Historical Archaeology and the Latter-day Saint Past reviews the history of archaeological investigations at sites connected to the Latter-day Saints and examines the ways archaeology has contributed to the understanding of that past. Examples from various sites, where over time archaeologists have utilized a wide range of methods, illustrate the potential of historical archaeology to confirm, complete, correct, and sometimes confuse understandings of the Latter-day Saints.

The Arrington Lecture series, established in honor of one of the twentieth-century American West’s most distinguished historians, Leonard Arrington, has become a leading forum for prominent scholars to address topics related to Latter-day Saint history. Utah State University hosts the Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series through the Merrill-Cazier Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

 

Benjamin Pykles is the Director of Historic Sites for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and author of Excavating Nauvoo: The Mormons and the Rise of Historical Archaeology in America(2010).