The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery by James Adova

Description: The First Americans by James Adovasio, Jake Page A leading archaeologist addresses the complex puzzle about the origins of the first humans to settle in America, reassessing common myths about early human migration and lifestyle. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description J. M. Adovasio has spent the last thirty years at the center of one of our most fiery scientific debates- Who were the first humans in the Americas, and how and when did they get there?At its heart, The First Americans is the story of the revolution in thinking that Adovasio and his fellow archaeologists have brought about, and the firestorm it has ignited. As he writes, "The work of lifetimes has been put at risk, reputations have been damaged, an astounding amount of silliness and even profound stupidity has been taken as serious thought, and always lurking in the background of all the argumentation and gnashing of tenets has been the question of whether the field of archaeology can ever be pursued as a science." Author Biography J. M. Adovasio, Ph.D., is the founder and director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute. He lives near Erie, Pennsylvania.Jake Page is a former editor of Natural History magazine and science editor of Smithsonian magazine. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico. Review "As good as popular science writing gets." —The Wall Street Journal"Powerful intrigue. Name-calling and blackballing. Treachery, collusion among archaeologists on an all-out hunt for a holy grail. An Indiana Jones movie? No. The actual search to identify the first humans to inhabit North America. . . . Adovasio, who became an internationally known archaeologist and academic, has created in The First Americans a book that pulses with plot-drive." —Los Angeles Times"After a quarter-century of rebutting the challenges to his find, Mr. Adovasio has been transformed from a renegade into a leader in the field. Digs in North and South America have only buttressed his onetime pre-Clovis heresy, and Mr. Adovasio conveys a palpable excitement, in this anything-but-tedious archaeology book, at the possibilities of what might yet be discovered." —The Wall Street Journal Review Quote "As good as popular science writing gets." The Wall Street Journal "Powerful intrigue. Name-calling and blackballing. Treachery, collusion among archaeologists on an all-out hunt for a holy grail. An Indiana Jones movie? No. The actual search to identify the first humans to inhabit North America. . . . Adovasio, who became an internationally known archaeologist and academic, has created in The First Americans a book that pulses with plot-drive." Los Angeles Times "After a quarter-century of rebutting the challenges to his find, Mr. Adovasio has been transformed from a renegade into a leader in the field. Digs in North and South America have only buttressed his onetime pre-Clovis heresy, and Mr. Adovasio conveys a palpable excitement, in this anything-but-tedious archaeology book, at the possibilities of what might yet be discovered." The Wall Street Journal From the Trade Paperback edition. Excerpt from Book CHAPTER ONE GLIMPSES THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS When Christopher Columbus first slogged ashore on October 12, 1492, on either the Caribbean island of San Salvador or Samana Cay, he was met by Arawak-speaking people who called themselves Taino and who apparently made an excellent first impression. "They are affectionate people," Columbus reported, "and without covetousness and apt for anything, which I certify." He went on to write, "I believe there is no better people or land in the world. They love their neighbors as themselves and have the sweetest speech in the world and gentle, and are always smiling." Not knowing who these seemingly happy-go-lucky folk were, Columbus imagined them to be Asians-perhaps Hindus or Spice Islanders. Yet, despite his boosterism, he was disappointed to find these natives less advanced than he expected of Asians. In fact, the Tainos were fairly sophisticated agriculturalists living in villages of a thousand or more, each with up to fifty round, conical-roofed houses of wood and thatch ringed around a plaza and presided over by a chieftain. The villages were organized into district chiefdoms; two social strata, nobles and commoners, existed; and local artisans worked in wood, ceramics, weaving, and other crafts, including gold imported from mainland South America. Even so, they were hardly what might be expected by someone who had read about Marco Polos travels to the Orient. Soon the neighbor-loving Tainos made it plain that their particular neighbors, known as Caribs and located to the south in what we call the Virgin Islands, were cannibals bent on wiping out the Tainos. Here we have an early version of two of the longest-running stereotypes about the native peoples of America-the noble savage and the bloodthirsty barbarian. Before many more years passed, both the Tainos and the Caribs (who were probably innocent of cannibalism) were largely extinct, victims of European diseases, the vicissitudes of Spanish enslavement, and outright murder. But untold millions of other native peoples awaited the Europeans in the New World, and once it became clear that this was not Asia, the questions soon arose: Who the hell are these people, where did they come from, and when did they get here? Even after the passage of more than five hundred years, the answers to these simple questions remain somewhat imprecise. Early on, some Europeans wondered if the native populations of the New World were actually people-humans, as Europeans defined the word. This was in spite of the fact that by 1510 Cort Details ISBN037575704X Author Jake Page Short Title 1ST AMER Pages 352 Language English ISBN-10 037575704X ISBN-13 9780375757044 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 970.01 Year 2003 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Series Modern Library Paperbacks Imprint Modern Library Inc Subtitle In Pursuit of Archaeologys Greatest Mystery DOI 10.1604/9780375757044 UK Release Date 2003-06-17 AU Release Date 2003-06-17 NZ Release Date 2003-06-17 US Release Date 2003-06-17 Illustrations 87 B&W PHOTOS AND ILLUS Publisher Random House USA Inc Publication Date 2003-06-17 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:160167897;

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