The Fascinating Field of Industrial Archaeology
March 15, 2017
Hosted by Dr. Joseph Schuldenrein
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
The prevalence of pipeline projects in CRM is bringing archaeologists into increasing contact with the material remains of industry and technology. However, as a field of inquiry, industrial archaeology is woefully understudied and underappreciated. In this episode, Dr. Timothy J. Scarlett of the Industrial Heritage and Archaeology Program at Michigan Technological University -- one of the only programs of its kind in the US – joins the program to discuss the current state of industrial archaeology. Inherently multi-disciplinary, industrial archaeology is noted for its ability to frame identity in both global and local contexts. The study and preservation of the industrial past links workers and their communities to the capitalist system, while at the same time grappling with individual adaptations largely absent from documentary record. Listen in as Drs. Schuldenrein and Scarlett discuss the necessity of industrial archaeological research to our evolving understanding of the past.
Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality and 21st Century Archaeology
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
This show targets an audience interested in archaeology. It explores myths surrounding this exotic, often misunderstood field and acquaints listeners with the contemporary practice of unearthing the human past. Themes range from Dr. Schuldenrein’s own “Indiana Jones”-like adventures in the land of the Bible to his team’s archaeological forensics effort to unearth Kurdish mass graves in Iraq. That undertaking helped convict Saddam Hussein in 2006. Topical issues contribute to the evolution vs. creationism controversy based on updated fossil records and innovative DNA studies. An episode highlights the main funding source for archaeology in the U.S. (Hint: the oil and gas industry). Experts reveal the latest high-tech approaches to buried archaeological landscapes that provide clues to understanding climate change, past, present and future.
Dr. Joseph Schuldenrein
Joseph Schuldenrein is president and senior scientist of Geoarcheology Research Associates (GRA) in Yonkers, New York. He has been a Visiting Scholar at New York University since 1996. His professional expertise is in geoarchaeology, a sub-discipline that introduces earth science techniques to traditional archaeological excavation. Joe has worked extensively across North America and the Old World. He received his doctorate in 1983 at the University of Chicago. Recent research in North America has concentrated on the urban archaeology of New York City and Native American landscapes of the Atlantic Coast. Joe’s projects in South Asia have ranged from Human Origins investigations to the beginnings of civilization of the Indus Valley. During the Iraq war Dr. Schuldenrein’s team helped direct a forensic archaeological mission in support of the Saddam Hussein prosecution. His newest venture is an assessment of Cultural Heritage Sites in war-torn Afghanistan (2011). Dr. Schuldenrein publishes widely in numerous archaeological and geological journals. He is a reviewer for American Antiquity, Geoarchaeology, and Quaternary Science Reviews. He has acted as Principal Investigator or Consulting Scientist for grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory. Dr. Schuldenrein has been interviewed for PBS, as well as national and regional TV and radio outlets over the past 30 years.
Episode Directory
April 2017
March 2017
- 3/29/2017: Dr. Asma Ibrahim: Pakistan's First Female Archaeologist Listen Now
- 3/15/2017: The Fascinating Field of Industrial Archaeology Listen Now
- 3/8/2017: Evaluating Significance: The NPS and New Philadelphia Listen Now
