Midwestern Archaeology Podcast

The Early Fort Ancient Culture: Maize and Migration with Dr. Rob Cook

On episode 16 of MAP, I sat down with Dr. Rob Cook of the Ohio State University to discuss the fascinating early Fort Ancient culture of the Middle Ohio River Valley. Spanning the modern-day states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, the Fort Ancient cultural complex flourished from 1000-1600C.E. On this episode we discuss the connections the early Fort Ancient have to the Mississippians of Cahokia and the mysterious Hopewell culture and much more! Send questions or pictures of artifacts to midwesternarchaeologypodcast@gmail.com, I want to hear from you all! Interested in learning more about local Midwestern Archaeology? Check out the Archaeological Research Institute here [https://exploreari.org/].

Episode 15: Feasts of the Pacific - Exploring Polynesian Foodways with Dr. Sharyn Jones

In this episode of the Midwestern Archaeology Podcast, we discuss the food cultures of the far-flung Polynesian communities of the vast Pacific Ocean. We cover Captain Cook, gendered food labor, and much more in this episode of MAP! Interested in learning more about Midwestern history and archaeology? Check out the Archaeology Research Institute here [https://exploreari.org/].

Episode 14: Cultural Evolution and Experimental Archaeology with Dr. Metin Eren Part 2

In this episode of the Midwestern Archaeology Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Metin Eren of the Kent State University Experimental Archaeology Lab to discuss the various avenues of research he has been pursuing. This episode is the second part of the interview we recorded back in November. We discuss atlatl use by men and women, the problem of equifinality, cultural evolution, knives made out of feces, and much more in this episode! Interested in learning more about Ohio River Valley Archaeology? Check out the Archaeological Research Institute here [https://exploreari.org/]!

Episode 13: The Wari State: Noble Houses, Psychedelic Feasting, and Staff Deities with Dr. Justin Jennings

Welcome to the first episode of 2026! In this episode we are going to South America to look at the Wari culture of Southern Peru with the senior curator of the Archaeology of the Americas at the Royal Ontario Museum, Dr. Justin Jennings. We discuss the coalescence and beginnings of the Wari state, politics, noble houses, and psychedelic feasting in this episode. After this episode we will return to the interview I did with Dr. Metin Erin. Stay tuned for how you can listen to MAP episodes early! Check out the Royal Ontario Museum's upcoming exhibit on the History of Psychedelics this summer in June, 2026. Find more details here [https://www.rom.on.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/psychedelics]. Check out more of Dr. Jenning's work here [https://www.rom.on.ca/people/justin-jennings]! Interested in learning more about Midwestern Archaeology? Check out the Archaeological Research Institute and how you can get involved here [https://exploreari.org/].

Episode 12: Clovis Points, Darwinian Tool Making, and Experimental Archaeology with Dr. Metin Eren Part 1

This is the first episode in a series of three I recorded with Dr. Metin Eren of Kent State University! In this episode we discussed his beginnings in the field of archaeology, Darwinian understandings of culture, and much more! This is the last episode of 2025, thank you everyone for listening and sharing!!! Interested in learning more about Midwestern Archaeology? Check the Archaeological Research Institute's website here [https://exploreari.org/]! Check out the Kent State Experimental Archaeology Laboratory website here [https://sites.google.com/view/ksuexarchlab/home?authuser=0].