In this episode of EXARC Extracts, Matilda Siebrecht reads through the articles in issue 2025/2 of the EXARC Journal, sharing her insights and reactions to the amazing range of research shared within.

This year's second issue of the EXARC Journal includes ten reviewed articles and three mixed matters articles. As always, the articles cover a very wide range of topics. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.

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Trekking with Stone Age equipment through snow and icy winds in Sweden last February, Markus Klek - a self-proclaimed 'north nerd' - discovered that nature is a factor that can only be ignored at one's own peril. Nevertheless, this challenging experience offered him another opportunity to test his tools and equipment and find out how they can be tweaked to better withstand the elements on future trips. Jess Shaw is your host.

Exciting news! Markus' plans for a new experiential prehistory event this winter are getting concrete and this time a small number of participants can take part. Read more about Markus' Nordic Winter Camp that will take place in February 2026.

-> Also interesting: in 2024 Matilda Siebrecht chatted with Markus about his earlier experiences: Nordic Walkabout: Q&A beforehand and Nordic Walkabout: Follow-up discussion.

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Listen in this month to hear all about archaeology in Brazil, as we get ready for the upcoming EAC14 conference, which will be held later this month at the Federal University of Paraná from the 12th – 16th May.

We are joined by a very special guest, João Carlos Moreno de Sousa. João, also known as JuCa, is an Associate Professor of Archaeology at the Federal University of Rio Grande, and at the Federal University of Paraná, both in Brazil. He is also head of the Laboratory for Evolutionary and Experimental Archaeology and Prehistory. JuCa is also one of the primary organisers of the upcoming EAC14 conference. In this episode, we hear more about JuCa’s work, how archaeology and heritage work can be used to bridge the gaps between past and present communities, and about the history of archaeology in Brazil more broadly.

If you’ve found this interesting, we hope to see you at the upcoming hybrid EAC14 conference! We have a fantastic programme planned this year, with experimental archaeology in South America playing a big role in the conference, as well as broader sessions on lithics, rock art, bone, wood, textiles and ceramics. Keynote speakers are Prof. Dr. Hugo Nami from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and Prof. Dr. Alex Martire from the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil.

We hope you enjoy this month’s episode of EXARC Encounters, and join us either online or in person at EAC14!

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In this episode of EXARC Extracts, Matilda Siebrecht reads through the articles in issue 2025/1 of the EXARC Journal, sharing her insights and reactions to the amazing range of research shared within.

This year's first issue of the EXARC Journal includes thirteen reviewed articles and four matters articles. As always, the articles cover a very wide range of topics. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.

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This episode of EXARC Showcase highlights not one but two projects EXARC members are currently involved in. Matilda Siebrecht presents this varied episode.

The first project is NFDI4Objects, a multidisciplinary consortium within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). Its aim is to create an easy template to help experimenters structure their experiments and to ensure consistency and comparability between different experiments. To achieve this a workflow tool is developed that allows experimenters to build a visual representation of their experimental design. Ivan Calandra (DE) is co-chair of NFDI4Objects community cluster Experimental Archaeology. See also the article in the EXARC Journal 2025-1. Roeland Paardekooper, founder of EXARC, explains how NFDI4Objects relates to the RETOLD project.

Ilse Donker (NL), re-enactor, forage guide and educator is a participant in The Wildbiome Project. This project seeks to understand what happens to the gut microbiome when you survive by foraging and eating wild food only. It will assess the impact on microbiome composition and key health parameters of people eating an exclusively wild food diet. Participants will do so for one or three months. Ilse talks about her motivation, preparation and expectations taking part in the project. She also discusses her ideas about foraging, reenactment and how looking closely at the way people lived in the past could improve our health and happiness.

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In this episode of EXARC Showcase John Kiernan shares his wide range of experience, knowledge and interests, hopscotching across various engaging topics. He shares how he became an experimental archaeologist, explores the differences between experimental and experiential archaeology, his reason for starting The EXARC Experimental Archaeology Award, the pros and cons of re-enactment and how failure is a good thing.

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In this #FinallyFriday episode, host Matilda Siebrecht dives into the world of folklore with guests Colleen Deatherage and Ieva Pīgozne. Colleen, from the University of Alberta, combines her background in healthcare and social work with her expertise as a folklorist to explore how folklore aids in meaning-making, especially through material culture like textiles. Ieva, based at the Institute of Latvian History, is a dress historian whose work bridges archaeology and cultural anthropology to uncover the social and symbolic meanings of traditional dress and folklore.

The guests explore the complexities of interpreting folklore, noting how historical biases and modern politics shape its study. Ieva warns of folklore’s misuse in nationalist agendas, while Colleen highlights the need for caution in collecting and analyzing folklore to ensure respectful and accurate representation. They discuss overlaps with disciplines like archaeology and anthropology, underscoring folklore’s role in giving voice to marginalized histories.

Both share compelling examples: Ieva recounts insights gained from reenactment projects and folklore texts explaining archaeological anomalies, while Colleen describes using historical textiles to support patients’ legacy-making in modern healthcare. Their projects reflect the versatility of folklore in understanding human experiences across time.

This episode concludes the #FinallyFriday podcast series. The podcast’s format will evolve, but it remains a vital platform for exploring cultural heritage.

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This year's final issue of the EXARC Journal includes eight reviewed articles and six unreviewed mixed matters articles. The research topics range from ethnographic approaches to studying Iron Age bread ovens, reconstructions of Victorian clothing, and Neanderthal fire technology.

In this special extended episode of EXARC Extracts, Matilda Siebrecht reads through the articles in issue 2024/4 of the journal, sharing her insights and reactions to the incredible range of research shared within.

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