Under the Isles of Shoals

Ten miles out to sea, Smuttynose Island, in the Isles of Shoals, is a kind of time machine. Native Americans hunted here more than 6,000 years ago. In the dawning days of the American colonies, hundreds of European fishermen salted and dried their prized Atlantic cod. There was an ancient tavern when the Isles of Shoals were an important staging point for New England trade.

Today, only two buildings survive on this flat, primitive spot. But the thin soil that clings to the rocky island is thick with treasure. In four years of an ongoing "dig" at the Isles of Shoals, archaeologist Nathan Hamilton and his students have unearthed some 250,000 artifacts. Through lively text and more than 180 photographs, maps, and illustrations award-winning history writer J. Dennis Robinson tracks Hamilton's discoveries. The bones, stones, and fragments of human occupation tell volumes about our shared American past. And tiny buried shells may reveals secrets of climate change.