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Ancient Peoples and Places
Die Ersten Indianer: Das Abenteuer Der Besiedlung Amerikas
This new history of North America is based mainly on archaeology, but also on cutting-edge research in many scientific disciplines, from biology and climatology to ethnohistory and high-tech chemistry and physics. Brian Fagan describes the controversies over first settlement, which likely occurred via Siberia at the end of the Ice Age, and the debates over the routes used as humans moved southward into the heart of the continent. A remarkable diversity of hunter-gatherer societies evolved in the rapidly changing North American environments, and the book explores the ingenious ways in which people adapted to every kind of landscape imaginable, from arctic tundra to open plains and thick woodland.
Professor Fagan recounts the increasingly sophisticated acclimation by Native Americans to arctic, arid and semiarid lands, culminating in the spectacular Ancestral Pueblo societies of the Southwest and the elaborate coastal settlements of California and the Pacific Northwest. He then traces the origins of the Moundbuilder societies of the Eastern Woodlands, which reached their apogee in the flamboyant Mississippian culture of the South and Southeast and the mounds of the ancient city of Cahokia. The book ends with a description of the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples of the Northeast and St. Lawrence Valley, and an epilogue that enumerates the devastating consequences of European contact for Native Americans.
Professor Fagan recounts the increasingly sophisticated acclimation by Native Americans to arctic, arid and semiarid lands, culminating in the spectacular Ancestral Pueblo societies of the Southwest and the elaborate coastal settlements of California and the Pacific Northwest. He then traces the origins of the Moundbuilder societies of the Eastern Woodlands, which reached their apogee in the flamboyant Mississippian culture of the South and Southeast and the mounds of the ancient city of Cahokia. The book ends with a description of the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples of the Northeast and St. Lawrence Valley, and an epilogue that enumerates the devastating consequences of European contact for Native Americans.
232 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 19, 2015
OK, this is probably my bad for selecting this... but Brian Fagan pretty well mailed this one in. He writes in the preface, "I wrote this book in the belief that the time was ripe for a short, narrative account of ancient North America..." Yet, the book never really narrates much of anything beyond a succession of declarative statements of what and when, while declining to delve into any meaningful who, why, and how. He also suggests that there are a lot of new discoveries and interpretations in this book, but he didn't differentiate those newer understandings -- so they all just sort blend together as "here are the the facts as we know them."
At times he seems to be embarrassed to offering this little 272-page throwaway "for the general public," insofar as he often reminds readers to look for more depth in his other books, such as Ancient North America, Chaco Canyon, Before California, and The Peopling of Ancient America. He's an engaging speaker (The Great Courses Lecture Series, and on The Daily Show), and a renown archaeologist, but he missed the mark on this one.
For what it's worth, "the general public" wants to know what is important and why ... which Dr. Fagan doesn't offer in this book. He recommends for the general audience, Charles C. Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, and I agree with him on that.
At times he seems to be embarrassed to offering this little 272-page throwaway "for the general public," insofar as he often reminds readers to look for more depth in his other books, such as Ancient North America, Chaco Canyon, Before California, and The Peopling of Ancient America. He's an engaging speaker (The Great Courses Lecture Series, and on The Daily Show), and a renown archaeologist, but he missed the mark on this one.
For what it's worth, "the general public" wants to know what is important and why ... which Dr. Fagan doesn't offer in this book. He recommends for the general audience, Charles C. Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, and I agree with him on that.
September 11, 2017
Fagan examines various cultures from the earliest known arrivals in North America through to contact with Europeans. The book is divided into two parts: Foundations covers the earlier hunter-gatherer societies, roughly to 1 AD, while Apogee looks at the later more specialized societies.
The Clovis culture flourished for a short 250 years at around 13000 ya. Earlier cultures are few and are hard to trace. The author tends to divide the later cultures into the north, the west coast, the plains, the southwest Pueblos and the eastern woodlands.
Cultures changed over time. Most archaeological sites show not only the earliest evidence of occupation, but the later abandonment is also evident. The changing climate, especially the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, is thought to be a factor in the growth and end of many sites.
In many cases, technical developments spurred the development of cultures. The expansion of the Thule in the eastern Arctic (mid thirteenth century) is attributed to the use of sleds and better boats such as the umiak, but also weapons such as the toogling harpoons used in the hunting of bowhead whales.
While the plains cultures relied on harvesting bison, the cost was high. Between 2900 and 1000 BC, hunting toolkits and bison-hunting methods became more refined, lowering the cost of hunting the bison and leading to greater populations. Horses did not become an element until the sixteenth century.
Food gathering productivity is associated with prosperity. As populations grew, incremental food and resources required increasing time and effort to harvest. In southern California, changing conditions reduced the seed crop but as oaks became more common the people concentrated on acorns as a major food source, even though they were a labor intensive crop. Similarly, increasing productivity of the inshore marine habitat after 3500 BC seems to have allowed an increase in population.
Fagan provides a good overview of the southern cultures that left impressive constructions. Chaco Canyon in New Mexico was occupied from before 900 AD through 1150 AD. As well as the buildings and road systems, political and ritual shaped the culture. Changing climate resulted in droughts that caused the collapse of the society. The Hopewell culture, 200 BC through 400 AD, (and the earlier Adena culture) engaged in massive construction. The mounds are estimated to have cost hundreds of thousands of hours of labor. Complex religious ceremony is evident. The Hopewell culture seems to have ended due to cultural events rather than economic or climatic events.
The book does a great job of portraying the variety of cultures throughout North America and over time.
The Clovis culture flourished for a short 250 years at around 13000 ya. Earlier cultures are few and are hard to trace. The author tends to divide the later cultures into the north, the west coast, the plains, the southwest Pueblos and the eastern woodlands.
Cultures changed over time. Most archaeological sites show not only the earliest evidence of occupation, but the later abandonment is also evident. The changing climate, especially the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, is thought to be a factor in the growth and end of many sites.
In many cases, technical developments spurred the development of cultures. The expansion of the Thule in the eastern Arctic (mid thirteenth century) is attributed to the use of sleds and better boats such as the umiak, but also weapons such as the toogling harpoons used in the hunting of bowhead whales.
While the plains cultures relied on harvesting bison, the cost was high. Between 2900 and 1000 BC, hunting toolkits and bison-hunting methods became more refined, lowering the cost of hunting the bison and leading to greater populations. Horses did not become an element until the sixteenth century.
Food gathering productivity is associated with prosperity. As populations grew, incremental food and resources required increasing time and effort to harvest. In southern California, changing conditions reduced the seed crop but as oaks became more common the people concentrated on acorns as a major food source, even though they were a labor intensive crop. Similarly, increasing productivity of the inshore marine habitat after 3500 BC seems to have allowed an increase in population.
Fagan provides a good overview of the southern cultures that left impressive constructions. Chaco Canyon in New Mexico was occupied from before 900 AD through 1150 AD. As well as the buildings and road systems, political and ritual shaped the culture. Changing climate resulted in droughts that caused the collapse of the society. The Hopewell culture, 200 BC through 400 AD, (and the earlier Adena culture) engaged in massive construction. The mounds are estimated to have cost hundreds of thousands of hours of labor. Complex religious ceremony is evident. The Hopewell culture seems to have ended due to cultural events rather than economic or climatic events.
The book does a great job of portraying the variety of cultures throughout North America and over time.
August 12, 2019
This is a succinct and very illustrated history of the people of North America from the first settlements of around 15,000 years ago to the discovery by Columbus and arrival of Europeans. The author primarily uses archaeology but along with research findings from other cutting-edge disciplines such as climatology, biology, dentistry, anthropology to trace the migrations and settlements of the North American population. The book is well-researched and well-presented, however, it lacked a powerful narrative in the form of a story, so I was not very satisfied at the end. The illustrations, photographs and other evidences presented from a diverse set of sources are brilliant!
December 31, 2019
I’ve written before that anything Brian Fagan writes is worth reading on several levels. Beautifully written and with good science behind it, The First North American continues that trend. This book is excellent reading for anthro and archeo buffs, definitely, and is also must reading for writers and authors needing to fill out details in their ancient North American stories.
November 2, 2018
*For college*
Read
October 5, 2021Outdated, and assumes too much in its construction of events. Some of the data points were useful though.
August 11, 2011
I like the book a great deal for it's thoroughness and portrayal of the life and times of the first North Americans. It was great at revealing details of such deeply-rooted concepts, such as clovis points and maize farming. At the same time, I realized during the second half of the book that I was more interested in some specific groups, and not others - so it was easy for me to find my way to just those chapters for silo reading. And that is the only reason I did not rate this book higher: it is an excellent reference book, but was trying my patience in some cases. Overall, I recommend it. I have a better appreciation, now, on what was actually happening in North America so long ago, and the evolution of the early Americans.
June 9, 2016
Fagan covers many different groups of First peoples (paleo to european contact) and in the process provides a clear depiction each society's respective culture and the archaeological evidence that makes such a depiction possible. The different pictures and aside panels break up the text in a way that makes the book feel like a quick read, yet when I got to the end I felt like I had developed a pretty good foundation on which I could build a more in-depth understanding of the Native peoples of North America.
September 4, 2011
Decent overview of the current views on the history of people in North America (although he doesn't include Mexico, strangely).
While it is fascinating how archaeologists and other scientists can stitch together stories from bits and pieces, it's frustrating the number times I read "Nobody knows..." or "perhaps they did this because...." Still, intriguing glimpses of the lives people lead for the last 15,000 years.
While it is fascinating how archaeologists and other scientists can stitch together stories from bits and pieces, it's frustrating the number times I read "Nobody knows..." or "perhaps they did this because...." Still, intriguing glimpses of the lives people lead for the last 15,000 years.
June 30, 2011
Excellent overview of everything we know right now about the settlement of North America, from the first people to cross the Bering land bridge over 15,000 years ago, through to contact with the Europeans who came from the other direction.
October 17, 2015
This book was well organized and highly informative, but also a crushing bore that took me forever to get through. A dry, lengthy compendium of names, dates, and locations - this is the type of stuff that turns people off from the study of history altogether.
June 30, 2011
Slower going than I expected. Interesting overview of areas that I am not that familiar with.
July 12, 2011
Fascinating, well-researched and suitable for the lay reader. Recent discoveries indicate some real mysteries as to when North America was first explored and settled.
July 23, 2011
pretty dry written with general reader in mind but really only for those who have a deep interest in the subject to begin with.
Read
December 11, 2011I did not finish it.
March 13, 2013
A very basic introduction to the peopling of North America. The photos and figures are great!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews