Hudson published
The Southeastern Indians (University of Tennessee Press, 1976), a comprehensive overview of the region's native peoples. He was perhaps best known for his extensive research of
Hernando de Soto's 1539–1543 expedition across the Southeast. In 1984, Hudson and fellow researchers Marvin T. Smith and Chester DePratter mapped the route taken by de Soto's expedition by using written accounts of expedition members, and matching them with geographic features and the results of continuing excavations of archaeological evidence of Indian settlements. Hudson and his colleagues argued that the sites of these settlements formed a
chain across the Southeast that marked the path that would have been taken by the expedition. His other works included
Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun (University of Georgia Press, 1997), a detailed narrative account of the 16th century de Soto expedition, and
The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Exploration of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566–1568 (2005), about a second expedition, during which the Spanish built six forts. In the 21st century, archeological evidence has been found for both Fort San Juan, and the chiefdom of
Joara. Joara was the largest Mississippian culture chiefdom in present-day North Carolina. A strong advocate of fostering close ties between the disciplines of anthropology and history, Hudson was one of the founders of the
Southern Anthropological Society. He served as president of the organization in 1973–74. In 1993–94 he served as president of the
American Society for Ethnohistory. In his retirement, Hudson began writing historical novels. ==Quote==