In today's episode we chart the debate surrounding Gunung Padang, an enigmatic site in Indonesia, and its implications for the possibility of ice age civilization. Our guide, Dr. Danny Hillman Natawidjaja, an Indonesian geologist specializing in earthquake geology and geotectonics at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Research Center for Geotechnology, walks us through the difficulties of dating archaeological structures with tools like seismic imaging and LiDAR, particularly in a region shaped by natural upheavals. We unpack how environmental changes have influenced historical narratives and the survival of early sites. We also critique the institutional barriers and interpretative conflicts that shape modern archaeology, including the suspect retraction of Danny's seminal work on Gunung Padang - an interdiction not based on allegations of data manipulation, but rather on account of the conclusions drawn by its authors.

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(00:00 ) Go! Gunung Padang's Archaeological Controversy
(00:06:28 ) Indonesian Archaeology and Geology
(00:13:16 ) Natural Disasters & Social Transformations
(00:19:30 ) Geoscience Meets Archaeological Research
(00:24:34 ) Identifying Potential Archaeological Sites
(00:27:36 ) Megalithic Sites in Indonesia
(00:32:07 ) Problems Dating Megalithic Sites
(00:37:47 ) Interpreting Archaeological Data
(00:44:46 ) Archaeology as Archtypical Conservative Science
(00:49:55 ) Retraction of paper over conclusions?
(00:58:11 ) Study Details and Initial Findings
(01:02:48 ) Archaeological Evidence
(01:11:28 ) Site Controversy and Future Research
(01:16:40 ) Ancient Civilizations and Structures
(01:24:11 ) Debates on Archaeological Interpretations
(01:29:04 ) Cyclical Views of Civilization
(01:35:11 ) Impact of Changing Sea Levels on Civilizations
(01:39:16 ) Ancient Indonesian Civilization and Geography
(01:43:07 ) Underwater Archeological Evidence
(01:46:11 ) Ancient Artifacts and Challenges
(01:50:09 ) Earthquake Research and Hazard Mapping
(01:58:30 ) Prehistoric Cave Paintings
(02:03:19 ) Neanderthals & Speciation

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PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities.

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