Screens of the Stone Age

Stig of the Dump is a 1963 children’s novel by Clive King which spawned at least two TV adaptations; today we’re reviewing the first, from 1981. It’s a very gentle, very British show in which a neglected child befriends a caveman in a garbage dump and everyone else gaslights him for 10 episodes.

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In this episode:

Watch Stig of the Dump (1981) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzpHCBSQN-A&list=PLohd5UVV10lz2NuSBh2YuPyjoxewQNi8p

Listen to the audiobook of Stig of the Dump on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GweIzXKvc3Y

Sherbet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbet_(frozen_dessert)

Conkers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers

Larder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larder

Prize-Giving Day: https://www.gauthmath.com/knowledge/What-is-a-Prize-Giving-Day--7389728173675511819

Star Carr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Carr

The Tucson Garbage Project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Garbage_Project

Wierer et al. (2018) The Iceman’s lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198292

Our episode on Iceman (2017): https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-4-iceman-2017/

Harris. (2018) Roll Me a Great Stone: A Brief Historiography of Megalithic Construction and the Genesis of the Roller Hypothesis: https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12142

Kits Coty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit%27s_Coty_House

Dolmen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmen

Today we’re joined by filmmaker Maarten Peels to talk about his 2024 short film De Poten van de Bizon (The Bison’s Legs), the story of two friends who go on a dream quest to make a cave painting. Maarten did extensive research in order to avoid the clichéd caveman tropes and make something we’ve never seen before: a plausible and scientifically accurate portrayal of Palaeolithic life. We are absolutely in love with this film, and highly recommend that you pause the episode and go watch it right now!

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Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social

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In this episode:

Watch The Bison’s Legs on Maarten’s Website: https://www.potenvandebizon.nl/

Follow Maarten on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/depotenvandebizon/

Hear more from Maarten on the EXARC Podcast: https://www.exarc.org/exarc-podcast/filming-prehistory-getting-it-right

Experimental archaeologist Diederik Pomstra: https://www.puttinglife.com/blog/the-essential-knowledge-of-a-craftsperson/

Marc Azéma: Animation in Palaeolithic art: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00062785

Chauvet bison painting: https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/chauvet/en/mediatheque?page=%2C1

Palaeolithic Thaumatrope: https://archive.org/details/eight-legged-boar-animation/An%20ancient%20spinning%20disk%20%28reconstruction%20shown%29%20found%20in%20what%27s%20now%20southwestern%20France%20may%20have%20been%20a%20children%27s%20toy..jpg

Prehistoric Humans in Film and Television: 581 Dramas, Comedies and Documentaries, 1905–2004

by Michael Klossner (2006) https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/prehistoric-humans-in-film-and-television/

The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and our Obsession with Human Origins by Stefanos Geroulanos (2024): https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324091455/

Today we’re reviewing Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), the story of a cool Russian sci-fi movie about an exploratory mission to Venus which an American studio dubbed and re-cut to include telepathic “prehistoric” women, for some reason. In truth there’s very little prehistory in this one, so we get to talk about space travel for forty minutes! (Astronomers and engineers, please send your complaints and corrections to screensofthestoneage@gmail.com)

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Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social

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In this episode:

Watch Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6mHuM8SWs4

Watch Planeta Bur (Planet of Storms) (1962) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VTF23EFvEM

Watch Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1dtqIPlERU

Asimov’s Three Rules of Robotics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

Mant! – Matinee (1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-brLyrdTyA

Venus: https://science.nasa.gov/venus/

Missions to Venus: https://science.nasa.gov/venus/exploration/

Venus Life Finder: https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/rocket-lab-venus-mission

Self-driving cars and the Trolley Problem: https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/10/24/139313/a-global-ethics-study-aims-to-help-ai-solve-the-self-driving-trolley-problem/

The Passengers by John Marrs: https://www.johnmarrsauthor.com/the-passengers

Are Autonomous Vehicles safer than Human Drivers? https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/the-safety-data-on-autonomous-vehicles

Bicycle Couriers in Canada can claim food as a fuel expense: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/sole-proprietorships-partnerships/report-business-income-expenses/completing-form-t2125/line-8523-meals-entertainment-allowable-part-only.html#extra

Today we’re reviewing the feminist classic The Wild Women of Wongo (1958), which tells the story of two prehistoric tribes: one where all the women are beautiful and all the men are brutes, and the other vice versa. But don’t worry – social norms are upheld in the end and everyone is married off to an equally attractive partner.

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In this episode:

Watch The Wild Women of Wongo (1958) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnVMGixO3-c

Pathécolor: https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1218/

Burmese pythons in Florida: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_pythons_in_Florida\

William Marsden, creator or Wonder Woman: https://www.npr.org/2014/10/27/359078315/the-man-behind-wonder-woman-was-inspired-by-both-suffragists-and-centerfolds

Our episode on Eegah! (1962): https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-53-eegah-1962/

Coral Castle: https://coralcastle.com/

H.H. Holmes’ Murder Castle: https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-h-h-holmes

The Tubes - Wild Women of Wongo (Live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHk6wqqXMlg

Billy Idol - Sweet Sixteen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClxXDfvtoj0

Ancient Aliens: How Were These Mysterious Structures Built?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN1yCWWN-Eo

Magnetic Currents by Edward Leedskalnin: https://www.leedskalnin.com/Leedskalnins-Writings-MAGNETIC-CURRENT.html

First Man (2017) is a “documentary” with an interesting relationship to scientific facts and a disturbing view of human nature. It follows human evolution through four reconstructed ancestors: an early beta cuck ape from Spain; a Tate stan basal hominin from Chad; an ancestral alpha mogger from South Africa; and a brainmaxxing sigma arsonist from China. Join us as we break down the silly walks, unnecessarily blurred monkey genitals, and (content warning!) graphic sexual assault.

Get in touch with us!

Bluesky: @sotsapodcast.bsky.social

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In this episode:

Pierolapithecus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierolapithecus

Sahelanthropus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus

Gigantopithecus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus

Sivapithecus/Ramapithecus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivapithecus

Paranthropus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthropus

Graecopithecus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graecopithecus

Peking Man (Homo erectus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Man

Harbin/Dragon Man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_cranium

Our episode on Skullduggery (1970): https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-34-skullduggery-1970/

Our episode on Sasquatch Sunset (2024): https://screensofthestoneage.com/podcast/episode-106-sasquatch-sunset-2024/

Grieving chimpanzee carries dead baby for months: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj4Wk-hujPY

Zhoukoudian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhoukoudian_Peking_Man_Site

The myth of the alpha wolf: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/

Parsimony: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_parsimony

Boma predator deterrent: https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/keeping-lions-at-bay-to-keep-them-going/

Gao et al. (2017) Evidence of hominin use and maintenance of fire at Zhoukoudian: https://doi.org/10.1086/692501

Laughter in animals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter_in_animals

Pusceddu et al. (2025) Animal medical systems from Apis to apes: history, recent advances and future perspectives: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70060

Ventro-ventro position (doggy is not the only style): https://synapsida.blogspot.com/2015/12/doggy-is-not-only-style.html

Man vs. horse races (horses have won): https://ultrarunninghistory.com/man-vs-horse/

Persistence hunting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting

Aiello and Wheeler (1995) The Expensive-tissue hypothesis: The brain and the digestive system in human and primate evolution: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2744104

Wrangham (2009) Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human: https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/publication/catching-fire-how-cooking-made-us-human