learn from them? What is primatology? Should we study primates in zoos? And what can they teach us about evolution? Dive into the world of primatology with me (Georgina Holmes) and Charlotte Frearson as we discuss this fascinating field of research which provides an insight into humanity and evolution. Follow @thesphinxthinks on Instagram, @sphinx_thinks on Twitter and check out the website (http://w...
The Sphinx Thinks
July 09, 2020 21:00 - 18 seconds - 241 KBI'll be interviewing specialists, leading researchers and passionate figures to find out about their field, interests and what the future holds. When I'm not interviewing others, episodes will feature me discussing topics I find relevant and interesting. Chronologically progressing through time: from the emergence of life and evolution of us to the first civilisations and innovations that got us where we are today. Like everything Sphinx Thinks produces, the podcast will glimpse into all a...
Introduction
July 09, 2020 21:00 - 1 minute - 976 KBI'll be interviewing specialists, leading researchers and passionate figures to find out about their field, interests and what the future holds. The podcast will glimpse into all aspects of humanity studied vis-à-vis evolution, behaviour, culture, history, and the environment. We can look to the climate of the past and see how it has and will shape us. Explore animal life on Earth and zoo-archaeology. And delve into the societies that have been and past, as well as those of today, discoveri...