A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History (Zoom)
Summer 4 to 8.5 hours | Available (Membership Required)
This course uses the book A Deep Presence, 13,000 Years of Native American History to explore the historical and archaeological evidence for the first 400 generations of the human story in northern New England. Four sites will be considered in detail: the Swanzey Fish Dam, built 4,000 years ago to trap migratory fish; the Raft Bridge site in Peterborough, situated on a sandy knoll overlooking a wetland where people came for millennia to catch turtles and trap beaver; the Wantastiquet Mountain site in Hinsdale, where rattlesnakes were hunted for more than 4,000 years; and the 12,600-year-old Tenant Swamp site in Keene, where Paleoindian caribou hunters living in hide-covered tents endured frigid winters. Recent Abenaki history will also be discussed.
This course will combine lecture with class discussions.
Required Book:
- A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History - Robert Goodby (ISBN-13: 978-1942155409)
Robert Goodby
Robert Goodby is a professor of Anthropology at Franklin Pierce University, holds a PhD from Brown University, and has spent forty years studying Native American archaeological sites in New England. He has served as president of the NH Archeological Society and on the NH Commission on Native American Affairs. His book A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History received a 2021-2023 People’s Choice Award from the NH Writer’s Project.