American Archaeology

A gripping, often irreverent exploration of the past, present, and future of archaeology in America.

“R.E. Burrillo will change what you thought you knew about archaeology, transforming what began as a science focused on division into a communal project of understanding and healing.”
—RILEY BLACK, When the Earth Was Green

Archaeology has long captivated the American public, yet pop culture mythology often obscures the harsh realities, thrilling discoveries, and complex moral decisions that archaeologists confront out in the field. Journalist and conservation archaeologist R.E. Burrillo illuminates the joys and contradictions of digging into humanity’s past: the history of the practice, its evolution into science, the influences of nationalism and colonialism, and its ongoing problems with exploitation and misrepresentation.

Now, profit-driven practices are shaping how we study and preserve the past—and pose a serious and growing threat to our scientific and cultural understanding of history itself. With rollicking storytelling and an insider’s expertise, Burrillo challenges us to celebrate curiosity even as we rethink what archaeology is, whom it serves, and what’s at stake for our future and our understanding of ourselves as a species.

R. E. BURRILLO is a researcher, author, conservationist, and cultural preservationist. He holds a Master of Science in archaeology from the University of Utah and is a research associate with Archaeology Southwest. His writing has appeared in Kiva, American Antiquity, Archaeology Southwest Magazine, Colorado Plateau Advocate, and The Salt Lake Tribune, along with many regional publications. He is also the author of American Archaeology: Living History, Stolen Pasts, and Defending the Future, published in 2026, Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape, which was chosen by Foreword Reviews as their critic’s choice in nonfiction for the year 2020, and The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words from a Wandering Local, an essay collection published in 2022. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.