NONFICTION | COMING APRIL 2026
AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY:
Living History, Stolen Pasts, and Defending the Future
by R. E. BURRILLO
“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
A gripping, often irreverent exploration of the past, present, and future of archaeology in America.
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.
Trade Paper Original | ISBN: 9798890920324 | $23.95 | 320 pp | Trim: 5.5 in X 8.3" | April 2026
“A simultaneously joyous and maddening journey; each page made me eager for the next. For anyone who might think that archeology is static or dry, this book will disabuse you of that. Burrillo’s work is perfect for the time we live in right now.”
—DAVID EVERITT, Back of Beyond Books
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R. E. BURRILLO is an archaeologist, author, and conservation advocate. 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 Archaeology Southwest Magazine, Colorado Plateau Advocate, Southwestern Lore, Kiva, American Antiquity, and The Salt Lake Tribune, along with many regional publications. He is the author of Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Scared Landscape (chosen by Foreword Book Reviews as their 2020 Critic’s Choice in nonfiction); and The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words from a Wandering Local. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
BEHIND THE BEARS EARS: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape
For more than 12,000 years, the wondrous landscape of southeastern Utah has defined the histories, cultures, and lives of everyone who calls it home. Archaeologist and conservationist R. E. Burrillo takes readers on a journey of discovery through the stories and controversies that make this place so unique, from traces of its earliest inhabitants through its role in shaping the study of Southwest archaeology itself—and into the modern battle over its protection.
"Fierce yet playful, admonishing and ambitious, Behind the Bears Ears is as vast and consuming as the landscape itself.”
—AMY IRVINE, Desert Cabal
THE BACKWOODS OF EVERYWHERE: Words from a Wandering Local
After an upstate New York childhood and a bartending stint in New Orleans’ French Quarter, seasonal resort work led R. E. Burrillo to the desert Southwest, whose redrock landscapes were a source of stability through mental and physical illness. In The Backwoods of Everywhere, archaeologist Burrillo excavates his past, examining Indigenous and tourist cultures, the complexities of American archaeology, and what it means to be a local. In the vein of Bill Bryson, Tim Cahill, and Ellen Meloy, Burrillo’s is a fresh voice in humor-spiked nature writing and cultural commentary.
“Mixing fighting words and wonder, Burrillo extends the boundaries of ‘backwoods’ to back yards, city riots, and the depth of the Grand Canyon. He reminds us to be vexed, amused, and serious about the mark we put on the world.”
—CRAIG CHILDS, The Wild Dark and Tracing Time
PRAISE FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
“A passionate and empathetic meditation. 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 the ways we inquire about the histories that have carried us to this moment.”
—RILEY BLACK, When the Earth Was Green
“American Archaeology is a fascinating and entertaining conversation about the science of the human past.”
—KENNETH L. FEDER, Native America
“Burrillo's observations are acerbic and erudite, as well as funny and big-hearted.”
—BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN, True West
“A delightful, boots-on-the-ground romp through the history of what has been traditionally portrayed as a staid profession. Burrillo masterfully uses archaeology as a mirror that reflects the truth about the cultural theft and devastating harms to Indigenous peoples caused by America’s colonial past. He also shows us how owning up to this reality offers a brighter future.”
—ANNETTE McGIVNEY, Pure Land
“Burrillo uncovers the truth and humanity embedded in the field of archaeology with humor and respect. Though the book is an account of the history of archaeology, it clearly documents crucial details of this moment that will someday become part of the archaeological record.”
—MORGAN SJOGREN, Path of Light
“Accessible, genuine, and impassioned, Burrillo gives us a sweeping history of archaeology from its earliest days to its most recent conundrums, as archaeology sheds its colonial past and reinvents itself.”
—STEPHEN H. LEKSON, Curator of Archaeology, Jubilado, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
“Buckle in for a page-turning foray into how archaeology became a science, how and why archaeologists create knowledge in response to social and political trends, and the ways that knowledge gets used, abused, amplified, and silenced.”
—JOHN R. WELCH, Vice President for Collaboration and Preservation at Archaeology Southwest and Simon Fraser University
“He’s done it again! Burrillo has weaved a fascinating and highly readable history of American archaeology, with tidbits I was unaware of. Once I got started, I found it nearly impossible to put this book down. Readers are in for a real treat!”
—PAUL F. REED, Archaeology Southwest
“American Archaeology is captivating and important work. Burrillo excavates the origins and progression of American archaeology with scholarly expertise and a deft literary touch.”
—OSHA GRAY DAVIDSON, Clean Break
“Who knew archaeology could be this fun? Burrillo’s expert treatise on the state of archaeology today is as knowledgeable and informed as it is entertaining to read. In an America where history itself is under attack, Burrillo provides deeply personal profiles of the colorful people working tirelessly to keep archaeological truth alive. A book not to be missed.”
—SCOTT GRAHAM, Grand Canyon Sacrifice
