Archaeology: when data challenges our stories about the past

Horse sacrifice was common amongst pagan groups across northern Europe in late prehistory. Antiquarians and archaeologists have spent hundreds of years excavating, inventorying, and creating narratives based on these horse skeletons. Today, Cardiff archaeologists are using innovations in biomolecular archaeology to turn these long-standing narratives on their heads. Using very small samples of bones and teeth, we can study how, when, and why these horses were chosen for sacrifice. So how much can you learn from a single horse, really? Come grab a pint and find out!

Ancient astronauts and an advanced Atlantis from the Ice Age seem like harmless enough fantasies. A good laugh about your unhinged uncle over a pint. But these stories are pervasive and becoming more prominent in our world. With a few important stats, a dose of archaeological science, and a few fun anecdotes, we will explore the development of these narratives in the modern world and their link to anti-intellectualism, colonialism, and white supremacy.

Dr Julia Best (Lecturer in Bioarchaeology)

Everything you think you know about chickens is wrong! Today chickens are the most numerous birds in the world, but where they came from, when they were domesticated, and how they spread across the world was something of a mystery. Using archaeological science we will explore when we added chickens to our domestic flock and what weird and wonderful things we have done with them in the past! Come and find out how this bird went from being revered as an exotic animal with godly attributes to chicken dinner!