In this episode of Ethnocynology, I sit down with dog science communicator Alexandra the Average for a wide-ranging conversation about dogs, science, identity, and the ways our own cultural biases shape how we understand dogs themselves.
Alexandra discusses her approach to navigating misinformation in the dog and animal-welfare world, including why she relies on multiple studies rather than individual papers. But also the importance of reading beyond the abstract, and how scientific findings can become messy once they reach social media.
The conversation dives into some of the most persistent debates surrounding dogs, including pit bull stereotypes, breed and temperament, dog-bite statistics, veterinary bias, and how race and socioeconomic inequality can affect people's experiences with animal welfare and adoption.
We also explore the deeper history behind our relationships with dogs, like the use of dogs as status symbols to the effects of colonialism on Indigenous dog populations. We discuss how dogs can become wrapped up in human identity, prejudice, politics, and even colonial violence, illustrating why the history of dogs can never really be separated from the history of people.
Alexandra also discusses her upcoming podcast, Pod Reviewed Research, which explores the human-animal connection, animal welfare, legislation, history, and culture through detailed, research-heavy conversations.
Woolly Dog
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi6549
“Possessions and the Extended Self,"
https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/15/2/139/1841428
BOOKS
Bronwen Dickey,
Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_Bull:_The_Battle_over_an_American_Icon
Michael Luo,
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of
the Chinese in America (2025).
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704981/strangers-in-the-land-by-
michael-luo/
ORGANIZATIONS
CARE: Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity.
https://careawo.org/
Dog Aging Project
https://dogagingproject.org/
Darwin's Ark
https://darwinsark.org/
Creators & people mentioned
Abby, dog trainer
________________________________
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HISTORY OF DOGS COURSE: https://www.fluent.pet/david/
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro/PSA
1:00 Meet Alexandra
1:27 California
4:10 Data-Driven Dog Mom
8:12 Education
14:12 How do you conduct research?
17:34 Most interesting thing you've learned?
20:05 Race and Asian Americans
24:10 Identity and Animal Welfare
26:04 Weight-based bias
29:43 Race-based bias
34:17 Filipino background
37:51 Pit Bulls
41:55 Behavior Issues
44:35 Community and Communication
49:24 Dogsbite.org
52:21 Colonization of the Americas
1:02:21 Identify and dogs
In this episode of Ethnocynology, David talks with friend and colleague Dr. Devin Pettigrew, a leading expert on the history and ballistics of the atlatl, and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Sul Ross State University.
After a recent paper came out by Eren et al, claiming that Clovis hunters may have been more inclined to scavenge megafauna as opposed to hunting them, Devin and David dive into the paper and discuss the role of hunting in human history as well as the history of the atlatl, Overkill, and how the Clovis people would’ve hunted across the North American landscape.
They also discuss Devin’s future research and what this means for the field.
The paper in question: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X26003317
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Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidianhowe/
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HISTORY OF DOGS COURSE: https://www.fluent.pet/david/
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
0:33 Introducing Devin and the Paper
1:06 Devin's Background
3:16 What we DO know
5:57 History of Hunting Technology
13:18 Human Dispersal across the Globe
14:34 What is an Atlatl?
20:30 Paleoindian hunting evidence
27:25 Hunting vs Scavenging in the record
30:31 Previous Eren et al studies
34:38 Overkill Hypothesis
40:12 Confirmed mammoth hunting sites?
44:13 Political and cultural implications
46:08 Braced lance theories
51:16 Closing statements and future research
In this episode, I’m joined by archaeologist, author, and YouTuber Raven Todd DaSilva, classicist, researcher, and PhD student Cosima Carnegie, and classicist and ancient dog expert Dr. Alyce Cannon to break down Nolan’s The Odyssey from the perspectives of archaeology, ancient history, and the original Homeric epic.
We get into the film’s Bronze Age armor and architecture, the Trojan Horse, Agamemnon’s infamous helmet, the Sea Peoples and Bronze Age Collapse, and what the movie gets right and wrong about the ancient Mediterranean world. We also compare Nolan’s versions of Polyphemus, Circe, Calypso, the Sirens, Scylla, Argos, and the Underworld with their counterparts in Homer and ancient Greek art.
We also discuss some of the movie’s biggest changes to the original story: turning Odysseus’ hubris into a story about trauma and PTSD, removing much of the sexuality and complexity of Homer’s female characters, changing Odysseus’ relationship with Argos, and reducing some of the cunning and deception that define Odysseus in the original epic.
And then there are the Sea Peoples…
Despite all our archaeological and literary nitpicking, this was a super fun and productive convo. Nolan delivers some genuinely incredible sequences, particularly Polyphemus, the Sirens, Scylla, Circe’s pigs, and Odysseus’ epic return to Ithaca. And if the movie gets more people interested in Homer, Bronze Age Greece, archaeology, and the Late Bronze Age Collapse, isn't that a good thing?
So how accurate is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey? And more importantly: does it actually matter? Let us know!
Topics include:
• Homer’s Odyssey vs. Nolan’s adaptation
• Archaeological accuracy
• Mycenaean & Bronze Age armor
• Agamemnon’s armor and helmet
• The Trojan Horse
• Odysseus & Argos
• Polyphemus the Cyclops
• Circe & Calypso
• The Underworld
• The Sirens & Scylla
• The Sea Peoples & Bronze Age Collapse
• Odysseus’ return to Ithaca
• What the film gets right and wrong
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
2:40 Establishing the movie
3:45 Cosi: The laestrygonians
4:37 Alyce: Initial thoughts
7:47 Raven: Initial thoughts
9:49 Comparisons to Troy (2004)
15:33 Alyce on Argos the Dog
21:58 Raven on the Trojan Horse
26:00 The Cyclops
30:00 Laestrygonians 2
30:53 Cerci and Feminism
36:12 Cultural Controversies
37:33 Calypso Film vs. Epic
40:51 The Underworld and Sinon
44:04 Agamemnon's and his armor
49:05 The Sirens
51:23 Cosi on Scylla
53:52 Animals Apollo's Island
55:13 The Shipwreck
56:03 The Return to Ithica
58:58 The Servants and Women's roles
1:03:38 Raven on the Palace Archaeology
1:05:18 THE SEA PEOPLES
1:08:51 Final thoughts
In Episode 39 of Ethnocynology, I sit down with Bradley Rydholm, the creator of Nature is Not Metal, to talk about wildlife, outdoor education, animal cognition, human relationships with nature, and what it actually means to be human.
Https://www.instagram.com/nature_is_not_metal/
Bradley is an outdoor educator and writer whose work explores the complicated relationship between humans, animals, and the natural world. We talk about the origins and evolution of Nature’s Not Metal, how the internet changed the way we experience wildlife, and why firsthand experiences in nature can fundamentally change the way people see the world.
From there, the conversation gets into animal intelligence and emotion, anthropomorphism, the individuality of wild animals, wolves and dog domestication, cooperation among apex predators, and the idea that nature is simultaneously brutal and deeply nurturing.
We also dive into some bigger philosophical questions: Are cities part of nature? What actually separates humans from other animals? Did agriculture, civilization, or written language change our relationship with the natural world? Bradley discusses environmentalism, Indigenous and Earth-based perspectives, storytelling, rites of passage, and the idea that cultures once possessed social “technologies” designed to turn young people into responsible adults.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Bradley Rydholm & Nature’s Not Metal
2:09 The Origins of Nature is Not Metal
9:39 Bradley’s Background & Outdoor Education
16:07 Connecting People With Nature
20:18 Why Does Nature Make Us Feel Better?
27:01 Childhood Experiences With Nature
32:18 Animal Intelligence, Emotion & Individuality
39:31 Wolves & Dog Domestication
43:14 Social Lives of Wolves, Whales & Elephants
45:46 Why “Nature’s Not Metal”?
48:38 Ecology, Writing & The Spell of the Sensuous
52:13 Our Love for the Land
54:42 What Happened to Humans?
57:20 Agriculture & Civilization
1:00:03 Dogs as Our Connection to Nature
1:03:49 Where Do Nature & Culture Divide?
1:11:41 How Animals Transform Their Environments
1:12:58 Rethinking Environmentalism
1:19:04 What Does It Mean to Be Human?
1:20:35 Rites of Passage & Growing Up
1:23:01 Storytelling as Human Technology
1:23:55 Where to Find Bradley
Ethnocynology is brought to you by the Archaeology Podcast Network and Howe and Why productions, LLC
Director: David Ian Howe
Producers: Chris Webster, Tristan Boyle, Rachel Roden, Ashleigh Airey
Podcast editors: Rachel Roden, Chris Webster
Video editor: David Ian Howe
Music: KNOWMADIC
Intro Animations: Ilene German
https://www.archpodnet.com/
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If this video made you think, laugh, or want to pet a dog—hit like, share with a friend, and tell me your favorite part in the comments!
I recently saw the Odyssey in IMAX and very much enjoyed it for what it was. While I do have my own reservations and problems with the film, I’ve been much more enjoying seeing the online discourse that has come from this movie by other anthropologists, archaeologists, classicists, historians, as well as other people who have shared their thoughts and takes.
Firstly, this video isn’t necessarily about my opinions on the movie. But I will say it is nothing short of fascinating to me how one of the oldest and most important stories in world history has generated so much discussion, as well as social and political commentary. It makes sense that it would. And feel free to let me know what you thought.
But more importantly, what I wanted to discuss today was the role of Argos in the story, and I’m glad that Nolan included him in the film. I made this video to shed light on and discuss the role of dogs across world mythology, and how the story of Argos is one of the most important in history for many reasons.
From Greece and Rome, to Mexico, to China and Japan, fill roles in the biological sense, but also the spiritual, and mythological. And I think this is a message worth sharing. If you’d like to learn more about dogs in an ancient and world cultures, please give my YouTube a follow and consider checking out my course. But if you want a great place to start, my recent discussion with Dr. Alyce Cannon of @historydoggos is your best bet. Stay tuned for more than that!
Also, just a disclaimer: I’m condensing a lot of world history and complex stuff into a short video, I can’t include everything and not everything can be 100% correct, especially regarding the Mesoamerica discussion. So just know there is more to come on this and more you can find on my YouTube.
That said, I would still love to know your thoughts.
Just had one of the coolest days of my life with my friend Evan Stout (@yellowstonewildlifeguideco).
Woke up at 4:30 in the morning to drive around Yellowstone National Park with Evan to spot wolves at known den locations.
The wolves in this video are members of the Rescue Creek pack, about a mile and a half from us on the Blacktail Plateau. The pack consists of 5–6 adults and 6 puppies.
I didn’t get a video of the puppies, but we did see a few pop out of the den, as well as a couple of the wolves initiating play. At one point they started howling, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. We also saw two members of the Wapiti Lake pack sleeping at a different spot in the park.
I’ll post more about this tomorrow, but I have to say this was one of the coolest days of my life because I got to cruise around the park with an expert wildlife guide who not only knows an incredible amount about the wolves, but also has extensive experience spotting wildlife around the world and knows an incredible amount about the park and its history. Not to mention, I got to spend over six hours nerding out about anthropology, ecology, history, and our shared love for dogs and wolves.
In fact, as Evan pointed out, seeing how many people come to the park every day to observe and respect the wolves is awesome. It’s a super cool and unique experience to share these moments and this knowledge with complete strangers from all over the world who come to see the same thing.
Bucket list check.
If you’re ever in Yellowstone, be sure to contact Evan if you want to have a similar experience with an expert—and an incredibly cool guy.
Willow Springs is a site located in southern Wyoming almost on the Colorado border that is home to archaeological components spanning almost 10 thousand years.
Walking around the site, you can see the Overland Trail goes right through it, and due to the freshwater resources became a small stagecoach station where people on the trail would swap and water their horses.
Also located in the area is a Paleo component with the bones of an extinct Ice Age bison. This excavation is led by the Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist (Dr. Spencer Pelton) and a crew of volunteers.
Here’s a sample of what excavations look like on the High Plains.
This week I’m joined by archaeologist Dr. Alyce Cannon () for a conversation about dogs in the ancient world, archaeology, mythology, and one of the most devastating dog stories ever told.
When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca after twenty years away, he arrives disguised as a beggar. No one recognizes him—not his servants, not his people, not even his wife.
But Argos knows.
Old, neglected, and near the end of his life, the faithful dog lifts his head, flattens his ears, and wags his tail. Odysseus recognizes him too, but cannot reveal himself without jeopardizing everything. He walks past.
Moments later, Argos dies.
Nearly 3,000 years later, audiences still remember that scene. It speaks to something timeless: loyalty, memory, recognition, and the extraordinary bond between humans and dogs.
In this episode, Dr. Cannon and I explore what stories like Argos can tell us about the ancient world, how dogs appear in mythology and the archaeological record, and why our relationship with them remains one of humanity’s most enduring partnerships.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or watch the full episode on YouTube
Why do dog stories hit us harder than almost any other kind of story?
In this episode of Ethnocynology, David Ian Howe sits down with classical canine scholar Dr. Alyce Cannon to explore dogs in mythology, history, literature, film, and popular culture. From Argos in The Odyssey to Seymour in Futurama, Hachikō, I Am Legend, and beyond, we examine why dogs have become humanity's most enduring symbols of loyalty, companionship, death, and remembrance.
We also dive into the role of dogs in ancient Greece, the Athenian plague, Diogenes and Cynic philosophy, dogs as psychopomps, and how canine-human relationships have shaped stories for thousands of years.
If you've ever cried over a dog in a movie, this episode explains why.
Guest: Dr. Alyce Cannon
Host: David Ian Howe
Dog Course: https://www.Fluent.pet/David
Merch: https://www.davidianowe.com/store
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
1:48 Alyce's Work
4:59 Cynicism and Diogenes
09:38 Athenian Plaguye and Dogs
14:39 Psychopomps
18:40 Argos
27:23 Dogs Dying in Movies
31:54 Socializing with Dogs
35:48 Futurama
39:08 Greyfriars Bobby / Psychopomps
44:35 Lost
46:00 Dogs as Signals of Character
53:10 The Odyssey Film
Dogs aren’t just pets. They’ve been part of human life for roughly 20,000 years—about 10,000 years longer than cats and thousands of years before horses entered our lives. For millennia they’ve hunted with us, traveled with us, guarded us, slept beside us, and become part of our families.
There’s also biology behind it. Humans and dogs experience mutual oxytocin release when we interact, strengthening the bond between us.
Maybe that’s why losing a dog can feel so devastating. They’re often the family member we see every single day.
While there’s been 60-70 million years since we last shared a common ancestor, humans and wolves share so many similarities.
We’re both highly social mammals that live in close family groups, we’re top predators with similar prey breadth, and we invest a lot of time in rearing our young.
Through a language of food, reward, and cooperation, wolves were easily able to socialize and bond with humans - both socially and chemically- over 20,000 years ago. This process is why domestic dogs are still so prevalent today, and why their species name means - the Friendly Wolf.
In ancient times dogs were integral to human survival. Today they serve as tools and companions. And I have no doubt, as far into the future, they will remain alongside us to the end of days.
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