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Pride and Prejudice and Radiocarbon dating - Ep 26
200 Plays3 months ago
Our hosts Ash and Tilly face a tough quest this episode, because they’ve been tasking with dating zombies. Discovering how long they’ve been dead, that is! To do this, they discuss the different methods of dating bodies in the archaeological record, and answer all those burning questions like “what is an isotope?” “What is voodoo?” And “what would happen if you took a zombie shopping?”
Links
- A Zombie is a Slave Forever (article by Dr Amy Wilentz)
- History of Zombies article
- Nobel prize lecture from William Libby
- Detailed paper on the marine reservoir effect
- Case study demonstrating marine reservoir effect
- Detailed article on the history of radiocarbon dating
- Paper on radiocarbon dating
Contact
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @and.my.trowel
Transcripts
- For rough transcripts of this episode, go to: https://www.archpodnet.com/trowel/26
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Transcript
Introduction to 'And My Trowel'
00:00:01
Speaker
You're listening to the Archaeology Podcast Network. You have my sword. And you have my boat. And my trowel. Hi, you're listening to episode 26 of And My Trowel, where we look at the fantastic side of archaeology and the archaeological side of fantasy. I'm Tilly. And I'm Ash. And today
Zombie Colony near Fangorn Forest
00:00:22
Speaker
we're going to be talking all about zombies. Ooh, that was a bit of prop Tilly. Well, that's how they get you, isn't it? One second you're alive and kicking, and then the next you're dead and kicking. All right. Fair enough. So why are we talking about zombies?
00:00:36
Speaker
Well, you know that huge zombie colony over on the other side of Fangorn Forest? Oh, you mean Vitaly Challenge Corp, right? Yes, indeed, indeed, yeah. Well, it's time for another census so the local council can, you know, keep an eye on the rate of zombie creation and ensure the population doesn't get out of hand. Wait, you say another census? Like, when was the last one? Because I don't remember that. Well, yeah, you wouldn't because it was 7,000 years ago.
00:01:06
Speaker
Ah, yes. That's council action for you. So because it's been such a long time since the last census, they want us to go in because, you know, obviously, if it's been a long time, call in the archaeologists. So they want us to go in and determine the approximate ages of the zombie population.
Fears and Types of Zombies
00:01:25
Speaker
But do you mean their age at death or how long they've been dead? Yeah, how long they've been dead. I got it. Yeah. So, first of all, what do you know about zombies? I don't really know much about zombies at all. I was thinking about this and I don't think I've actually read that much that features zombies. It's actually they the one kind of creature that really freaks me out. Oh, really? Yeah. I know. I'm very good with dead dead. I'm not good with newly dead.
00:01:56
Speaker
Like dead bones, fine, absolutely great, perfect. Gooey, nope. Oh, no. Although, well, that's the thing though, right? Because there's there's the dead that are then just like they're dead and they just smell a bit. And then there's it. So, you know, you know who else features zombies? I wonder who. I wonder who it could be. So the zombies in this world. are basically just normal people like and they stuff themselves with like straw and stuff to make sure that they don't smell and they use all sorts of things and everything. because ah thepis so There's many amusing circumstances that occur because you know some one of them's arm falls off and then causes a lady to faint and all of this kind of stuff. likegra or do in way
00:02:44
Speaker
Well, you wouldn't, they're the sort that you wouldn't actually know that they're a zombie until something like that happened. Like, you sort of, you can kind of tell, but like, not really. So I guess those zombies are okay. But I, yeah, I know what you mean though. It's that kind of, and it's always, I'm just thinking of films, like The Witcher, there was the, that scene where all of the dead creatures come out and are like attacking him and everything. And yes it's it's the sound that they make, like the, and oh yeah
00:03:18
Speaker
the I just don't like the idea of being eaten alive I think. like anyone does, but it sounds awful. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's like, it's a kind of classic steampunk kind of trope, but also more of a dystopian trope as well, because I think of like World War Z and, or Zed, it depends on how you say it, I don't know. Like the book, have you read that where there's actually a film about it as well, where it's like a zombie apocalypse, but it's about like people who are in the colony that are like away from the zombies and stuff.
00:03:53
Speaker
So there's
Zombies and Necromancy in Folklore
00:03:54
Speaker
like, they're just a kind of classic brain eaters, not alive, not really thinking, but then there's been new kind of zombies, hasn't there? I mean, the last of us and stuff like that, the game is based on plants. Yes, I've heard of that. I don't know it, but yes. That's horribly terrifying because it's actually a real plant. I can do that. And it's terrifying.
00:04:23
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know if I have a favourite book with zombies in them actually. I think, well, I do like the one, the term magic ones with zombies, but yeah, I have to admit that Sony really, but I was, it was interesting. So when I was looking up, I was looking up like popular books with zombies in them, because I was like, I honestly can't really think of any. And I mean, you've got the classic like Game of Thrones, right? You've got the, the White Walkers, I think they're called. Oh yeah, I forgot about the White Walkers. Technically zombies, right? Because they're undead.
00:04:49
Speaker
So I mean, you have that kind of stuff in fantasy, but there were so many discussions that I came across, which were like, well, actually, zombies aren't fantasy, they're more like science fiction, because it's about like disease and radiation and like all of these kinds of stuff, which you know, I guess is right, but you also have a lot in fantasy. I think in fantasy, it's usually like the army of the undead, like the sort of evil Dark Lord, which, you know, go back a few episodes and you'll find out about them, um who would have like an army of basically zombies.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, but they were also creating, like the Dark Lord often creates an army, so it's like creation rather than death, if that makes sense. Right, building up. They were a kite. Yeah, they were a kite and stuff. They're kind of birthing these strange creatures. Well, zombies is like the opposite, that you're taking control of already living things.
00:05:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Well, or you're sort of bringing them back. I'm also thinking of, have you read bookshops and bone dust? have not. No, not yet. Well, I don't want to spoil things for people listening as well. But that also features the sort of idea that, yeah, basically, you can have control of the dead, like you can make them stand up and walk around and things like that. That's necromancy.
Voodoo, Racial Bias, and Fantasy
00:06:12
Speaker
Well, this is the thing though, right? It's like, when is it? When is it a zombie? What is actually the definition of a zombie? Have you got the definition of a zombie? I'm going to look up the definition of a zombie.
00:06:22
Speaker
definition ah wow oxford english A corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, especially in certain African and Caribbean religions. Or do you want to know the second definition? A cocktail consisting of several kinds of rum, liquor and fruit juice. I have had a zombie cocktail before.
00:06:45
Speaker
Let's have a look. Okay, Merriam-Webster dictionary is zombie. A willless and speechless human held to have died and be supernaturally reanimated. So this comes from the sort of voodoo religions, which is where the zombie kind of first originated, that sort of kind of folklore in that respect. So it's a kind of supernatural power, which then enters into and reanimates a dead body.
00:07:12
Speaker
that respect. So it's sort of a lot of overlap, I would say, with necromancy. Yeah, what purpose do they use the zombie for? Mainly for like servants, basically, to have sort of, yeah, people to people to do their will, a way to make them labor, basically. So it wasn't like,
00:07:35
Speaker
how we picture zombies where they're they're like monsters and they go and they terrorize everyone and everything. It's just that they were like lacking free will, so they were used as free labour, which you know you may as well use a dead person as free labour compared to that kind of thing. but it's very So I had a quick look to see whether I could find a quick history of sort of zombies and voodoo and things. It is so complicated. like There is so much history to this. And I think we're going to have to do a whole episode on on voodoo at some point, because yeah, this is just
00:08:09
Speaker
to Yeah, it's also good to point out that voodoo is not a negative thing. In fact, it's not all it's not at all. It's been kind of misunderstood. And there's also a heavy racial bias when it comes to looking at things like this, because they, you know, voodoo and zombies, and it's always been falsely accused of, you know,
00:08:30
Speaker
cannibalism and murder and things like that, which is not true. It's simply old racist ideas yeah and about what a different type of religion is. yeah so that's Because indeed it seems that voodoo was quite a bit different depending on where it was practiced. The most kind of popular one is the Haiti voodooism. and like voodooism I don't know if that's what it's called. Voodoo practices.
00:08:51
Speaker
But yeah, it was mainly about like predicting the future, herbal medicine and magic seems to be kind of the main things. And then it's more, yeah, the the zombies are kind of an extra part of that, but they weren't necessarily considered the main thing. But there was like a massive panic where everyone was like, oh my gosh, they're gonna be killing us and and doing all these things and making us onto zombies. And then that's sort of how that all came about.
00:09:18
Speaker
Interestingly enough, I found a really interesting article by Professor Amy Villance, who talked about how zombies and that kind of fear was actually quite often used by slave plantation owners to kind of make sure that their slaves wouldn't deliberately end their lives to get out of their horrendous conditions that they were living in, because they would say that they would be made into zombies and so they'd never be free.
00:09:40
Speaker
So it was kind of... That's just absolutely awful, isn't it? Using their own beliefs and like religion against, oh, I hate that, that makes me uncomfortable. Yeah. So, so yes, it basically has a lot of what it was originally in kind of folklore is extremely different from what you would see in kind of our modern fantasy depictions of zombies. And it's been completely twisted and warped, much like the zombies themselves, one might say. So yeah.
00:10:10
Speaker
we'll We'll definitely have to do, I think, another episode on this and try and go into more detail about like folklore and religion in relation to fantasy. That would be a really interesting topic to do. Yeah, it's so in-depth, that as well. yeah There's so much stuff in there. i mean Think about how how different it is now or concepts and like even um as an archaeologist, you know, you're you're trained to to, to kind of set aside your own modern prejudices and beliefs in order to look and into the past and and interpret in a completely different way because it was probably completely different. Yeah. And so, yeah, it I can imagine the whole genre of fantasy has been changed several millions of times, you know? I mean, can you imagine what it would be like? Because now zombies are, yeah, it's it's all like horror and, you know, that sort of really tense thriller, that's the sort of association with zombies, unless you're looking at like Terry Pratchett. But ah imagine how different it would have been if we hadn't had that racist interaction in terms of
00:11:10
Speaker
you know, making voodoo seem like a horrendous religion by sort of playing up that part compared to the majority of it, which was like completely normal and a religion. Like, imagine if that had been different. And if that hadn't happened, what zombies would be like in in fantasy fiction today as well, like it would be completely different, probably.
00:11:28
Speaker
Yeah, imagine what, I think there's a lot of things if things weren't racist that would be completely different and better. If we hadn't been racist dicks at the box. If anyone's listening in and thinking, oh, this is my area of special speciality and interest. please do get in touch. We're always looking for guest speakers who actually know what they're talking about. So come on and talk about things. So if you happen to be someone who either yeah practices voodoo religion or understands it a lot more than we do, then please do get in contact. We'd love to have you on to chat about it at some
Radiocarbon Dating Methods
00:12:03
Speaker
point. But so it's sort of yeah developed a lot from its origins, the kind of idea of zombies. And now you even have things like yeah Pride and Prejudices zombies, which is technically a fantasy.
00:12:15
Speaker
yeah Have you read it? Yes, I've got i've also got the sense of sensibility and sea monsters. I haven't read that one, I must admit. It's not my favourite. I'm not going to I prefer the actual Jane Austen. But then the parent purchase and zombies is quite good and it's a lot of fun and like martial arts and stuff is in it. yeah yeah Can you imagine, I can't remember what the author's name is now actually, I'm very sorry, the author of pride prejudice and zobbies i' pretty quick i like ah of Pride and Prejudice I Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
00:12:50
Speaker
Because can you imagine the the kind of, oh, Seth Graham-Spith. is Yeah, it's like, well, it's kind of parody, but yeah, it's also like a graphic novel because there there's pictures in it as well. um Yeah. So there's bits where like and spoilers, Elizabeth and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, like fight and and stuff.
00:13:11
Speaker
And there's a, yeah, there's like a pat, like, and they're done in the Regency style as well. So that's like almost like a news kind of, you know, one what they call that the printing work. Yeah. Yeah. And a note, not an announcement, but yeah, the papers. Yeah. Yeah. It's like done as it would have been a Regency book. ah Okay. Yeah. ah I mean, I must say I do really love fantasy books that do that, like sort of take a bit of a parody of something else and make it fantasy, you know, like it's, uh, I mean, it's like fan fiction really, isn't it? Okay. Well, so we've worked out that we don't really know anything about zombies, um, which, you know, or the history of zombies and voodoo religion and where it originated, but we do know about archaeology. So we can have a little think about how are we're going to do this, this census. Before we go into more detail on that, let me just consult my scrolls here to see if I can find the results of the last census and we'll be back with you very soon.
00:14:09
Speaker
Welcome back everyone. So yeah, I looked through the scrolls and it's a bit all over the place. I don't know what they were doing 7,000 years ago, but it wasn't particularly organized. So I think it's best to just almost pretend it doesn't exist and just start from scratch. Oh, okay. ah So we need to do a bit of survey it and work out when the zombies became zombies. So where do we begin? Well, first we probably need to decide on a methodology. So I mean, what would you think would be the best way to date a zombie?
00:14:37
Speaker
Invite it to dinner and order the liver! Oh god, how did I know that was going to happen? so No, I wonder what they eat. No, I know what they eat. Brains! Brains! Brains! Brains!
00:14:55
Speaker
OK, but seriously, maybe something like radiocarbon dating, or do we know how that actually works, Tilly? Well, luckily for you, I happen to have read several scrolls on the subject.
00:15:09
Speaker
just this morning, so I can give a little bit of an introduction. So, radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dating is also one of those things that I think every archaeologist is just like, yeah, radiocarbon dating. And then if you ask, how does it actually work? It's like, oh, well, it's there's this carbon. There's a half-life. Yeah, there's a half-life. Well done. Yes, that's good. themselves, but to go back to the beginning. so Actually, it was first developed as a method for archaeology in the 1940s, so actually pretty recent, really. and It was done at the University of Chicago by Professor Willard Libby, who actually received a Nobel Prize for the work. There you go. That's how important it was. Do you know the other word for radiocarbon dating?
00:15:53
Speaker
carbon fourteen um what he did it well hey looks like This going to be a new archaeology question that I'll never get right.
00:16:04
Speaker
Well, and half of 14 is an isotope. Did you do like chemistry and things at high school? Like, did you ever learn about? Did I did i have an education? Yeah, I did i actually. say yeah yeah no Yeah, we did. we did Actually it was the only bit of like physics that I enjoyed was talking about half-lives. We did it. Oh, there you go. We didn't talk about it in chemistry, I don't think. Oh, really? I had a really terrible teacher, so yeah, I was shouted at him because he was so terrible. Oh gosh, wow.
00:16:42
Speaker
but We did learn about isotopes and stuff like that, but I mostly learned about radiocarbon dating at university. In first year, that was when it, like, I really got to understand it. I wasn't very good at sciences.
00:16:55
Speaker
its Well, I really liked science at school, and I was going to become more full on science. But then I wasn't... it It's annoying, chemistry was one of those ones. that In the class, I was really good. Like, I was always the first done, and I was, you know, on top of everything. I understood everything. And then at the exam, I'd just flunk. Like, I'd always misunderstand the question. I know why. I know why. Because in science papers at school, you had to be extremely specific. You, Tilly, loved to waddle.
00:17:24
Speaker
about ah like to be like you could be face with which is fine that's what i did and that's why i was because didn't write it very specific I couldn't be succinct. I had to keep going on.
00:17:40
Speaker
Well, luckily I would get my marks for like working through, you know? So even if like the first one was wrong, you just get the marks for working through. Like it would, so it sort of worked out. It wasn't terrible, but it was just annoying because I was so good at it in class and then I'd, you know, the exams were the only things that counted and you're like, you had to do it word for word. Like if that sentence wasn't exactly that sentence, you weren't going to get the mark. Which is so good. Anyway. And then I went on and did archaeological science. So, you know, I did apparently did a lot of it.
Science and Personal Experiences
00:18:09
Speaker
We asked me as we women in STEM. Yeah, there you go. There you go. Which is also why I thought it would be interesting to talk about radiocarbon dating this episode, because a lot of people I think do assume that archaeology is just blabbering away and doing humanity stuff. But actually, there's a lot of science in it. And to be fair, most of archaeologists probably don't understand it. But
00:18:28
Speaker
a lot of them do, so that's why we're teaching it. I have a good friend that did her PhD, well, most of it, on radiocarbon dating. There you go, there you go. Anyway, we actually did, we had one of the best people in radiocarbon dating, which typically I've forgotten his name, as one of our professors for our course on dating methods. Ho, ho, ho, so many jokes made.
00:18:50
Speaker
in my Masters of Archaeological Science, and we had to do a paper on our dating method, and I think everyone but me and Jess, actually, who was on a previous episode about vampires, we decided to pick different dating methods. So she did endocrinology, and I did thermoluminescence dating, and everyone else in the class picked radiocarbon dating, and I was like,
00:19:10
Speaker
Why would you do that? He is like one of the leading experts on radiocarbon dating. Why would you write a paper on his expert subject? And yeah, we got much better marks, the two of us, because it was something that he was slightly more or less familiar with. Anyway, we've we've done a typical example of me rambling on while I'm supposed to be being succinct about the science. so how i see It's been five minutes. All I've said is carbon-14 is an isotope. Do you know what an isotope is, Ash? And now we've chatted for five minutes. Anyway. It's the next protons and eight neutrons. And we still don't know what an isotope is. Well, yeah, exactly. yeah So indeed, it's basically the same number of protons, different number of neutrons. Those of you who can vaguely remember your chemistry or physics or whatever class you learned it in should hopefully remember those things. So those are called isotopes. So
00:19:56
Speaker
atoms of elements with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons. So, carbon-14, carbon-12, and carbon-13 are all isotopes of the element carbon. However, carbon-12 and 13 are stable, which means that they do not emit radiation. They just chill and they just stay where they are. But carbon-14 is unstable, which means it emits radiation, and therefore, it decays over time. And this is important because this is where that half-life that Ash is so obsessed with comes in. I love half-life. I love it. Can you remember the half-life of carbon-14, approximately? Oh my god, tell me, why did you do this to me? No. Approximately, approximately, very roughly. I cannot. I also didn't remember, I had to look it up. It's a bad note. It's 5,600, yes. It is 5,600. I read that in the screen. Well done. You might have read that in the notes.
00:20:53
Speaker
Don't say that. I actually just looked through and been like, oh yeah, I think it's been like 5,600 years. Approximately, I don't know. So this basically means that, indeed, 5,600 years, which, what does that mean? That means that after 5,600 years, the amount of carbon in a creature that's died will be half as much as when it was alive.
00:21:15
Speaker
Because when it's when an night when an organism or a creature is alive, it's constantly kind of replenishing. It's carbon-14 and it's you know taking in stuff from the from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and other things. But once it dies, of course, it's not replenishing. its in a carbon-14 kind of ah sources anymore. So because it's decaying over time, that means that the carbon-14 levels will decrease and this is the rate of decay. The rate of decrease is this half-life of 5,600 years.
Dating Challenges and Alternatives
00:21:46
Speaker
what you need to do is find a dead thing, look at how much carbon-14 is in it, and then calculate, best based on your known, okay, half-life equation, how long it's then been dead, because based on how much carbon-14 is left in it, you know how long it's been there decaying. So yeah, that's a very, very, very simplified um description.
00:22:09
Speaker
of radiocarbon dating or carbon-14 dating. How do you think I did, Ash? Do you think I've missed anything, Paige? I think you did fantastically. Was it okay? Okay. Yeah, I think it was very, very good. How I remember it is we had one lecture, I think I've talked about this before, about the dead cow. Oh, no.
00:22:25
Speaker
So there was a site, I can't remember where, Roundhouse was burning, fell on a cow, killed the cow. And the roundhouse had completely disappeared, but the cow's body was still in its place. So they could radio carbonate the cow and they basically could get a very accurate reading of when that fire happened because the cow died at the moment of the fire. That's like the ultimate, you know, smashed watch at a murder scene. Yes.
00:22:57
Speaker
I think we should write a murder mystery about that. that's good Honestly, I remember it stuck with me all these years. Yeah. But then there's also the problem with and the industrial age. So we can't radio carbon date anything after 1940, I believe. all ninety one them yeah I think it's 1950 officially, but it's like all around. Whenever we dropped beauty ball We can red do carbon date. So basically anyone about a thousand years wants to redo carbon, we'll have very strange. Which I think it is, it is going down again. So they yeah think while it's going to get back to normal, but indeed, yeah, there was suddenly a lot more carbon 14 in the atmosphere that there should have been. And that's kind of Which, interestingly enough, is why 1950 is present. And I watched a QI episode the other day and they were asking, when is present? And everyone was like, oh ha and it was lots of joking. And then she said 1950. And I was like, oh, yeah, of course, because it's before present means before 1950, because it's up to that point that you can date things with radiocarbon dating.
00:24:04
Speaker
There you go. Fun fact of the day everyone. Yeah, there you go. For people listening in. So indeed, 1950 is kind of the most recent you can date. And do you know how old you can date something with radiocarbon dating? About, was it like 60,000 years or something? Exactly. 60,000 is like the limit. And I think they say like 40,000 is sort of the last bit accurately. And then between 40 and 60. And it's basically because by that point, there's probably little to no carbon left in the sample. So it just won't be very, very accurate in that respect. So you can use that as an issue. Yeah, exactly. And that's an issue. And then there's also the marine reservoir effect, which is basically a sea absorbs different levels of carbon than the atmosphere does. So any sea living animal will have a different level to the one that's like assumed based on the atmosphere. So they said it was like 400 years older or younger. I can't remember now exactly which one it was. I think it was older, 400 years older than what they actually were. because they lifted the sea. We also can have an issue with anything that eats. Yes, purely. Because we have that problem in our diabetes with sheep and sheep poo because they will eat the seaweed and then it will screw up your radiocarbonate. Yes, exactly. If you need to take something for radiocarbon dating, it has to be clean. You have to know what kind of animal or what kind of creature or whatever it's come from and make sure that you know that that is definitely that kind of animal, that that is definitely that layer in the stratigraphy and that's what you're dating. So yes, that's important. But that will be fine for our zombies. Because they're 7,000. They're 7,000 years old, so that's a good time. And they're just wandering around so we can just try to take samples from them somehow. We need to work out. You can do that. I'll do that. I'll take the sample.
00:26:03
Speaker
So yeah, so we could do radiocarbon dating. I don't know. Do you know if it like, can you think of any other sort of potential ways of of sort of dating zombies? I mean, maybe I guess similar to how you might date, I don't know, a burial that you don't have any context for. That's what I was just thinking. It's like they're walking burials. Yeah.
00:26:20
Speaker
Would their clothing could still be round? Because a lot of times when you see zombies that are often in like rags of what they were buried in. I actually quite like that when you see them like pop up in like period clothing. Yeah, exactly. And you can see like the... Yeah. Yeah. So it could be that you can do that.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, even if they're not like wearing the clothes that they were buried in, they still might prefer that fashion. ah So they sort of go for old fashioned clothing and things and like hairstyles and like all that kind of thing. So yeah, could do more of like a sociological study of survey of them in that respect. Take them shopping and see what to go for.
00:27:00
Speaker
I wonder if they have a shopping centre or a vitally challenged corp. They probably do. I think they do. I think they do. I was just thinking, have you ever seen that TV programme about zombies that have been trying to rehabilitate back into society after a zombie apocalypse? No, I have not. Well, it's called In the Flesh and it was basically about zombies that could take a drug and they would no longer be rabid, essentially, and then they could and be integrated back into society and they did they had to do that they had to like take them to like get clothing and like because it was like your great granny and stuff like that who had been dead for several years you know and things like that so they did bits of that but it was also quite interesting because it was talking about like segregation and stuff and it was like had a lot of deep
00:27:52
Speaker
things in relationships between people who were zombies and who weren't, and human who weren't, people who had killed them or started, you know, and stuff like that. It was quite interesting. And they sort of had to do the same sort of thing. They had to kind of be like, well, how old are you? like yeah yeah Where are you from? And where have you been? like And they had to do all these kind of tests to find where they'd lived and and things like isotope analysis. and yeah you got see to Okay, we need to watch this show, apparently.
00:28:21
Speaker
Which is basically what we need to do. Because yeah, that would make sense. And I mean, also like associated artifacts and stuff is something similar as well. Like they probably have some stuff left from when they died, like almost burial goods.
00:28:33
Speaker
Yeah, or like say if they were attacked and then turned into a zombie, they could have a wallet. They could, any of those kinds of things. Yeah, it is. The axe that's embedded in their head is like from a particular time period. yeah Yeah, that would be interesting fighting with zombies running around the place. Okay, well, so yeah, so I think we have a plan then. Yeah, I think there's a lot of different ways you could do it, but really accommodating would be the fun way. Actually,
Humorous Insights into Zombie History
00:29:01
Speaker
I think taking them to the shop yeah i think but be some way would be a fun way. yeah We could do like multiple samples that like we can do some sampling with radio carbon dating and then we can do some an attempt like these different methods.
00:29:14
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the more evidence we have, the better that we have to understand them and fill out this census, really, right? Yeah, exactly. And can they talk? this is I don't know, actually. This is something we have to work out because in quite a lot of fiction zombies can't talk, but in a lot of them they can talk. So it'll be interesting to see. I've never interacted with the zombie colony at vitally challenged corpse. We should maybe send a forwarding email asking these questions. yeah you know yeah Yes, exactly. I mean, yeah, exactly. It sounds easy, but yeah, I always feel like there's a catch. Yeah. Probably, you know, fighting for your life in this zombie colony, being the only living... True.
00:29:58
Speaker
So, okay. Well, yeah, we need to venture into the middle of a massive zombie colony, take samples from as many individuals as possibly as we can, and then send them off to radiocarbon data lab, probably take them shopping. And then that's it, right? Yeah, sounds very easy.
00:30:17
Speaker
Right? Right, yeah. But they'll, you know, it's council, so it'll always be a bit of a nightmare. There's bound to be some small print that we have missed. Exactly. So I'll go and get our zombie suits ready. Great, thank you. Well, that's about it for this episode of And My Trial. We hope you enjoyed this quest.
00:30:36
Speaker
If there's any suggestions that people have for an episode, maybe you have a concept that you don't understand, like radiocarbon dating, that we might be able to help explain through fantasy, or maybe there's something in a fantasy book you've read that you want to find out more about from an archaeological viewpoint. Do get in contact via email or social media. All of our contact info as well as the references and further reading for all the points we've discussed today can be found in the show notes. So Tilly, we just got this parchment through and it smells a little bit weird.
00:31:07
Speaker
o Smells like brimstone. Oh no, is it the wizards again? Ugh, I wish they'd never chosen us in the first place. Well actually, speaking of chosen ones...
00:31:22
Speaker
This episode was produced by Chris Webster from his ah RV traveling the United States, Tristan Boyle in Scotland, Dig Tech LLC, Cultural Media, and the Archaeology Podcast Network, and was edited by Rachel Rodin. This has been a presentation of the Archaeology Podcast Network. Visit us on the web for show notes and other podcasts at www.archpodnet.com. Contact us at chris at archaeologypodcastnetwork.com.