The Missing Dead: Archaeological Evidence of Smallpox Epidemics with Dr. Alex Garcia-Putnam and Dr. Tomas Snyder - Ep 50

Podcast: The Great Plains Archaeology Podcast · The Archaeology Podcast Network

Opublikowano: 2026-09-17

What can archaeology tell us about the devastating smallpox epidemics that affected Indigenous communities across the Americas following European colonization? In this episode of the Great Plains Archaeology Podcast, Carlton Shield Chief Gover is joined by Dr. Alex-Garcia Putnam and Dr. Thomas J. Snyder to explore the archaeological evidence for historic smallpox epidemics. They begin by discussing smallpox, its impact on Indigenous populations, and what archaeologists might expect to see in the archaeological record when an epidemic causes widespread mortality. From there, they examine why evidence for these epidemics can be surprisingly difficult to identify, including the...