From American Archaeology Magazine Archives - Archaeological Conservancy

The most recent issue of American Archaeology Magazine, FALL 2017, is now available! COVER: This four-hole ocarina depicts an unknown animal. It was found in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and is now in the collections of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University. Credit: (c) President and Fellows of Harvard College, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. PM# 17-3-20/C8064.

American Archaeology Magazine Fall 2017 is Here!

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 13, 2017

The most recent issue of American Archaeology Magazine, FALL 2017, is now available! COVER: This four-hole ocarina depicts an unknown animal. It was found in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and is now in the collections of...

This four-hole ocarina, which came from northwest Costa Rica, is shaped like a mythical animal. (c) President and Fellows of Harvard College, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. PM# 976-59-20/24969.

An Instrument For The Ages

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 13, 2017

Fall 2017: By Gayle Keck. You might have had one when you were a kid. You might have encountered a magical one while playing a popular video game. You might even have an app on...

An aerial photograph of Serpent Mound taken from a drone. The mound is a National Historic Landmark. Credit: Jarrod Burks.

The Serpent Mound Debate

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 12, 2017

Fall 2017: By David Malakoff. Anyone who has tried to catch a snake knows the reptiles are elusive. So it only seems appropriate that Serpent Mound, a twisting, quarter-mile long, three-foot-high earthwork in southern Ohio,...

Researchers excavate the middle structure of the three structures that were built on top of each other at Carter Robinson Mounds. Credit: JC Burns.

Life On The Frontier

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 12, 2017

Fall 2017: By Linda Vaccariello. A few miles east of the narrow gap in the Cumberland Mountains where Daniel Boone and his companions blazed a trail into Kentucky, Maureen Meyers is puzzling over another group...

An aerial view of the excavations on Burial Hill. The grey structure with the black and brick doors is an 1830s burial vault that cuts through the site. Excavations in front of and behind the vault revealed a series of building postholes, trash pits, and many seventeenthcentury artifacts from the original settlement. Native American and English pottery was found in the trash pits, suggesting the use of Native pots in the English houses. Credit: Bruce T. Martin.

Finding The Pilgrims

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 11, 2017

Fall 2017: By Rachael Moeller Gorman. On a sticky day last June, archaeologist David Landon peered into a rectangular, three-foot-deep excavation unit on the edge of an old cemetery. “That layer they’re coming down on,...

A British soldier shakes hands with a Catawba warrior. A key to the Catawbas’ survival during the Colonial era was the military and economic alliance with the colony of South Carolina. Catawba warriors protected the colony from attacks by natives allied with the French and Spanish and served with the English in their frontier wars. In return, South Carolina granted favored trading status to the Catawba and provided them with firearms, ammunition, and supplies that were critical to their survival. Credit: Carolyn Arcabascio.

Surviving In A Changing World

The Archaeological Conservancy - Sep 11, 2017

Fall 2017: By Beth Howard. On a picnic-perfect day in South Carolina’s Lancaster County last June, University of North Carolina (UNC) archaeologist Stephen Davis and his students meticulously scraped loose subsoil and dug, spoonful by...

Writer Linda Vaccariello takes notes while Assistant Professor Maureen Meyers shows U of Mississippi undergraduate Conor Foxworth and UM graduate student Emily Warner how to excavate part of the structure wall. The Mound is in the distance. Credit: Charlotte Smith

Sneak Peak: Covering the Mississippian Frontier at Carter Robinson

The Archaeological Conservancy - Aug 1, 2017

Fall 2017 Sneak Peek By Linda Vaccariello. The cell reception is pretty bad at Carter Robinson Mound and Village in Lee’s County, Virginia. Sometimes, if she’s lucky, Maureen Meyers can stand on the top of...

Summer 2017 American Archaeology Magazine Cover

American Archaeology Magazine Summer 2017 is Here!

The Archaeological Conservancy - Jun 9, 2017

The most recent issue of American Archaeology Magazine, SUMMER 2017, is now available! COVER: In 1929, Charles and Anne Lindbergh photographed Pueblo del Arroyo, a great house in Chaco Canyon. Credit: Lindbergh Collection, MIAC/Lab...

Canyon de Chelly’s White House Ruin is seen at the edge of the river. The Lindberghs’ pictures may have played a role in Canyon de Chelly being declared a national monument in 1931. Lindbergh Collection, MIAC/Lab MIAC cat# 70.1 / 197

Charles Lindbergh’s Little-Known Passion

The Archaeological Conservancy - Jun 8, 2017

SUMMER 2017: By Tamara Jager Stewart. In 1927 an obscure U.S. Air Mail pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris, thereby achieving word-wide fame. Virtually everyone...

An extensive panel of indigenous iconography. These finger-drawn designs span the entire ceiling of this chamber in Cave 18. The motifs and designs reflect the spiritual belief systems of the indigenous population. Credit: Photos by Jago Cooper and Alice Samson.

Comity In The Caves of Mona Island

The Archaeological Conservancy - Jun 8, 2017

SUMMER 2017: By Julian Smith. When Christopher Columbus visited the Isla de Mona, located halfway between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, in 1494, he found its indigenous residents fishing and farming, part of a thriving Taíno...