The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains is a coherent and concise summary of the current state of knowledge about archaeology of the North American Plains. Douglas B. Bamforth outlines major characteristics of and patterns in the human experience on the Plains from the earliest dated archaeological sites through the early twentieth century. Departing from the culture history concepts prevalent in many considerations of Plains archaeology, this book instead concentrates on people and trends in human behavior through time. By focusing on specific chronologies, regional topographies, and local climates, Bamforth demonstrates that Plains lifeways have been complex and ever changing. The chapters are framed chronologically, including considerations of Pre-Clovis (pre-10,800 BC), Paleoindian (10,800–6900 BC), Archaic (6900–600 BC), Woodland (600 BC–AD 950), Plains Village (AD 950–1500), and colonial (AD 1500–twentieth century) periods.

The Plains region is neither stagnant nor isolated, and it is more than the treeless sea of grass that is so prevalent in modern imagination. Bamforth highlights climate, vegetation, and resource availability—including animal communities—throughout this volume, demonstrating that the area is anything but featureless and homogenous. Special recognition is given to bison, and consistent themes associated with bison procurement and processing persist throughout.

Starting at the end of the last Ice Age, Bamforth notes that archaeology of the earliest occupations on the Plains attract the most attention, but these occupations are also the ones about which we know the least. He discusses potential routes of movement and the timing of the earliest arrivals of Indigenous people to the region, as well as current interpretations of skeletal and genetic evidence. He also addresses the important issue of Clovis progenitors on the Plains, critiquing previously published models of prehistoric land use, technology, and topics related to group size and hunting techniques.

Bamforth emphasizes that the post-Clovis Paleoindian record includes more than just evidence of bison procurement and processing. He highlights projectile point typologies and changes in human behavior in response to climate change, and he challenges traditional views of Paleoindians covering expansive territories in favor of a “place-focused” settlement pattern. Bamforth argues that by the Archaic period, there are regional patterns in repetitive land use, and he notes distinctions between northern and southern groups in technological and behavioral adaptations related to intensified use of local environments. He also discusses the emergence of early cultigens and ceramics, as well as the appearance of ritual landscapes and impacts of increased extraregional interactions between groups.

Bamforth emphasizes intensified use of domesticated plants and development of regionally distinctive ceramics during the Woodland period. He notes that distinctive communities, albeit communities that knew each other and interacted across diverse landscapes, are visible in the archaeological record of this period. In addition to discussing the emergence of bow-and-arrow technology as well as “industrial” bison processing, long-term use/reuse of communal hunting spaces, and early depictions of violence in rock art and other art forms, Bamforth notes that mortuary sites visible on the landscape become more common, and he describes social groups with deeply engaged economic, social, and ritual practices in different geographic regions of the Plains.

Bamforth addresses long-term land use rights associated with maize agriculture and highlights regional differences in permanent architecture and ceramic styles during the Plains Village period. Three chapters are dedicated to the mosaic of panregional social and economic networks established across the Plains during this time. He notes that large permanent communities characterize this period, during which aggregate and fortified towns appear in the archaeological record. Bamforth describes extensive trade networks focused on bison procurement and maize production, citing specific archaeological evidence from the Central Plains and the Southern Plains to illustrate changing lifeways during this period. In addition to interactions with peripheral groups, including Puebloans to the south and west, attention is given to burial treatment and the significance of place and establishment of formal cemeteries. Bamforth discusses the impact of environmental deterioration—specifically drought—on village life, as well as continued increase in intra- and intersite violence. He demonstrates that by the fifteenth century AD, culture historic–taxonomic units can be correlated to archaeological culture units and known historic tribal locations.

The era of European colonialism is addressed in the final two chapters, with a focus on archaeological evidence rather than documented written records. Bamforth cautions against applying observed colonial period patterns to the more distant past, because this period represents a time of significant population movement, depopulation, and social and economic reorganization. Impacts of European exploration and expansion across the Plains are discussed in terms of trade relations, increased violence, introduced disease, and the introduction and adoption of the horse by Indigenous peoples, resulting in profound changes in long-standing social, demographic, and ecological patterns. By the 1800s, the United States had established military outposts across the Plains, and the Indigenous North America common in mainstream popular imagination took shape, and Bamforth discusses how, by the middle of the 1800s, Indigenous communities were displaced onto reservations over most of the region.

Bamforth remarks that “human history on the Plains is not a story of an unchanging way of life fixed for centuries . . . it is a story of constant change and interactions between human beings and the region’s potential and limits” (p. 386). This volume captures the ever-changing ways of life of Plains peoples through time by highlighting Plains-wide commonalities as well as regional differences evident in the archaeological record. The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains is a welcome addition to any library for Plains scholars, and it is a must-read for both those who are new to or unfamiliar with Plains archaeology and those who are seasoned veterans and regional specialists.