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 Almost 13,000 years ago, small groups of Paleoindians endured  frigid winters on the edge of a river in what would become Keene, New  Hampshire. This begins the remarkable story of Native Americans in the  Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire, part of the traditional  homeland of the Abenaki people. Typically neglected or denied by  conventional history, the long presence of Native people in southwestern  New Hampshire is revealed by archaeological evidence for their deep,  enduring connections to the land and the complex social worlds they  inhabited. From the Tenant Swamp Site in Keene, with the remains of the  oldest known dwellings in New England, to the 4,000-year-old Swanzey  Fish Dam still visible in the Ashuelot River, A Deep Presence tells  their story in a narrative fashion, drawing on the author's thirty years  of fieldwork and presenting compelling evidence from archaeology,  written history, and the living traditions of today's Abenaki people.  For many people, home is not one spot on the landscape, it can be many  places. In A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History,  archaeologist Robert Goodby writes a compelling story of the  archaeological discoveries that help fill in some of the mysteries of  Native American life and movement across the Monadnock region of New  Hampshire over millennia. Based on 30 years of fieldwork, Goodby  describes with great detail the tools, pottery, stonework, and other  records revealed at archaeological sites along rivers and wetlands, in  forests and fields. Each site has yielded insights into past  inhabitants’ life in this region, along with hints at the vast social  networks that existed before European settlement. Goodby goes beyond  archaeology, seeking answers from Native scholars, storytellers, and  others to learn about the past and from contemporary practices,  including recent efforts to revitalize and share Abenaki  culture.—Northern Woodland Magazine 2022 

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award 2022

2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist 

2023 New Hampshire Writer's Project Finalist (Non-Fiction)

2023 New Hampshire Writer's Project People's Choice Award