This volume surveys the archaeology of Native North Americans from their arrival on the continent 15,000 years ago up to contact with European colonizers. Offering rich descriptions of monumental structures, domestic architecture, vibrant objects, and spiritual forces, Timothy R. Pauketat and Kenneth E. Sassaman show how indigenous people shaped both their history and North America's many varied environments. They place the student in the past as they trace how Native Americans dealt with challenges such as climate change, the rise of social hierarchies and political power, and ethnic conflict. Written in a clear and engaging style with a compelling narrative, The Archaeology of Ancient North America presents the grand historical themes and intimate stories of ancient Americans in full, living color. Unlike extant texts, this textbook treats pre-Columbian Native Americans as history makers who yet matter in our contemporary world. Timothy R. Pauketat is an archaeologist and professor of anthropology and medieval studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, with research interests that span the Americas. Kenneth E. Sassaman is the Hyatt and Cici Brown Professor of Florida Archaeology at the University of Florida. His research centers on the culture history of ancient hunter-gatherers of the Archaic Period (c.11,000–3000 years ago). Both Sassaman and Pauketat are previous winners of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference's C. B. Moore Award in Southeastern Archaeology.