Episode 136: The Bison’s Legs (2024) with Maarten Peels

Today we’re joined by filmmaker Maarten Peels to talk about his 2024 short film De Poten van de Bizon (The Bison’s Legs), the story of two friends who go on a dream quest to make a cave painting. Maarten did extensive research in order to avoid the clichéd caveman tropes and make something we’ve never seen before: a plausible and scientifically accurate portrayal of Palaeolithic life. We are absolutely in love with this film, and highly recommend that you pause the episode and go watch it right now!

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In this episode:

Watch The Bison’s Legs on Maarten’s Website: https://www.potenvandebizon.nl/

Follow Maarten on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/depotenvandebizon/

Hear more from Maarten on the EXARC Podcast: https://www.exarc.org/exarc-podcast/filming-prehistory-getting-it-right

Experimental archaeologist Diederik Pomstra: https://www.puttinglife.com/blog/the-essential-knowledge-of-a-craftsperson/

Marc Azéma: Animation in Palaeolithic art: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00062785

Chauvet bison painting: https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/chauvet/en/mediatheque?page=%2C1

Palaeolithic Thaumatrope: https://archive.org/details/eight-legged-boar-animation/An%20ancient%20spinning%20disk%20%28reconstruction%20shown%29%20found%20in%20what%27s%20now%20southwestern%20France%20may%20have%20been%20a%20children%27s%20toy..jpg

Prehistoric Humans in Film and Television: 581 Dramas, Comedies and Documentaries, 1905–2004

by Michael Klossner (2006) https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/prehistoric-humans-in-film-and-television/

The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and our Obsession with Human Origins by Stefanos Geroulanos (2024): https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324091455/