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The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery (Modern Library Paperbacks)
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About The First Americans: In Pursuit Of Archaeology's
Product 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.” 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 From the Back Cover 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." About the Author 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. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER ONEGLIMPSES THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASSWhen 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 ot
