Before Us
Erich Fisher and Helen Farr
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About This Podcast
Every living person can trace their ancestry back to Africa, where modern humans evolved some 300,000 years ago before expanding out of Africa and around the world. Those early humans lived lives filled with emotions and challenges much like people today and their journeys stand as a testament to human intelligence, ingenuity, creativity, and resilience. But, what does the archaeological record tell us about their lives, their successes, their failures, and who we are today? In this podcast, world-recognized experts in maritime and prehistoric archaeology, Dr. Helen Farr and Dr. Erich Fisher, reveal the people and the world that existed “Before Us.” This season, we take a deep dive into the origins and development of Maritime Adaptations, tracing humanity's journey from the earliest interests in aquatic resources to the global expansion of modern humans via oceans, coastlines, and waterways. As the old saying goes, “smooth seas make boring stories” and this season promises to be an auditory adventure around the world and across millennia as told through captivating interviews with leading scholars in fun and down-to-earth discussions. Tune in weekly for new episodes on your favorite podcast app.
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Recent Episodes
S1E15 Special Preview of Before Us Kids! Out for a stroll at White Sands
Send us Fan MailImagine taking a walk with Columbian mammoths, giant sloths, lions, sabre-tooth tigers, camels and loads of other animals? Sounds crazy, right! Yet it actually happened 20,000 years…
S1E14 Special Preview of Before Us Kids! Red-headed Neanderthals?
Send us Fan MailIn this hair-larious episode, Dr. Erich chats with Jake and Colton all about red hair, genetics, and some super cool things we might’ve gotten from our ancient cousins—the…
S1E13 Special Preview of Before Us Kids! Woolly Mice?
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Dr. Erich and Colton dive into a wild idea—bringing back the woolly mammoth! How are scientists doing it? Believe it or not…some scientists think it starts with…
S1E12 Going with the Flow
Send us Fan MailThere is unambiguous agreement that early humans had to cross open water when they traveled from Sundaland to Sahul before 40,000 years ago. How were they able to do this and would…
S1E11 Water you waiting for?
Send us Fan MailSea levels rise and fall in response to complex planetary drivers, including shifts in polar ice caps, land masses, and other factors. Understanding these processes is crucial for…
S1E10 Helen talks the ACROSS Project
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we speak with Before Us co-host Helen Farr about her European Research Council project, Australasian Colonisation Research: Origins of Seafaring to Sahul—or simply,…
S1E9 Hooked from the start
Send us Fan MailThe rapid dispersal of modern humans across Wallacea to modern day Australia not only required boat technology for long-distance sea travel, but also knowledge about deep-sea fishing.…
S1E8 Before Us+ Erich answers some of our fan mail
Send us Fan MailIn this special bonus episode, Erich answers some of the fantastic questions that we've received from listeners around the world. If you want to send us your own questions about…
S1E7 Living large yet so small
Send us Fan MailThe discovery of Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis in SE Asia raises big questions about what happened to some early populations of migrants. Here, John McNabb, explains how these…
S1E6 Not just wanderers, also wonderers
Send us Fan MailWhy did humans migrate out of Africa? This question has long puzzled archaeologists. Were they driven by unknown pressures, drawn by opportunities, or was it something else entirely?…
S1E5 In deep time, in deeper waters
Send us Fan MailSea levels have risen and fallen repeatedly over the last 2 million years. During low sea levels, large tracts of land were exposed along coastlines around the world, creating new…
S1E4 Waves of Change
Send us Fan MailAround 170,000 years ago people living in sea caves on South Africa’s south coast were repeatedly collecting and eating shellfish from the nearby coastline. It marked an important…
S1E3 The Omega-th wonder of the world
Send us Fan MailHave you ever wondered how aquatic foods shaped human evolution? In this episode, we dive into the fascinating role of seafood in our development with world-renowned experts Michael…
S1E2 Flame-kissed fins
Send us Fan MailHomo erectus is widely believed to be the first human species to leave Africa, expanding into parts of Europe and Asia. They were also the first to control and use fire. In this…
S1E1 Head over heels for aquatic environments
Send us Fan MailArchaeology tells the story of people, yet identifying individuals in the archaeological record remains notoriously challenging. In this episode, we speak with Rachel Bynoe, Charles…
S1 Before Us Season 1 Trailer
Send us Fan MailGet read for a new podcast that digs deep into big issues in archaeology and human evolution. In this season, archaeologists Helen Farr and Erich Fisher take a deep dive into the…
Frequently Asked Questions
Before Us has published 16 episodes since December 2024, covering topics in Science, Social Sciences.
Before Us is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 25m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Before Us, including email and social media links.
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