How popcorn was discovered nearly 7,000 years ago
An archaeologist explains the food's likely appeal for people in the Americas millennia ago.
Sean Rafferty
Professor of Anthropology, University at Albany, State University of New York
My research involves the archaeology of Eastern North America. Within this region, I am interested in the interplay between ritual practices and cultural variability, especially within the area of mortuary practices and smoking rituals. I have research interests in the field of archaeometry, with a specialty in residue analysis using chromotographic approaches. These research interests coincide with my ongoing research into the origins of tobacco smoking in the Eastern Woodlands of North America.
I have published two books, Native Intoxicants of North America (University of Tennessee, 2021) and Misanthropology: Science, Pseudoscience and the Study of Humanity (Routledge, 2023).
