1st Edition

Exploring Ancient Native America An Archaeological Guide

By David Hurst Thomas Copyright 1999
352 Pages
by Routledge

336 Pages
by Routledge

The archaeological remnants of the first Americans tell a story of advanced civilization and culture. From the Pueblo dwellings of the Southwest to the buffalo jumps of the Great Plains to the coastal villages of the Northwest, the author combines the latest field research with accounts of tribal life to offer a new perspective on Native American history, culture and ritual. Using a... Read more
The Global Prologue; The First American:; Spreading Out Across America; Agricultural Imperatives in the American Southwest; Harvesting the Eastern Woodlands; Mississippian Transformations; Colliding Worlds: Old and New?; Epilogue: an Enduring Encounter

Biography

David Hurst Thomas has been a curator at the American Museum of Natural History for over twenty years and is a Founding Trustee of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. He has excavated hundreds of sites, has edited more than eighty volumes, and is the author of Archaeology (1998) and Archaeology: Down to Earth (1999).

"In Exploring Ancient Native America, author David Hurst Thomas...works hard to tell the story of ancient America "strictly in terms of places and artifacts you can see for yourself"...he seems eager to steer clear of the Eurocentric version of American history and enhances his fact-filled reports with perspectives from a host of Native American tribes...The work is scholarly but easy to read... This is not a tour book that tells you where to eat or where to stay or how to entertain yourself when you get there--unless you're one to feed on mystery, sleep with the stars and thrill to small revelations." -- Chicago Tribune
"...a fine guide which includes a healthy dose of Native American history along with basic ideas and instructions for locating archaeological sites." -- Midwest Book Review