Centuries before factories and patents, Indigenous engineers in Mesoamerica perfected rubber processing—creating waterproof textiles, ceremonial ballgame equipment, and resilient materials the modern world still relies on.

In a small 31-square-mile region south of Prescott, Arizona, archaeologists uncovered hundreds of rare prehistoric ceramic figurines—human and animal forms now linked to what became known as the Groom Creek Effigy Culture. Why they were made and why they were intentionally destroyed remains a mystery.