Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

Happy Independence Day! Join Dr Schuldenrein and professor Dr. Jeff Hantman as they discuss the American colonial period, paying particular attention to Thomas Jefferson. In 1783, while the Rev War was raging and he was serving as Virginia’s Governor, Jefferson lead the first scientific archaeological excavation in the United States, digging a Monacan native mound in Monticello. Jefferson held a complicated and often contradictory view of native peoples, at once extolling their virtues in an effort to counteract derogatory views of America held by many Europeans, while also advocating for Native assimilation into white-American culture and society. While much has changed, archaeology’s continuing failure to integrate Native histories and worldviews into established understandings of the past has lead Dr. Hantman to employ a collaborative archaeology. Listen in and learn how and why the history of the Monacan people is important to early colonial history and the Jamestown colony.