From 800 to 1300 CE, a great religious movement swept Mesoamerica, the Southwest, and the Mississippi valley. This Medieval Warm Period was one of the most consequential eras in North American history. In this era, the continent was shaped by climate change or – as its peoples then believed – controlled by gods of wind and water.

In this episode of our History Hit sister podcast, Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks to archaeologist Dr. Timothy Pauketat, author of Gods of Thunder: How Climate Change, Travel, and Spirituality Reshaped Precolonial America. He has followed the footsteps of priests, pilgrims, traders and farmers led by the weather to migrate long distances to new lands.

This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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