Amelia's Bones: Contemporary Archaeology and the Search for Amelia Earhart, America's First Aviatrix
January 11, 2012
Hosted by Dr. Joseph Schuldenrein
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Guest Information
Episode Description
What is the connection between archaeology and aviation technologies? How can archaeology be applied to the field of aviation forensics? This week’s episode examines the most recent findings of ongoing and long-standing research to solve the historically captivating mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance over the Pacific in 1937. The quest to reconstruct the final days of Earhart’s life and to establish the chronology of her and her partner’s probable short-term survival and eventual tragic fate is the subject of an enduring, privately funded research campaign. Find out how archaeology contributes to an inter-disciplinary effort in which the possible material evidence of Earhart’s existence on a Pacific Island is linked to possible remains of the airplane’s wreckage as suggested by old photographs and more sophisticated digital and remote sensing imagery. Well-known archaeologist Dr. Thomas King provides updates on the recent work in the vicinity of the crash site.
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.
