Join Dr. Robert Goodby to explore the historical and archaeological evidence for the first 400 generations of the human story in the Monadnock Region. Using the book A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History as our guide, we’ll consider four sites 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 beavers; 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 Environmental Studies Institute (ESI) course meets Wednesdays, January 15, 22 and 29, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Cost: $60 for Harris Center supporters / $80 for all others.

Space is limited, and registration is required. For questions about registration, contact Miles Stahmann. For all other information, including questions about accessibility, contact Susie Spikol.

Robert Goodby has spent 40 years studying Native American archaeological sites in New England. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Archeological Society and a former Trustee of the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner. He has also served on the New Hampshire Commission on Native American Affairs. His book, A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History, published with support from the Harris Center and the Historical Society of Cheshire County, was awarded the 2023 People’s Choice Award for Non-Fiction by the New Hampshire Writer’s Project.