Mammoths and Empires

A History of Indigenous Discovery, Civilization, and Adaptation in the Americas

Todd J. Braje

An absorbing, eye-opening narrative that looks through the lens of deep time and invites us to rethink human history—and our shared future.

Long before the arrival of Columbus and other Europeans, Indigenous peoples were exploring continents, engineering ecosystems, and building powerful empires across the Americas. In Mammoths and Empire, archaeologist Todd Braje reveals the sweeping, often overlooked story of more than 15,000 years of human history in the Americas—beginning with Ice Age explorers navigating unfamiliar lands filled with mammoths and giant predators, and culminating in the rise of agricultural communities, cities, and empires that rivaled any in the ancient world. This is not a tale of vanished peoples or “primitive” cultures, but a bold recentering of American history as Indigenous history and a celebration of the enduring traditions of Indigenous peoples.

Blending storytelling with cutting-edge science, Mammoths and Empire reveals how archaeologists study the past and how scientists unearth the stories of deep history. Along the way, Braje dismantles popular myths, confronts pseudoscience, and centers Indigenous knowledge, demonstrating how Native communities actively shaped and stewarded the landscapes, waterways, and environments around them long before European arrival.

More than just history, Mammoths and Empire is a book about American futures. As modern societies face climate change, biodiversity loss, and social instability, the deep history of the Americas offers roadmaps for resilience and sustainability. This book reveals why archaeology matters—not just for understanding where we came from, but for imagining where we might go next.

Todd J. Braje received his PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon and is the executive director of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, after more than a decade spent as a professor at San Diego State University. He's the author of several books, including Islands through Time and Modern Oceans, Ancient Sites, and most recently, Understanding Imperiled Earth. His research focuses on the archaeology of maritime societies, the application of archaeological records to modern resource management, and the peopling of the New World.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Todd J. Braje

"This synthesis of knowledge allows for a more holistic view of humanity’s impact on the planet over millennia...His call for collaboration across disciplines and a rethinking of human history from an ecological perspective is both timely and urgent." American Archaeology Magazine 

“Islands Through Time is an incredible book. A gamechanger in demonstrating how lessons from the past provide crucial baselines for implementing conservation and management goals and the book shows why Indigenous people and other relevant stakeholders need to be on the frontlines in protecting and stewarding our island ecosystems in the face of climate change and many other challenges today.” Kent G. Lightfoot,  Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley

"This is archaeology with a purpose, committed not only to documenting the decline of an ecosystem, but also contributing to its restoration and to communicating this mission with wider academic and public audiences. This is a call to arms, addressing historical wrongs and mapping a sustainable future; it is fascinating, highly readable and recommended.”
Antiquity