Heritage Voices

Heritage Voices, hosted by Jessica Yaquinto, explores the intersections of Indigenous heritage, archaeology, and cultural preservation. Each episode features conversations with Indigenous professionals, culture bearers, and allies working in heritage, language revitalization, tribal historic preservation, and collaborative archaeology. The show highlights Indigenous voices and perspectives in a field historically dominated by Western narratives. Whether you're a heritage professional, archaeologist, or simply passionate about inclusive storytelling, Heritage Voices offers meaningful insights into how Native communities are leading the way in preserving and interpreting their own histories.

Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

PROMO - BREAKING NEWS - Monte Verde is no longer a pre-Clovis site, with Dr. Todd Surovell - Ethno 33

For decades, Monte Verde in southern Chile has been one of the most famous archaeological sites in the Americas. The site was widely accepted as 14,500 years old, making it one of the strongest pieces of evidence for human presence in the Americas before Clovis.

But what if that interpretation was wrong?

For decades, Monte Verde in southern Chile has been one of the most famous archaeological sites in the Americas. The site was widely accepted as 14,500 years old, making it one of the strongest pieces of evidence for human presence in the Americas before Clovis.

But what if that interpretation was wrong?

In this special episode, I sit down with Dr. Todd Surovell, professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, to discuss new research that re-examines Monte Verde using modern geoarchaeological methods. The results suggest that the famous site may actually be much younger than previously believed, dating to the Holocene rather than the Ice Age.

If true, this would mean that Monte Verde is not evidence for pre-Clovis humans in South America, and it could force archaeologists to reconsider one of the most influential discoveries in American archaeology.

We discuss:

  • The history of the Monte Verde discovery

  • Why it reshaped textbooks in the 1990s

  • How new geological and dating analyses challenge the original interpretation

  • What this means for Clovis-first vs. pre-Clovis models

  • Why independent verification and skepticism are essential in science

  • This episode explores how science evolves—and how even the most famous discoveries can be re-examined.

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