Stuff You Missed in History Class Unearthed Year-end 2025, Part 1
Jan 12, 2026
Explore fascinating discoveries from late 2025, including the intriguing debate over how ancient Rapa Nui statues were moved. Uncover the mystery of a Tudor pendant linked to Henry VIII and new insights about musket finds at Culloden Battlefield. Dive into archaeology in Benin City, revealing pre-colonial artifacts, and ponder about the unique traits of 5,000-year-old dog burials in Sweden. Plus, hear about message-in-a-bottle letters from WWI that reunited families today.
43:00
Smithsonian Funding Fight Raises Legal Questions
- The White House posted a letter calling the Smithsonian's submission 'woefully incomplete' and threatened funding tied to Executive Order 14253.
- Tracy B. Wilson notes the Smithsonian is not an executive branch agency, making the funding threat legally and politically fraught.
CPB Dissolution Protects Public Media Integrity
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting board voted to dissolve after federal funding was rescinded.
- Tracy B. Wilson highlights CPB's decision as protecting public media from further political vulnerability.
Endurance Likely Unsuitable For Pack Ice
- New research suggests the Endurance was built for Antarctic edges, not deep pack ice, making hull failure plausible.
- Holly Fry explains underwater imaging and correspondence support a design weakness around the engine room.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Smithsonian Letter and CPB Dissolution
02:57 • 2min
Endurance Ship Design Reassessed
04:41 • 4min
Tudor Pendant Linked to Henry VIII
08:37 • 2min
New Research on Rapa Nui Moai Movement
10:21 • 5min
Culloden Battlefield Projectile Finds
15:30 • 2min
Ad break
17:41 • 2min
Maya Train Foundation Stone and Female Ruler
19:20 • 2min
Tulsa Oaklawn Unmarked Graves Update
21:32 • 1min
Coconut Grove Survivor Tribute
22:34 • 1min
Archaeology at Benin City Ahead of Museum
23:37 • 1min
Wool Clothing at Pompeii Reconsidered
25:03 • 2min
Bayeux Tapestry Refectory Theory
26:54 • 2min
Teotihuacan Signs as Written Language
29:23 • 1min
Norway's Potential Oldest Book
30:24 • 1min
WWI Message-in-a-Bottle Reunites Families
31:25 • 57sec
First Ancient Celtic Dictionary Effort
32:22 • 4min
Dog Skull Study Shows Early Breed Diversity
35:54 • 2min
Cats in China Timeline Revisited
38:17 • 1min
Oldest Western European Mule Identified
39:34 • 1min
Donkeys at Jamestown Revealed
40:48 • 41sec
Wolves Found on Swedish Island
41:29 • 1min
5,000-Year-Old Dog Burial in Sweden
42:53 • 46sec
Indian Macaques Buried at Roman Berenike
43:39 • 1min
Eliza Monroe Hay Reinterred in U.S.
44:54 • 60sec
Listener Mail: Soap Making and Public Health
45:53 • 5min
Outro
50:53 • 2min
#
Eliza's True Story
Barbara Vorndick
#9933
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
South
Ernest Shackleton
The book chronicles the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
It describes the expedition's ambitious plan to cross the Antarctic continent, the catastrophic loss of their ship, the Endurance, and the subsequent survival journey across treacherous seas and icy landscapes.
The narrative includes the heroic efforts of Shackleton and his crew, as well as the scientific work and other aspects of the expedition.
The book also reflects on the broader context of World War I and its impact on the expedition members.
The show's coverage of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 begins with updates, books and letters, animals, and just one exhumation.
Research:
- Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island statues were created without centralized management.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 11/26/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106805
- Abdallah, Hannah. “Early humans butchered elephants using small tools and made big tools from their bones.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 10/8/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100481
- Abdallah, Hannah. “Researchers uncover clues to mysterious origin of famous Hjortspring boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1108323
- Archaeology Magazine. “Medieval Hoard of Silver and Pearls Discovered in Sweden.” https://archaeology.org/news/2025/10/14/medieval-hoard-of-silver-and-pearls-discovered-in-sweden/
- Archaeology Magazine. “Possible Trepanation Tool Unearthed in Poland.” 11/13/2025. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/11/13/possible-trepanation-tool-unearthed-in-poland/
- “Rare 5,000-year-old dog burial unearthed in Sweden.” 12/15/2025. https://news.cision.com/se/arkeologerna/r/rare-5-000-year-old-dog-burial-unearthed-in-sweden,c4282014
- Arnold, Paul. “Ancient ochre crayons from Crimea reveal Neanderthals engaged in symbolic behaviors.” Phys.org. 10/30/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-ochre-crayons-crimea-reveal.html
- Arnold, Paul. “Dating a North American rock art tradition that lasted 175 generations.” Phys.org. 11/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-dating-north-american-art-tradition.html
- Bassi, Margherita. “A Single Gene Could Have Contributed to Neanderthals’ Extinction, Study Suggests.” Smithsonian. 10/30/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-neanderthal-gene-variant-related-to-red-blood-cells-may-have-contributed-to-their-extinction-180987586/
- Benjamin Pohl, Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestry as monastic mealtime reading, Historical Research, 2025;, htaf029, https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htaf029
- Benzine, Vittoria. “Decoded Hieroglyphics Reveal Female Ruler of Ancient Maya City.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/foundation-stone-maya-coba-woman-ruler-2704521
- Berdugo, Sophie. “Easter Island statues may have 'walked' thanks to 'pendulum dynamics' and with as few as 15 people, study finds.” LiveScience. 10/19/2025. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/easter-island-statues-may-have-walked-thanks-to-pendulum-dynamics-and-with-as-few-as-15-people-study-finds
- Billing, Lotte. “Fingerprint of ancient seafarer found on Scandinavia’s oldest plank boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109361
- Brhel, John. “Rats played major role in Easter Island’s deforestation, study reveals.” EurekAlert. 11/17/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106361
- Caldwell, Elizabeth. “9 more individuals unearthed at Oaklawn could be 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Tulsa Public Radio. 11/6/2025. https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2025-11-06/9-more-individuals-unearthed-at-oaklawn-could-be-1921-tulsa-race-massacre-victims
- Clark, Gaby. “Bayeux Tapestry could have been originally designed as mealtime reading for medieval monks.” Phys.org. 12/15/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bayeux-tapestry-mealtime-medieval-monks.html#google_vignette
- Cohen, Alina. “Ancient Olive Oil Processing Complex Unearthed in Tunisia.” Artnet. 11/21/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-olive-oil-complex-tunisia-2717795
- Cohen, Alina. “MFA Boston Restores Ownership of Historic Works by Enslaved Artist.” ArtNet. 10/30/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-boston-david-drake-jars-restitution-2706594
- Fergusson, Rachel. “First DNA evidence of Black Death in Edinburgh discovered on teeth of excavated teenage skeleton.” The Scotsman. 11/5/2025. https://www.scotsman.com/news/first-dna-evidence-black-death-edinburgh-discovered-teeth-excavated-teenage-skeleton-5387741
- Folorunso, Caleb et al. “MOWAA Archaeology Project: Enhancing Understanding of Benin City’s Historic Urban Development and Heritage through Pre-Construction Archaeology.” Antiquity (2025): 1–10. Web.
- Griffith University. “Rare stone tool cache tells story of trade and ingenuity.” 12/2/2025. https://news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/02/rare-stone-tool-cache-tells-story-of-trade-and-ingenuity/
- Han, Yu et al. “The late arrival of domestic cats in China via the Silk Road after 3,500 years of human-leopard cat commensalism.” Cell Genomics, Volume 0, Issue 0, 101099. https://www.cell.com/cell-genomics/fulltext/S2666-979X(25)00355-6
- Hashemi, Sara. “A Volcanic Eruption in 1345 May Have Triggered a Chain of Events That Brought the Black Death to Europe.” Smithsonian. 12/8/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volcanic-eruption-in-1345-may-have-triggered-a-chain-of-events-taht-brought-the-black-death-to-europe-180987803/
- Hjortkjær, Simon Thinggaard. “Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language.” PhysOrg. 10/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mysterious-teotihuacan-murals-reveal-early.html
- Institut Pasteur. “Study suggests two unsuspected pathogens struck Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812.” Via EurekAlert. 10/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102613
- Jones, Sam. “Shells found in Spain could be among oldest known musical instruments.” The Guardian. 12/2/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/02/neolithic-conch-like-shell-spain-catalonia-discovery-musical-instruments
- Kasal, Krystal. “Pahon Cave provides a look into 5,000 years of surprisingly stable Stone Age tool use.” Phys.org. 12/16/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-pahon-cave-years-stable-stone.html
- Kristiansen, Nina. “Eight pages bound in furry seal skin may be Norway's oldest book.” Science Norway. 11/3/2025. https://www.sciencenorway.no/cultural-history-culture-history/eight-pages-bound-in-furry-seal-skin-may-be-norways-oldest-book/2571496
- Kuta, Sarah. “109-Year-Old Messages in a Bottle Written by Soldiers Heading to Fight in World War I Discovered on Australian Beach.” Smithsonian. 11/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/109-year-old-messages-in-a-bottle-written-by-soldiers-heading-to-fight-in-world-war-i-discovered-on-australian-beach-180987649/
- Kuta, Sarah. “A Storm Battered Western Alaska, Scattering Thousands of Indigenous Artifacts Across the Sand.” Smithsonian. 10/31/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-storm-battered-western-alaska-scattering-thousands-of-indigenous-artifacts-across-the-sand-180987606/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Archaeologists Unearth More Than 100 Projectiles From an Iconic Battlefield in Scotland.” Smithsonian. 11/5/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-more-than-100-projectiles-from-an-iconic-battlefield-in-scotland-180987641/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From.” Smithsonian. 1/5/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-mysterious-victorian-era-shoes-are-washing-up-on-a-beach-in-wales-nobody-knows-where-they-came-from-180987943/
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Golden ‘Tudor Heart’ Necklace Sheds New Light on Henry VIII’s First Marriage.” Artnet. 10/14/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tudor-heart-pendant-british-museum-fundraiser-2699544
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Long-Overlooked Black Veteran Identified in Rare 19th-Century Portrait.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/black-veteran-thomas-phillips-portrait-identified-2704721
- Lipo CP, Hunt TL, Pakarati G, Pingel T, Simmons N, Heard K, et al. (2025) Megalithic statue (moai) production on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). PLoS One 20(11): e0336251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336251
- Lipo, Carl P. and Terry L. Hunt. “The walking moai hypothesis: Archaeological evidence, experimental validation, and response to critics.” Journal of Archaeological Science. Volume 183, November 2025, 106383. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440325002328
- Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette
- Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” Antiquity. Via PhysOrg. 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette
- Lynley A. Wallis et al, An exceptional assemblage of archaeological plant fibres from Windmill Way, southeast Cape York Peninsula, Australian Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1080/03122417.2025.2574127
- Lyon, Devyn. “Oaklawn Cemetery excavation brings investigators closer to identifying Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Fox 23. 11/6/2025. https://www.fox23.com/news/oaklawn-cemetery-excavation-brings-investigators-closer-to-identifying-tulsa-race-massacre-victims/article_67c3a6b7-2acc-44cb-93ce-3d3d0c288eca.html
- Marquard, Bryan. “Bob Shumway, last known survivor of the deadly Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire, dies at 101.” 11/12/2025. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/metro/bob-shumway-101-dies-was-last-known-cocoanut-grove-fire-survivor/?event=event12
- Marta Osypińska et al, A centurion's monkey? Companion animals for the social elite in an Egyptian port on the fringes of the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd c. CE, Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/s1047759425100445
- Merrington, Andrew. “Extensive dog diversity millennia before modern breeding practices.” University of Exeter. 11/13/2025. https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences/archaeology-and-history/extensive-dog-diversity-millennia-before-modern-breeding-practices/
- Morris, Steven. “Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic.” The Guardian. 12/8/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/08/linguists-start-compiling-first-ever-complete-dictionary-of-ancient-celtic
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Resolves Ownership of Works by Enslaved Artist David Drake.” 10/29/2025. https://www.mfa.org/press-release/david-drake-ownership-resolution
- “Niagara has a 107-year-old shipwreck lodged above the Falls and it just moved.” https://www.narcity.com/niagara-falls-shipwreck-iron-scow-moved-closer-to-the-falls
- Newcomb, Tim. “A 76-Year-Old Man Went On a Hike—and Stumbled Upon a 1,500-Year Old Trap.” Popular Mechanics. 11/21/2025. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a69441460/reindeer-trap/
- Nordin, Gunilla. “Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans.” Stockholm University. Via EurekAlert. 11/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106807
- Oster, Sandee. “DNA confirms modern Bo people are descendants of ancient Hanging Coffin culture.” Phys.org. 12/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-dna-modern-bo-people-descendants.html
- Oster, Sandee. “Rare disease possibly identified in 12th century child's skeletal remains.” PhysOrg. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-rare-disease-possibly-12th-century.html
- Osuh, Chris and Geneva Abdul. “Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student.” The Guardian. 11/1/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/01/lost-grave-daughter-black-abolitionist-olaudah-equiano-found-by-a-level-student
- Silvia Albizuri et al, The oldest mule in the western Mediterranean. The case of the Early Iron Age in Hort d'en Grimau (Penedès, Barcelona, Spain), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105506
- Skok, Phoebe. “Ancient shipwrecks rewrite the story of Iron Age trade.” PhysOrg. 10/14/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-shipwrecks-rewrite-story-iron.html
- The History Blog. “600-year-old Joseon ship recovered from seabed.” 11/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74652
- The History Blog. “Ancient pleasure barge found off Alexandria coast.” 12/9/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74860
- The History Blog. “Charred Byzantine bread loves stamped with Christian imagery found in Turkey.” 10/13/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74352
- The History Blog. “Early medieval silver treasure found in Stockholm.” 10/12/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74343
- The History Blog. “Roman amphora with sardines found in Switzerland.” 12/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74904
- The Straits Times. “Wreck of ancient Malay vessel discovered on Pulau Melaka.” 10/31/2025. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/wreck-of-ancient-malay-vessel-discovered-on-pulau-melaka
- Thompson, Sarah. “The forgotten daughter: Eliza Monroe Hay’s story revealed in her last letters.” W&M News. 9/30/2025. https://news.wm.edu/2025/09/30/the-forgotten-daughter-eliza-monroes-story-revealed-in-her-last-letters/
- Tuhkuri, Jukka. “Why Did Endurance Sink?” Polar Record 61 (2025): e23. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/article/why-did-endurance-sink/6CC2C2D56087035A94DEB50930B81980
- Universitat de Valencia. “The victims of the Pompeii eruption wore heavy wool cloaks and tunics, suggesting different environmental conditions in summer.” 12/3/2025. https://www.uv.es/uvweb/uv-news/en/news/victims-pompeii-eruption-wore-heavy-wool-cloaks-tunics-suggesting-different-environmental-conditions-summer-1285973304159/Novetat.html?id=1286464337848&plantilla=UV_Noticies/Page/TPGDetaillNews
- University of Glasgow. “Archaeologists recover hundreds of Jacobite projectiles in unexplored area of Culloden.” 10/30/2025. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1222736_en.html
- University of Vienna. “Neanderthal DNA reveals ancient long-distance migrations.” 10/29/2025. https://www.univie.ac.at/en/news/detail/neanderthal-dna-reveals-ancient-long-distance-migrations
- Zhou, H., Tao, L., Zhao, Y. et al. Exploration of hanging coffin customs and the bo people in China through comparative genomics. Nat Commun 16, 10230 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65264-3
- Zinin, Andrew. “Ancient humans mastered fire-making 400,000 years ago, study shows.” Phys.org. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-humans-mastered-years.html
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