Digging in the dirt and digging through data are two sides of the same coin of discovery at JMU. This issue of Madison features the work of Dr. Dennis Blanton, an archaeologist and associate professor of anthropology who for nearly two decades has been on the trail of 16th-century Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto’s encounters with Native Americans in what is now the southeastern United States. Now, with the help of undergraduate student researchers, Blanton and his colleagues believe they have found the first proven Soto encampment outside of Florida on a plantation near Albany, Georgia. We also feature JMU Intelligence Analysis students who are using satellite data, campaign modeling and open-source intelligence to track geopolitical behavior and emerging threats around the world. Their research is gaining international recognition, a rare feat for undergraduates.
