Part of my fascination with history stems from the realization that we are them.

What I mean here is that from the dawn of recorded history until now, not a lot of time has passed,

certainly not on an evolutionary scale. We're better off today,

of course, because of better nutrition, sanitation, and medicine. But we are fundamentally the same

semi-haired apes we were back in the 4th millennium BCE when things first started getting written down.

And that means if I were living in the past, I would be

pretty much the same. I might be uncomfortable, unwell, and illiterate, but hey, so is everyone

else. I'd be no different from those around me. And that's where the fascination comes in.

If I didn't have a smartphone, which I didn't for most of my life, what would I be doing

for information or entertainment?

Going backwards, I'd be watching television, or going to a movie, or listening to the radio,

or reading a book, or catching a play, or heading to the tavern, or gossiping by the fire.

I'd still be me, but my options would change. So how would I spend my time in 1635, in 10.35, in 35?

How would things be different and how would they be the same? That's the premise of the podcast we're

sharing today, what we did before. In the episode you're about to hear, archaeologists find an

ancient Bronze Age settlement

and uncover loads of human bones. But they weren't found in just one place like a burial

ground. They were everywhere, as if the people living then were collecting them. Is this what we did

before funeral homes? I hope you enjoy. While you're listening, be sure to search for and follow

what we did before. We put a link in the show notes to make it easy for you.

Imagine returning home to your village after a busy day to be greeted by human skulls on pikes.

You head home to see the femur of your great aunt lying on the floor and the skull of your

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