  We propose that dark matter is dominantly comprised of atomic bound states.
We build a simple model and map the parameter space that results in the early
universe formation of hydrogen-like dark atoms. We find that atomic dark matter
has interesting implications for cosmology as well as direct detection:
Protohalo formation can be suppressed below $M_{proto} \sim 10^3 - 10^6
M_{\odot}$ for weak scale dark matter due to Ion-Radiation interactions in the
dark sector. Moreover, weak-scale dark atoms can accommodate hyperfine
splittings of order $100 \kev$, consistent with the inelastic dark matter
interpretation of the DAMA data while naturally evading direct detection
bounds.
