Before Europeans arrived in the Great Lakes area, in the 16th century, people were living in societies that were getting more and more complex. In 1000 AD they were living in year round villages. By 1500 AD these villages were up to five hectares large and lined with rows of palisades. Furthermore they were banding together into political alliances that Europeans called “confederacies” for defensive purposes.
The question I posed, to four prominent Great Lakes archaeologists, is this – if Europeans, for whatever reason, had not landed on these shores, would the native people of the Great Lakes have built cities and created a written language? Just like we saw in Mesopotamia or the Indus Valley?
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I think you would have seen greater confederacies, larger entities, joining together
For Richard Burger, archaeology has turned up many surprising things. This includes romance, which blossomed when he met his archaeologist wife, Lucy Salazar, at a dig in her native Peru. “Sites are not all that romantic. There’s too much work!” says Burger. Luckily, however, nearby Lima was in the full flood of a Southern Hemisphere Spring, and love found its way out of the dusty remains after all.
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At the top, decorating the entrance to a central chamber, is a frieze depicting a giant mouth with three-foot long fangs.
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