In This Issue

As the science of archaeology advances, conclusions are overturned and timelines shift. Such is the case with the search for the origins of chocolate. In "The Power of Chocolate," writer Blake Edgar shows how science has moved back the date of chocolate's first appearance in Mesoamerica.

Archaeology can explicate both the history of peoples and nations, and also tell us something of individual endeavors. "Sunken Dreams," written by senior editor Samir S. Patel, is the story of Spanish nobleman Don Tristan de Luna y Arellano who, in 1559, lead a colonization fleet of 11 ships from Veracruz to what is now Pensacola. The Emanuel Point II shipwreck, which Patel dove with archaeologists, is teaching us much about a Spanish effort that very nearly succeeded in changing the course of American history.

Scholars have long struggled to understand Etruscan culture. In "Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma," writer Rossella Lorenzi reports on this year's recent discoveries and examines what they tell us about the culture so different from that of their neighbors on the Italian peninsula.

Closer in time to our own is "The Hidden History of New York's Harbor," by executive editor Jarrett A. Lobell. It's the story of the formative years of what is arguably the world's greatest port city by way of an unexpected discovery, an eighteenth century brigantine found buried, just this past summer, at the World Trade Center site.

And, in "Letter From Siberia," archaeologist Heinrich Haerke reports on the medieval complex of Por-Bajin in the Russian republic of Tuva. Located in the center of a lake, it could well have been a fortress, or a monastery, and its importance is signaled by unparalleled interest from the highest levels of the Russian government.

Claudia Valentino
Editor in Chief

Features

The Power of Chocolate
Tracking the chemical signature of cacao across Mesoamerica
by Blake Edgar

House of the Chaste Lovers
Inside Pompeii's newly opened residence
by Jason M. Urbanus

Sunken Dreams
A 16th-century shipwreck marks Spain's last chance to claim the American South
by Samir S. Patel

Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma
Excavations are bringing us closer to one of the ancient world's most fascinating cultures
by Rossella Lorenzi

The Hidden History of New York's Harbor  Full text!
Two surprising finds help scholars understand the source of the city's wealth
by Jarrett A. Lobell

Departments

From the President: The Danger of Iconoclasm
We must preserve the whole cultural record
by C. Brian Rose

From the Trenches
Confederate POW camp discovered, reconstructing statues shattered in WWII, home of the vulture goddess, and the world's first butchers

• Online Exclusive: Sneden's Legacy
  How a Union captive's art is helping historians and archaeologists

Reviews
A novel take on the Roman Empire, ancient Egypt on the cheap, and the Lod mosaic

World Roundup
Smoking with Lawrence of Arabia, Neanderthal beds, trapped under ice, macabre Maya tomb, Irish-American mass grave, a pet tortoise, and more

Conversation  Full text!
How archaeologists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are helping veterans reenter the workforce

Insider
A much-hyped discovery near Stonehenge shows the promise and pitfalls of dig-less archaeology
by Roger Atwood

Letter from Siberia  Expanded online version!
Excavating unique medieval ruins at the center of a remote lake in the Russian republic of Tuva
by Heinrich Härke

Artifact
Mask of the last Maya ruler of Aguateca