The Ever-Lengthening History of Tobacco
People have been smoking in the Pacific Northwest for more than 4,500 years.
The Great American Turkey
The turkey was semi-domesticated and kept in pens in the American Southwest some 2,000 years ago—but not for the reason you think.
How Native Americans Guarded Their Societies Against Tyranny
Many Native American communities were consensus democracies that survived for generations because of careful attention to checking and balancing power.
The Riches of Poverty Point
Earthworks built around 3,700 years ago in Louisiana centered an exchange system that stretched up the Mississippi and into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
Plant of the Month: Indigo
The cultivation of this plant for its cherished blue dye tells the story of exploitative agricultural practices—and, hopefully, its reversal.
How Archaeologists Use Parasites to Track Urbanization
Historical patterns of parasitic infection show up differently depending on the class status of a neighborhood.
Sewing Saved Us from a “Cold Snap” 13 Thousand Years Ago
Sewing a full winter outfit from animal hides took 105 hours. And we needed lots of them to survive the Younger Dryas Cold Event.
Ch’arki: The First Jerky
Ch'arki is made in the high-altitude Andes by alternately drying the meat in the hot sun and freezing it during the cold nights.
The River Basin Surveys Preserved American Prehistory
Between 1945 and 1969, archaeologists hurriedly surveyed over 20,000 prehistorical sites before the Mississippi River Basin was flooded by dams.
America’s Imperiled Freshwater Mussels
Freshwater mussels were once found in astonishing numbers and diversity in North America. Then came the button fanciers, and then the pearl-makers.