Based on Stuart's new book, "A Fragile Legacy of Well-Being: Three Families and the Trajectory of America, 1750–2019,”  the stage for this work was first set a decade ago by his and his students’ research on the frustratingly modest burial data that suggested notable differences between the Southwest's taller Chacoan elites and its shorter common farmers of the late 11^th century AD. Did those differences contribute to the Chaco world's decline; or were they a side effect? To answer this question, Stuart turned to our own American history, its massive data sets, and cultural analysis to sort out an answer. His multidisciplinary approach blends the statistics of height, longevity, work intensity, diet, disease, and family security with the ethnohistorical narrative of three real American families, from 1750-2019. The results are chilling...

David Stuart is an internationally recognized anthropologist whose books include, Prehistoric New Mexico, Anasazi America, The Guaymas Chronicles, and Ancient People of the Pajarito Plateau. Stuart was for many years Associate Provost for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico and is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Anthropology.