Strata: Portraits of Humanity is a monthly half-hour newsmagazine-style show. Each episode of the human story is a portrait building on the many layers of the human experience. This is a record we are just beginning to uncover. From that perspective, Strata delivers in-depth coverage of a wide variety of archaeological and cultural heritage topics all around the world.
Ruins of Nan Madol
On the island of Pohnpei lies the huge megalithic complex of Nan Madol, the most impressive construction in all the Pacific islands. Here an elite class separated themselves from the rest and carried out important rituals. This episode documents the knowledge of the late Pohnpeian historian, Masao Hadley...
James Madison slave quarters; Iron Age mirror; HMS Fowey
(1)Reconstruction of the South Yard, the slave quarters at the James Madison mansion, marks the beginning of a new chapter at Montpelier. (2)A beautiful Iron Age Mirror found by a metal detectorist in Oxfordshire, UK, is a piece of craftmanship used more than 2,000 years ago. (3)HMS Fowey, a British frigate, struck a coral reef and sank in 1748...
In and near Istanbul; The Mountain Wars of Fiji
(1)The region surrounding Turkey’s Sea of Marmara, including the storied capitol city, Istanbul, is renowned for its visible reminders of antiquity. (2)Across the islands of Fiji, hilltop fortresses tell a tale of a warfare and cannibalism going back a thousand years, when the war gods demanded tribute or revenge...
Basque arborglyphs; abandoned US World War II base in the UK
For more than half-a-century, Jean and Phillip Earl of Reno, Nevada, have used clues from old maps, letters and books to hunt for and document “Mountain Picassos.” UK archaeology student Rebecca Kellawan journeys to uncover the use of a crumbling, abandoned US World War II base located on the grounds of a beautiful Victorian estate...
Betty's Hope
The Caribbean island of Antigua sat at the crossroads of the first transatlantic economy. This documentary is about how a sugar plantation, called Betty’s Hope, was started in 1650 during colonial rule and gave many Antiguans economic support. This plantation was owned by Sir Christopher Codrington, the governor of the Leeward Islands, and lasted from 1674 to 1944...
Historical archaeology in downtown Boise; South Carolina pottery kiln excavation
The unexpected discovery of a well associated with one of the earliest homes in Boise, Idaho, led to an archaeological excavation. The home was built by a leading citizen, Cyrus Jacobs, and later became a Basque boarding house. The University of Illinois excavates an industrial pottery kiln that began operation in the early 1800s producing the “tupperware” of the time, a commodity...