The ArchaeoTech Podcast · The Archaeology Podcast Network

Dogs and Geophysics with Paul Martin - Ep 203

·43 min·2 clips

Paul Martin says dog alerts and geophysics together show a 75% to 85% success rate.

1. The ArchaeoTech Podcast episode 203 focuses on Paul Martin, dogs, and geophysics in archaeological burial detection. 2. Chris Webster hosts with co-host Paul Zimmerman, and guest Paul Martin of Martin Archaeology Consulting brings canine and geophysical field experience. 3. The episode asks how Martin Archaeology Consulting uses dogs to find unmarked burials in historic and pre-contact contexts. 4. Martin says his firm works with agencies and other consulting firms on archaeological human remains detection dogs, geophysical surveys, and some excavations. 5. He says the work ranges from historic burials to pre-contact burials, depending on the project area and research question. 6. Martin traces his entry into the field to a 2002 cold case search in Mississippi at an Indian mound. 7. He says a dog response at that mound pushed him to compare canine alerts with archaeological excavations by Jeffrey Brain and Clarence Bloomfield Moore. 8. Martin says he then contacted University of Tennessee researchers about human decomposition odor and learned that dogs can indicate remains hundreds or even 1,000 years old. 9. He describes five years of invitational work with about 40 handlers and 40 dogs across multiple sites. 10. He says those trials helped identify practical conditions such as early morning and early evening being better than the heat of day. 11. Martin says rain matters because he prefers to work after the ground begins drying and evaporation can move odor back into the air column. 12. He frames the dog as a data collection vehicle, similar in method to geophysics, but filtered through canine behavior. 13. Chris Webster compares the dogs to a GPR sled, and Martin says the mix of canine handling, geophysics, and archaeology gives him a different approach. 14. Martin says Labrador Retrievers are his preferred breed because they travel well, train easily, and cover terrain effectively. 15. He says the dogs are often medium to large, but he also values cabin travel because he has worked internationally with History Flight on MIA searches. 16. Martin says archaeological dogs are trained to ignore people, heavy equipment, trains, and other dogs while remaining focused on work. 17. The interview style is technical and conversational, with Chris Webster and Paul Zimmerman asking field-practice questions about breed choice, transects, and alert behavior. 18. Martin’s tone is practical and methodical, and he repeatedly ties canine responses to environmental variables, GPS tracking, and geophysical confirmation. 19. This suits archaeologists, forensic handlers, geophysics users, and anyone studying human decomposition detection. 20. This may skip listeners wanting general archaeology history without field-method detail.

As heard by us

A grounded look at choosing dogs for archaeological burial searches and matching their abilities to real terrain.

Burial detection gets a practical, field-minded hearing in the 203rd episode of The ArchaeoTech Podcast, as Paul Martin explains why archaeological dog work depends on the animal as much as the technique.

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Want the practical case for using dogs to find burials in archaeological contexts?

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