Allison McGovern has been digging history for a long time. Fascinated as a child with ancient Egypt and visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she went on to become a professional archaeologist, uncovering the past in her own backyard.

On today’s episode, you’ll hear McGovern describe her work at a number of sites on the island, including the Pyrrhus Concer site in Southampton and Freetown in East Hampton. We also talk about what archaeology can and cannot tell us, the importance of Native American and African American settlements, and the need to listen to communities about their ties to the past.

Further Research

• Allison McGovern
• VHB
• Race and Ethnicity in Early America Reflected through Evidence form the Betsey Prince Archaeological Site, Long Island, New York by Allison McGovern (PDF)
• Freetown (Mapping the African American Past)
• Pyrrhus Concer’s Legacy Sails Again
• New York State Museum
• Time Team
• Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0