A border fence separates Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico. PHOTOGRAPH BY DIANE COOK, JEN JENSHEL

Jason De León began his career as a traditional archaeologist. He excavated ancient sites in Mexico,  uncovering artifacts that were centuries—if not millennia—old. But as he was finishing his dissertation on stone tools, he found himself increasingly drawn to the digs’ laborers, who told him harrowing tales of crossing the border into the United States, only to be deported. 

Although he grew up near the border in Texas and California, "I realized I didn't know anything" about immigration, De Leon says now. But he thought archeology could be used to understand the contentious issue.

More than five million people have attempted to cross the Sonoran Desert since 2000. De León’s research reveals how that migration has changed over time. For instance, in 2009 he began finding black plastic bottles. White jugs were too visible to Border Patrol agents; now migrants carried bottles decorated with pictures of the patron saints of migrants or maps of important landmarks - products of new industry based on undocumented migration. 

Read the full article and watch the video here.