This fortnight, get ready to learn about pre-Contact Indigenous agriculture that was much, MUCH more widespread than previously thought. Maddie McLeester (Dartmouth College) joins us to describe using LiDAR to identify extensive raised bed farming in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This work, recently published in Science, suggests a ubiquity of Indigenous farming that was previously unrealized. Maddie also chats about her course on Indigenous games.

Show notes:

• McLeester, Madeleine, Carolin Ferwerda, Jonathan Alperstein, David Overstreet, David Grignon, and Jesse Casana. 2025. "Archaeological evidence of intensive indigenous farming in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, USA." Science 388 (6751): 1082-1085. https://doi.org/doi:10.1126/science.ads1643. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.ads1643.
  • Open Access link
• NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/science/archaeology-menomini-michigan.html?smid=url-share
• NPR Article: https://www.npr.org/2025/06/06/nx-s1-5423660/surprise-ancient-native-american-agriculture
• Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/podcast/farming-maize-ice-age-michigan-predicting-future-climate-cities-and-our-host-takes-quiz
• DeBoer, Warren R. “Of Dice and Women: Gambling and Exchange in Native North America.” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 8, no. 3 (2001): 215–68.
• Book 1491: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_Americas_Before_Columbus

Credits:

Sponsors: APANB, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Producer: Emanuel Akel LinkedIn

Music Credits: Justin Hoenke (Title/Hit Pieces) and Shayne Dahl (Hakuna Errata)

Just when you thought Season 3 was over, we come roaring back with a BONUS ep. This fortnight, Gabe and Ken are shedding our love of time travel for timeliness by delving into the contemporary challenges for the North American archaeological industry. Your co-hosts are talking with Society for American Archaeology President Christopher Dore about the sector-wide challenges archaeologists are facing as it relates to CRM, regulation, and career prospects for students. Talk about streamlining! Stay tuned for Season 4 next fortnight on the NB Arch Pod!

Show Notes

• SAA Government Affairs: https://saa.org/government-affairs
  • Contact info: gov_affairs@saa.org
• Suggestions for Foreign Colleagues Traveling to the USA (June 2025): https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-governmentaffairs/tips_to_visiting_scholars.pdf?sfvrsn=f4ddab62_3
• Heritage Business International: https://heritagebusiness.org/

Credits:

Sponsors: APANB, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Producer: Emanuel Akel LinkedIn

Music Credits: Justin Hoenke (Title/Hit Pieces)

We're back from a brief hiatus and a couple of fortnights. In this episode, Gabe and Ken have dusted off their trowels and are in the field talking with our crews and students about the projects we're working on right now. And no, the update from the Chili's in the Calgary airport didn't make the hifi experience (I did give the Premier of NB an NB Arch Pod sticker) but for the first time ever, we're sounding like butter on these hot summer days with a studio intro/outro for our Season Finale of Season 3. Thanks listener--we'll be back with lots of fun in Season 4!

Show Notes

• Trowel GPT music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo0BpGMyqBE
• Articles from Patrick:
  • Alberto Boscaini et al. The emergence and demise of giant sloths.Science388,864-868(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.adu0704
  • Samuel D. Arman et al. Dietary breadth in kangaroos facilitated resilience to Quaternary climatic variations.Science387,167-171(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.adq4340
  • Berkowitz, Rachel. Sonar tool poised to map sea floor in fine detail. https://www.science.org/content/article/new-sonar-tool-game-changer-mapping-sea-floor

Hit pieces:

Work P, Lewis R, Bourque B. A multidisciplinary approach to resolve the taxonomy of the historically extinct sea mink (Neogale macrodon) (Maine, USA). Quaternary Research. Published online 2025:1-16. doi:10.1017/qua.2025.2

Credits:

Sponsors: APANB, UNB Faculty of Arts

Producer: Emanuel Akel LinkedIn

Music Credits: Justin Hoenke (Title/Hit Pieces)