A world of archaeology where no one was looking (This section is under construction and will be finished soon, including the latest archaeological findings!)
Scientific belief systems or “paradigms” are the shared ideas scientists use to understand and explain the world. They can be useful, but they can also restrict new research, stifle creativity, and be treated as the unquestionable truth. New or conflicting evidence can be ignored or simply dismissed, and rigid beliefs can cause fields to stagnate, slow, or prevent new scientific advancements. This also happens in archaeology, and especially in the Americas.
When Evidence Is Ignored, History Suffers
In Central and South America, recent news stories have highlighted how LiDAR imagery can peer through dense jungle canopy to reveal vast ancient cities—complete with pyramids, ballcourts, causeways, canals, earthen platforms, plazas, and extensive road networks linking multiple urban centers. Regions long assumed to be sparsely inhabited are now known to have supported complex societies that endured for centuries.
At the same time, new archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that humans inhabited the Americas thousands of years earlier than previously believed, pushing the timeline of initial settlement well before the last Ice Age migrations.
Together, these discoveries challenge long-standing archaeological assumptions. If human habitation in the Americas dates back as far as 24,000 years, archaeologists may have spent decades searching for only half of the potential human record. As a result, we may have chronically misunderstood or misinterpreted a substantial portion of the archaeological evidence. Still, it takes substantive evidence to break through or new technologies to identify and date materials we couldn't before.
Archaeology would benefit from deeper engagement with Indigenous peoples and other diverse perspectives, including much more collaborative research within the geosciences. A prevailing skepticism and cynicism shouldn't drive archaeology, we should be encouraging curiosity and rewarding creative new approaches. A circular peer-review system generally governs what's determined to be legitimate data or history, meaning significant new findings and research can often be inhibited from moving forward. Controversial botanist Allan Savory is a good example of why scientific skepticism is both necessary and in need of repair. Savoy describes the perspective of how new scientific discoveries can often be suppressed by the current peer review protocols in the below link:
Paradigm allegiance in Appalachia
Beginning in the 1960s, archaeology in western North Carolina focused primarily on “settlements” located in lower-lying flat areas near water—settings considered favorable for agriculture. Upland, sloping Appalachian landscapes were generally assumed to be archaeologically insignificant and therefore undeserving of serious investigation. As a result, little was found in areas where no one was looking, and for more than 40 years this paradigm went largely unchallenged and untested. Large government land-management agencies like the US Forest Service capitalized on these assumptions, effectively avoiding archaeological research across approximately 70–80% of the landscapes they managed.
Mountainous Appalachian Terrains and a "new" world of archaeology
The word "new" in the title above is in quotes because it's not new to the ancestral inhabitants who have lived and thrived in these mountains for thousands of years. It's only "new" to archaeologists and observers who aren't connected or related to these pieces or places of Tribal history. In some cases, Tribes have been telling archaeologists or government agencies for years about these items and places, but weren't being heard or respected, much less given an equal place at the table to openly share and discuss such things. Tribal input and feedback are a critical to moving things forward in an authentic, meaningful way. Click the link below to learn about some of these these archaeological findings and our preliminary explanations for what's being documented within the Southern Appalachian uplands.
Pictured: Geoarchaeologist and quarry specialist Dr. Philip LaPorta recoding CINAQ's findings within a pre-European, Native American quarry archaeological site located within steeply sloping terrain.
