ASIA TO PATAGONIA—Whole-genome sequencing of 1,537 people from 139 Indigenous groups has traced the longest human migration on Earth, from North Asia to southern South America. Read more: buff.ly/HbicBqn Science article: buff.ly/NiDYQX1

CAHOKIA REGION—A 4-ton bald cypress marker post from the Mitchell site has now been precisely dated to A.D. 1124, the political and economic peak of Cahokia. New analyses show the tree was hauled in from bottomland forest. Read more: buff.ly/mEcyR5f PLOS ONE article: buff.ly/ls3ThyE

SPIRIT CAVE—North America’s oldest known natural mummy is an ancestor, not an outlier. aDNA work proves the individual is related to present-day Native Americans, supporting the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe claim: this is their Storyteller. buff.ly/xRV7PV6 buff.ly/NecsCDA bit.ly/43smjVJ

PISCO VALLEY, PERU—Thousands of man-sized holes snake for nearly a mile across a desert ridge at Monte Sierpe, long billed as one of the Andes’ great mysteries. New research in Antiquity suggests the “Band of Holes” was an Indigenous accounting and exchange system. Read more: buff.ly/Al0RCP3

TABASCO, MEXICO—At Aguada Fénix, using LiDAR and excavation, archaeologists mapped a complex of nested cross-shaped platforms, canals, and corridors up to 9 kilometers long, built ca. 1050–700 BCE by a community with little evidence for powerful rulers. Read more:

SANTA FE, N.M.— What can we learn about Indigenous urbanism by comparing Cahokia and Chaco? On Nov. 18, Dr. Timothy Pauketat (Illinois State Archaeologist and longtime Cahokia researcher) will explore how these two early cities reshaped ideas. Read more: buff.ly/GtW0xdr

ICYMI: Our latest virtual lecture is now available. Dr. Stephen Humphreys, CEO of AVAR, shares how archaeology can support veteran well-being Watch: youtu.be/cPIlwXDpNX4 Read the feature in our fall issue: buff.ly/N9Mvu0G AVAR website: americanveteransarchaeology.org

JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tonight at 5 p.m. MT. Dr. Stephen Humphreys shows how well-designed fieldwork supports veteran well-being—and what veterans bring to archaeology. Free. Register here: buff.ly/sAyjZBX Read the feature: buff.ly/2PywYvQ

VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tomorrow, Thu., Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. MT. “Digging for Recovery—AVAR’s Model for Veteran Well-Being Through Archaeology” with Dr. Stephen Humphreys (CEO & Founder, AVAR). Free for everyone. Learn more and register: buff.ly/sAyjZBX See the feature in our fall issue: buff.ly/2PywYvQ

ONLINE—Nov 13 (Thu): Crow Canyon webinar. “Harmonizing Tradition: Navajo Music and the ‘Beauty Way’ in Archaeology.” Free. Read more: buff.ly/7fg6DjW #CrowCanyon #IndigenousKnowledge #Archaeology

NEW MEXICO—Fresh Paleoindian work documents a Clovis lithic source and campsite in central NM, The Blue Canyon Site. Read more: buff.ly/pYl2WiW #Paleoindian #Clovis #NewMexico

CONSERVANCY SITE SPOTLIGHT—The 25-acre Borax Lake Archaeological Preserve is a National Historic Landmark designated as “a prime example of early Holocene lakeshore settlement dating to 11,000 years ago.” It was the Archaeological Conservancy's first preserve in its Western region, acquired in 1987.

ONLINE—Nov 12 (Wed): AIA Archaeology Hour. Alison Futrell, “The People’s Arena.” Free public lecture (8pm ET / 6pm MT). Read more: buff.ly/EcgzEam #AIA #Archaeology #PublicLecture

GEORGIA COAST—Mississippian migrations, local impacts: New OA analysis reframes a 14th-century immigration event at community scale. Read more: buff.ly/A6RhxHZ #Mississippian #SoutheastArchaeology #Migration

SITE SPOTLIGHT—The Terrarium Archaeological Preserve encompasses a 360-acre parcel archaeological easement acquired in 2020. It is located in the Coast Range of northern California. A prior survey IDed previously documented petroglyph boulders and an additional 5 sites, one dating back 2,500 years.

BATON ROUGE, LA—The Conservancy’s Southeast team is at #SEAC! We caught up with MSU grad student John Knapp Watts, who (with a fellow student) is presenting new Prospect Hill research. Proud to see TAC preserves supporting student scholarship. More about Prospect Hill: buff.ly/RQh1Sy7

SITE SPOTLIGHT: Bill Bear Fort Salem Archaeological Preserve (Ohio)—Woodland-era circular ditch-and-wall with two conjoined mounds still visible. Hopewell-period origins likely; Adena activity possible. Open to the public with small parking, picnic tables, benches, and a dedication area.

ATOTONILCO DE TULA, HIDALGO—Mexico will reroute ~8 km of the Mexico City–Querétaro rail line to protect the El Venado petroglyphs, a sacred rock art site. INAH archaeologists are surveying nearby panels (El Chamán, El Nahual) as plans adjust. Read more: buff.ly/T4vekLe

OAKLAND, CA—More than 1,000 items were stolen in an Oct. 15 break-in at the Oakland Museum of California’s off-site storage, including Native American baskets, jewelry, historic photos. The museum is urging public tips. Read more: buff.ly/mQepNpg buff.ly/Kp4UTlV

ARIZONA—New research argues the earliest European settlement in the American Southwest was Coronado’s 1541 Suya/San Jerónimo in the Santa Cruz Valley. Read more: buff.ly/YrZ6JsQ Journal article: buff.ly/KSL4B33 #Southwest #Arizona #SpanishColonial #Coronado #AmericanAntiquity #PublicArchaeology

SUNRISE, WYOMING—Powars II, and ancient red ochre (hematite) quarry is likely the only one of its kind in North America—it reveals early mining, wide-ranging social networks, and ceremonial lifeways dating back ~13,000 years. Read more: buff.ly/WRQhrAe

SITE SPOTLIGHT—Fall is in full swing at the Siemer Archaeological Preserve, 301 acres acquired in 2015. Siemer is in California containing pit depressions and middens—an Achomawi winter village inhabited within the last 1,500 years. The reservoir and domestic trash dumps date to the 20th century.

ONLINE—Nov 4 (Tue): Archaeology Southwest Café, “Following Their Footsteps: Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition.” Free; in-person in Tucson, Arizona, or Zoom. Read more: buff.ly/em5fe7s #Archaeology #Southwest #PublicTalk

MAINE & NOVA SCOTIA—Coastal sites under threat: New OA paper models sea-level rise + erosion to guide triage for endangered sites. Read more: bit.ly/3Lg3m2b #CoastalArchaeology #ClimateHeritage #Maine #NovaScotia

TEOTIHUACÁN, MEXICO—New reporting in the New York Times spotlights research arguing that Teotihuacan’s murals record a true writing system—likely encoding an early Uto-Aztecan language, ancestral to Nahuatl. Read more: buff.ly/g7uwmFY #Teotihuacan #Mesoamerica #Epigraphy #UtoAztecan #Nahuatl

CHESAPEAKE (VA/MD)—Community archaeology of segregated Catholic cemeteries: Open-access study blends geophysics, history, and engagement to document overlooked burial grounds. Read more: buff.ly/IQUhxJR #PublicArchaeology #Cemeteries #CommunityHistory

LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA—Millersville University archaeologists and students are excavating the c.1725 Galbraith Ordinary—likely the county’s oldest tavern—north of Marietta, uncovering thousands of artifacts that illuminate colonial tavern life. Read more:

MONTANA — Montana’s Chinese past isn’t past. Descendants, historians, and community partners are documenting mining camps, laundries, and temples—and pushing back on erasure with new research and interpretation across the state. Read more: buff.ly/Vh7Fpyh #Archaeology #ChineseAmericanHistory

SITE SPOTLIGHT—The Fast Archaeological Preserve is a 160-acre preserve in northern California donated in 2012. It is 10 sites comprised of rock rings, house depressions, rock stacks, groundstone, projectile points, cores, flakes, midden deposits, petroglyph panels, and a historic road.

GREAT BARDFIELD, ESSEX (UK)—Archaeologists with Operation Nightingale, DPAA, and Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the 1944 crash site of 2nd Lt. Lester Lowry’s P-47 “Lucky Boy,” recovering thousands of aircraft parts and personal items as they work to bring him home. Read more:

ONLINE — Dec. 4: SAA seminar, “Crafting Data-Driven Publications in Archaeology.” Learn practical workflows for reproducible analysis, effective data viz, and clearer reporting to strengthen articles and reports. Registration is required. Read more: buff.ly/thThC8B

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA—Colonial Williamsburg will host its 28th annual Working Wood in the 18th Century conference, Jan. 22–25, 2026. The theme—United We Sit: Exploring Early American Chairs—features demos, keynotes, and shop talks with master makers and scholars. Register: buff.ly/yp3Zt11

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA—UCSB plans accelerated steps to return Native American ancestors and cultural items, including creating a dedicated Repatriation Office (2024), summarizing 800+ collections (≈135,000 items), and increasing rate of repatriation.

Looking for your next archaeology read? Explore American Archaeology’s searchable database of book reviews—filter by title, author, or topic to find trusted picks from our editorial archive. Read more: buff.ly/8KIj4e3 #AmericanArchaeology #ArchaeologyBooks #ReadingList #ArchaeologicalConservancy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA—A 1,900-year-old Roman tombstone—once missing from a museum in Civitavecchia, Italy—ended up in a New Orleans backyard and is now being repatriated with help from scholars and the FBI Art Crime Team. Popular Mechanics feature: buff.ly/zDLYbLS AP:

Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute have postponed their planned expedition to investigate the “Taraia Object,” believed by some to be Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra. Read more: buff.ly/7m3tSs0 Project site:

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C.—USC archaeologists recapped four decades of fieldwork and remote sensing at the 16th-century Spanish town of Santa Elena (a National Historic Landmark). A massive artifact collection is being curated for long-term access in the state repository. Read more:

OTTAWA, CANADA—The Vatican Museums will transfer several dozen Indigenous belongings—including an Inuvialuit kayak and ceremonial items—back to communities in Canada via a church-to-church process. Read more: buff.ly/UIuejRk CBC coverage: buff.ly/7wbXCfS

New high-precision tree-ring radiocarbon dating and strontium isotope analysis pin the felling of Cahokia’s massive “Mitchell Log” marker post to A.D. 1124, right at the city’s peak—and indicate the 11,000-lb bald cypress was transported ~100+ miles More: buff.ly/foEEobH PLOS ONE: buff.ly/YuchERa

ONLINE—Oct. 30: Through a Zuni Lens: Museum Collections & Collaborative Filmmaking. Watch a 15-min film and join a conversation with Zuni leader Octavius Seowtewa and anthropologist Carrie Heitman on ancestral belongings at the Smithsonian. Free; registration recommended. Read more: buff.ly/qQXsjjN

EPPS, LOUISIANA—New research from Washington University in St. Louis reframes Poverty Point as a periodic gathering place built by egalitarian hunter-gatherers, not a top-down chiefdom. Read more: buff.ly/HZb5WdF

TULSA, OK: Archaeologists provided an update on Oaklawn Cemetery investigations into burials linked to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre—sharing progress, next steps for reporting. For the deeper story behind the work, see our feature in the current issue of American Archaeology buff.ly/UpXyx7B

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—Free hybrid lecture tonight, Oct. 29, 6–7 p.m. ET: “Death and Burial in Colonial Cambridge.” Learn how researchers use photography, digital mapping, and GPR to interpret colonial burials and New England’s slavery history. In person or online. Read more: buff.ly/bAeIBi1

TORONTO, ONTARIO—Officials and archaeological experts report evidence of at least five ancestors at the Withrow Avenue site. Indigenous groups are monitoring next steps, and consultations continue. Read more: buff.ly/Yp97PaB #Archaeology #CulturalHeritage #Ontario

OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN—Road work along Pratt Trail (Menominee Park) exposed pottery and features from a Native village (Woodland to Oneota). The city paused construction, brought in CRM specialists, and shared findings with the public. Read more: buff.ly/RgDKIUm News release: buff.ly/gLWoq1g

TEHUACÁN VALLEY, PUEBLA — A newly documented 205-ft scorpion-shaped effigy mound may align with the summer/winter solstices, hinting at community sky-watching tied to farming rituals (A.D. 600–1100). Read more: buff.ly/vzOARMi Journal article: bit.ly/4othFPk #Archaeology #Mesoamerica

FERRYLAND, NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR—Archaeologists at the 17th-century Colony of Avalon uncovered seven rare wampum beads—the first ever reported from Newfoundland & Labrador. Read more: buff.ly/rnoHnEl buff.ly/4j0q2QH #Archaeology #Wampum #IndigenousHistory #ColonyOfAvalon #Newfoundland

MEXICO CITY — INAH archaeologists are leading monthly public tours that spotlight ancient sites woven through the modern city—bringing heritage, context, and conservation to the street level. Read more: buff.ly/iqb8fx9 #Archaeology #PublicArchaeology #INAH #MexicoCity #HeritageEducation

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — A family’s backyard “rock” turned out to be a 1,900-year-old Roman gravestone tied to a Thracian soldier; it’s now with the FBI for repatriation. Read more: buff.ly/310d0LT #Archaeology #Repatriation #CulturalHeritage #PublicHistory

MAYA LOWLANDS—A new PNAS study models the rise and fall of Classic Maya cities, finding that climate swings, conflict, and investments in farming infrastructure interacted to drive both urban growth and later deurbanization. Read more: buff.ly/fceLJtc Journal article: buff.ly/fZlsndH