With evidence of human habitation dating back to the last ice age, British Columbia boasts a fascinating array of archaeological sites. In this thoroughly up-to-date survey, professional archaeologist Robert Muckle takes readers to some exciting locations to explain what archaeology is (and isn’t), how research is undertaken in BC, and what it contributes to our broader understanding of human history.

Once upon This Land introduces readers to some of the most notable archaeological investigations in the province, including footprints left in mud on Calvert Island thirteen thousand years ago, the remains of a First Nations village near Lillooet, and the body of a man frozen in ice for centuries in the Tatshenshini region. He also explores more recent phenomena, such as a World War I internment camp near Fernie, a Japanese logging camp in North Vancouver, shipwrecks, airplane crashes, and even the remnants of COVID-19 left behind in urban landfills.

This is an engrossing look at how archaeology, by telling the stories of our past, connects us to fifteen thousand years of human occupation on this land.

Robert J. Muckle is Professor of Anthropology at Capilano University in North Vancouver, Canada. He has been teaching archaeology, biological anthropology, and Indigenous Peoples of North America courses for more than 20 years. He is the author of several publications, including Introducing Archaeology (2nd edition, 2014), Reading Archaeology (2007), and Indigenous Peoples of North America: A Concise Anthropological Overview (2012). He writes the monthly column "Archeology in North America" for the on-line Anthropology News and is active on matters pertaining to anthropology on Twitter (@bobmuckle).

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