On Rehumanizing Pleistocene People of the Western Hemisphere

Since the emergence of niche in Folsom, New Mexico, late 1920s, peopling archaeology has sought to understand earliest human occupants Western Hemisphere. Three generations practitioners have made great strides techno-environmental arena. However, we largely failed tap into PaleoIndigenous intellectual, emotional, and social lives—the very domains that Ice Age people as fully are. As a result, our interpretations those pioneering populations could often apply readily colony ants or herd wildebeest they do living, breathing, thinking, dreaming, loving, striving ancestors. This article first explores reasons for failure actualize First Peoples, identifying implicating feedback loop includes practitioner homogeneity (we always been continue be disproportionately white men European descent); predominantly positivist worldview; language, training, practice; even limited nature material record study. also, however, highlights ways an important minority scholars access humanity people. By more consistently mobilizing own capacity creatively interrogate deep past, will produce scholarship recognizes who lived it and, just importantly, respects living today.