This month we're shaking it up a little bit with not one, but TWO stories for you, our beloved listeners. First we get down and dirty and DNA-y with a follow up on our human evolution update, and then we add another volume to our library episode. Let us know what you think of the format!

Quick content note, we make reference to sexual harassment and assault in this episode. No details, but if this is a difficult subject for you, please tread lightly through the first couple minutes of Amber's story. Solidarity with survivors and those working to make the field safer <3

Pleistocene sediment DNA from Denisova Cave (Science Daily)

Dirty secrets: sediment DNA reveals a 300,000-year timeline of ancient and modern humans living in Siberia (The Conversation)

Dead or alive: sediment DNA archives as tools for tracking aquatic evolution and adaptation (Nature)

Anthropology Prof. Urton Stripped of Emeritus Status, Barred From Campus Following Sexual Misconduct Investigation (The Harvard Crimson)

What Do We Know About Khipus? (Google Arts and Culture)

The Role of Color (Dumbarton Oaks)

Wari Civilization (World History Encyclopedia)

Wari Khipus (600–1000 CE) (Dumbarton Oaks)

Inka Khipus (1450–1534 CE) (Dumbarton Oaks)

Post-Inka Khipus (1534 CE–Present) (Dumbarton Oaks)

The College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots (Atlas Obscura)

The khipu code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records (Aeon)

We thought the Incas couldn't write. These knots change everything (New Scientist)

Writing with Twisted Cords: The Inscriptive Capacity of Andean Khipus (Current Anthropology)

Stringing Together an Ancient Empire’s Stories (Sapiens)