The city of Springfield, Missouri was founded in the 1830’s, but the area has been inhabited for thousands of years. As the city begins work to “daylight” the small stream known as Jordan Creek in its downtown area, a group of Archaeologists from the Warren Center for Archaeological Research at Missouri State University spent part of the summer digging beneath the blacktop of a large parking lot across from Brick City to investigate the site for traces of historical and prehistorical human activity. In this episode of Talking History, we talk to Kevin Cupka-Head and Jennifer Rideout about the role of archaeology in the development of the historical record, the history of downtown Springfield, and the future of Jordan Valley.