Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

European travelers from as early as the time of Columbus have remarked upon the central role tobacco played in the lives of the Native Americans they encountered. Far more than a leisure activity, the smoking of tobacco played a large role in Native American spiritual and ritual life. What are the practice's prehistoric origins, and how do we know? SUNY Albany's Sean M. Rafferty specializes in residue analysis, a technique that uses chemicals to extract and identify traces of plant and animal materials from pottery. Join us tonight to learn about these fascinating methods and discover the earliest evidence of pipe smoking technology, and its social and religious significance to the prehistoric inhabitants of North America.