Product Description
This revolutionary archeological synthesis argues analternative model of the earliest human population of NorthAmerica. E. James Dixon dispels the stereotype of big-game huntersfollowing mammoths across the Bering Land Bridge and paints a vividpicture of marine mammal hunters, fishers, and general foragerscolonizing the New World. Applying contemporary scientific methods anddrawing on new archeological discoveries, he advances evidenceindicating that humans first reached the Americas using water craftalong the deglaciated Northwest Coast about 13,500 years ago, some2,000 years before the first Clovis hunters. Dixons rigorousevaluation of the oldest North American archeological sites and humanremains offers well-reasoned hypotheses about the physicalcharacteristics, lives, and relationships of the First Americans. Hiscrisply written analysis of scientific exploration is essentialreading for scholars, students, and general readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Gushing review of a landmark book!
Strangely enough I had purchased and read Dr. Dixon's later book Quest for the Origins of the First Americans, before purchasing this earlier book.Let me state flatly that I much prefer this earlier book, as it is an overview, of the Paleo American archaeology scene mostly in N. America!Let me state also that Dr. Dixon in the preface to his later book (noted above) stated his philosophy on writing books, that his book is "directed to a broad and diverse audience including the lay reader, interested students, and professional archaeologists".....this is obvious in both "Bones, Boats and Bison", as well as the later book!I am an interested "student", a "lay reader" but have studied archaeology all of my adult life, and I am so thankful for Dr. Dixon's approach, because it made the reading of this book an Extreme PLEASURE and delight!!Dr. Dixon, I humbly kiss your feet for this approach.Anyone with an interest in North American archaeology, especially amateur archaeologists and armchair archys, will LOVE this book.
It provides a framework for North American Paleo American archaeology.
Dr. Dixon was kind enough to use both the technical and immediately in parenthesis give the lay definition of the technical term, each time.This saves the poor soul like myself from having to either google or look every technical term up in a dictionary.
I consider myself an empty vessel, willing to learn and look at new theories, and I have learned a lot of very important and new theories and ideas, from this book, including proof of the use of boats of early man here, and the small time frame between Clovis and Folsom to name only two.Dr. Dixon explains clearly physical descriptions of the way atlatl darts were built, the proof of the use of atlatls by Clovis peoples, the economy of Clovis peoples, and the variety of foods of Clovis people.Also discuseed in interesting detail are the physical characteristics of various pre 8000 B.P. skeletons and mummies found in North America, including many little known facts (Spirit Cave mummy, long headedness, etc). The use of sewing, making fiber sandals, moccasins, fiber mats, etc by Paleo Americans, as well as hair color, and genetic defects.
I can highly recommend this book and if there were ten stars, I would award all ten to this book....I only wish I had bought the hardback when it first came out!

Interesting and readable
I have just started reading this book but so far it is giving me a different look at how North America was settled.

Boans, Boats and Bison Review
Bones, Boats and Bison provides an excellent overview of current thinking about the peopling and occupation of western North America to ca. 8,000 years ago.The book synthesizes a broad array of literature, making it a valuable resource for professional archaeologists.However, the book's greatest strength may be its accessible writing style.Avocational archaeologists, interested members of the public, and students will find this text both highly informative and refreshingly judicious in its use of jargon.The book would make a good text for a "Peopling of the New World" or "Paleoindian Archaeology" course, and it could also be profitably excerpted for various regional archaeology classes (e.g. "Plains Archaeology" or "Alaskan Archaeology.")

Nine of Dixon's ten chapters are straightforward data-oriented chapters on key "peopling" topics and regional Paleoindian prehistory.These data are important, and synthetic texts like this one are helpful to those unable to keep up with the ever-expanding "peopling" literature.In Dixon's final chapter, he presents his model for the peopling of the New World (ca. 13,500 years ago and via watercraft).Certainly some will disagree with Dixon's interpretation, but (a) Dixon is careful to point out that his interpretations are speculative, and (b) after painstakingly outlining the data in the preceding chapters, Dixon earns the right to propose whatever model he likes.

Thorough but dry
Although the subject matter of this book is very exciting, this is not (as the blurb text has it) a "vivid picture of early marine mammal hunters". Instead it is a fairly dry survey of archeological sites relevant for the first peopling of North-America, with lots and lots of attention paid to stone projectile points. Certainly, the book is sound and thorough, but it only becomes really interesting in the last 12 pages or so, where we finally get the promised "revolutionary archeological synthesis". Dixon argues that the first inhabitants of the Americas where not - as orthodox archeology has it - big game hunters who came across the Bering land bridge but people dependent on a marine economy, who navigated along the coast (probably as early as 13,500 BP) and from there on gradually and at different times moved landinward along river courses. Unfortunately the book stops there. Still, if you are looking for a thorough outline of current archeoligical research in the subject matter at hand plus atentative new insight, this book is allright. ... Read more

Product Description
Almost unimaginably immense, North America stretches from a few degrees short of the North Pole to a few degrees shy of the equator. Archaeologists are now racing to unravel the mysterious past of the forgotten peoples who once inhabited this sprawling land. In Search of Ancient North America explores many of these scientists' most fascinating findings as Heather Pringle chronicles her journeys among the ancient sites of Canada and the United States. Her enthralling voyage of discovery uncovers the richness of now-vanished cultures and illuminates the intriguing world of archaeology itself.

Journeying from the mosquito-infested forests of the far north to the bleak deserts of the American Southwest, Pringle accompanies leading archaeologists and their crews into the field. At the Bluefish Caves in the northern Yukon, Jacques Cinq-Mars chases down clues to an Ice Age mystery; at the "immense geometric riddle" that is Hopeton Earthworks, Mark Lynott scours the countryside for vestiges of ancient village life; in the thorny wilderness of the Lower Pecos, Solveig Turpin deciphers the enigmatic rock art painted more than 3,000 years ago.

What emerges from Pringle's accounts are surprising portraits of long-lost cultures—the rapacious mariners of southern California who nearly wiped out one of the world's most productive ecosystems; the wealthy nobles of British Columbia who wore salmon-skin shoes and counted their wealth in bottles of salmon oil; the powerful lords of the Mississippi River who won the adoration of their followers with a mysterious medicinal tonic. Equally intriguing are the controversial new theories that the author presents on a host of subjects, from the origins of art and hallucinogenic drugs to the rise of private property, the identities of the earliest New World migrants, and the astonishing extent of trade in prehistoric North America.

Complemented by superb color and black-and-white photographs, In Search of Ancient North America blends incisive science journalism with evocative travel writing to bring the latest archaeological findings and interpretations to light. Delving into the previously unmined saga of this vast continent's lost and extinct cultures, this captivating book is a thrilling invitation to endless discovery.

"Drawing on some of the latest archaeological research, Pringle's book is vivid, witty, and responsible in a field too often filled by cranks and bores. All who are curious about life in North America before the European invasion will find the book a stimulating introduction." — Ronald Wright author of Stolen Continents

"In Search of Ancient North America brings the distant past much closer and its inhabitants almost become neighbors to us once again. A first-rate examination of the mystery and fascination of modern archaeological research in North America." — Farley Mowat author of The People of the Deer

"Captures the essence of what archaeologists are learning about North American prehistory. The book is a pleasure to read and will inspire a new awareness of the importance of the history of North America prior to European contact." — Bruce Trigger author of The Children of Aataentsic ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Extremely Interesting
This is a Godsend. For years, I have tried to find information on the current views of archaeologists on the peopling of the Americas. Having been one that had a hard time with the conventional theories regarding thelandbridge. This book is an answer, in part, to my search.

Ms. Pringledoes an outstanding job of hitting the facts and putting in her own andothers thoughts. I could not put this book down. Please, give me more toread like this.... For any who are interested, another good book to read is"Sailing to Paradise" by James (Jim) Bailey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pre-Columbian Metallurgy
I ran across this book (Indians before Columbus: Twenty thousand years of North American history revealed by archeology by Paul Sidney Martin, George L. Quimby and Donald Collier 1947) by accident in a used book store (sorry!), and was fascinated by the authors' descriptions of pre-Columbian metallurgy...in the "New-World."

Although one notes the use of words no longer applied in scientific circles the details the authors present are fascinating, e.g.:

p. 40 "An aboriginal copper mine was a shallow trench which was dug into the side of a hill with the floor at the entrance or beginning of the cut low enough to provide natural drainage....rarely more than twenty four feet deep and two hundred feet long..."

p. 42 and the suggestions what seem to be canoe paddles were used for digging and that the copper could have come from as far away asCuba, suggests a quite different view of trading and Caribbean contacts in the Americas before Columbus (who noted this in his voyages of discovery).

pp. 42-46 The descriptions of the manufacture of copper objects such as their purity, their hardening, working and other processing are most interesting reading, even almost sixty years after publication.

It seems that in the books description at Amazon.com mention of co-authors George L. Quimby and Donald Collier has been omitted.
Given the date of publication, it was found necessary to do some background searches. Notable finds from this computer search are :

A short vitae of Professor Paul Sidney Martin is found at [http://www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/anthropology/anthro_sites/paul_martin/martin_web/biostate.html], and [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/martin_paul.html].

And one notes the authors' work continues to be used in instruction [http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~mmap/summer_2004/mod04pr.htm].






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Product Description
Surveys cultural time periods, antiquities, and archeological sites in Texas and discusses the preservation and study of such sites and the value of archeology in general. ... Read more

Product Description
Are you planning to pursue adventure travel? Do youwonder what it would be like to participate in explorations of ancientruins? To learn from leading experts about the secrets of forgottencultures? To touch the millennia-old creations of the first civilizedpeople? Then you'll enjoy the journeys of veteran adventure travelerThom Tansey in The Bonehunter Series.

The legends of ancient civilizations in the Americas have alwaysenthralled Thom. In Search of Lost Civilizations: Adventures InArcheology documents his travel adventure experiences as he seeks touncover the secrets of people who once flourished in the WesternHemisphere.

Join amateur archeologist Thom Tansey as he explores:

TEOTIHUACN, the City of the Gods, the first true metropolis of theAmericas, near modern-day Mexico City.

The magnificent ruins left behind by the MAYA of Tikal in Guatemala,once the epicenter of vast trade route that stretched all through whatis now Central America, from the Pacific Ocean, to the Gulf of Mexico,to the Caribbean Sea.

The cliff dwellings of the ANASAZI, a pueblo culture that was oncecentered in the Four Corners area of the Southwest U.S. and that latermigrated to the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico.

The HOHOKAM, whose impressive network of hand-dug irrigation canalsand ditches, the most extensive north of Peru, allowed them to thrivein the forbidding Sonoran Desert of modern-day Mexico and Arizona.

The MOUND BUILDERS of the Lower Mississippi Valley, whosesophisticated civilizations eventually fell to the diseases andmaraudings of European invaders.

To help you plan your adventure travels, Thom has provided a list ofresources and contact information, many of which he used to plan hisadventures. Plus, he's provided an exhaustive bibliography ofpublications for further reading on the topics covered in this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Highly enjoyable.
This was a fun book to read and informative on a great many subjects.Mr. Tansey becomes our personal guide as we walk with him on his exploration of archeological sites in the New World.The author carefully adds interesting facts which augment the central theme.Mr. Tansey obviously comes from a time when people enjoyed knowledge just for the sake of knowledge.They enjoyed understanding as much of the world around them as possible.From his diverse educational background he shares with us along our tour features from the world of archeology, early man in the New World, biology, geology, anthropology and paleontology.
Reading Tansey's book is like walking the wood with a naturalist.He sees and he shows you what he sees and how he came to see it.And in the bargain, he shows you how to make your own discoveries.

Archeology Adventure Par Excellence
A very interesting and well written account of archeology adventures in the form of field trips. I knew something about the Anasazis from the American Southwest before I read Tansey's book, but now I have a greater understanding of the Anasazis and other Precolumbian cultures in North America. The book is an adventure story, not a classroom text, which I appreciate, yet it takes the reader into the realm of field archeology as seen through the eyes of a layman, one with the boundless curiosity of a child in awe.

I intend to avail myself of the Resources section at the back of the book to take one of these trips through the agencies listed there, and experience the learning and adventure firsthand.

I'm looking forward to the next volume in the Bonehunter Series.

Disapointing
After reading the reviews this book got here on amazon.com, I ordered it.

When I finally read it I was very disappointed.It's actually an achievement that Mr. Tansey's writing style is so uninteresting that thevery exciting subject of the book, drifts away in a haze of boredom.

It's like reading about the history of Spain by reading a few postcardsfrom a beach bunny at Mallorca. Save your money and give it a miss.Haraldur Hallgrímsson, ICELAND

An intellectual's view of ancient civilizations
Thom Tansey's "In Search of Lost Civilizations: Adventures in Archeology" is a fascinating book.This is an account by the author of his travels to the sites of different ancient civilizations in Peru,Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.Tansey is our guide throughthese many ancient civilizations, and what an interesting guide he is.Asthe reader is led through these ancient sites he becomes aware of thebreadth of interest and knowledge of the author. Tansey is constantlyasking why and how.He gives the reader information about archeology,paleontology, Native American history, biology, linguistics, culture, humanmigrations, animal migrations (such as how butterflies travel from theUnited States to Mexico and back), agriculture, geography, entomology,architecture, building construction, hunting, food, irrigation systems,astronomy, art, wars, mythology, jewelry, religion, geology, and many othersubjects.For instance, on page 43 Tansey writes of rafting in Utah. Hedescribes walking 100 yards from the river side and finding an abundance offragments of fossils. He identifies them as crinoids. He tells us this areawas under the sea hundreds of millions of years ago and there were vastunderwater forests of crinoids then, ranging in height from several inchesto several yards, swaying in the current. Crinoids, we learn, are alsocalled sea lillies and belong to the echinoderm phylum, which they sharewith sea urchins, sand dollars, starfish, and sea cucumbers.

Here is atraveler whose interests seem to be all encompassing; someone who iscurious about anything and everything and finds true pleasure in observingand learning.This is the kind of mind a formal education is supposed todevelop, but rarely does.I would call this book highly informative,interesting, and intellectually stimulating.I cannot recommend this booktoo highly.

Fascinating, informative, entertaining reading.
In Search Of Lost Civilizations: Adventures In Archaeology is the story of amateur archaeologist Thom Tansey's adventures as he sought to uncover the secrets of people who once flourished in the Western Hemisphere. We learn of Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods and the first true metropolis of theAmericas (near modern-day Mexico City); the magnificent ruins left behindby the Maya of Tikal in Guatemala; the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi (apueblo culture of the American southwest); the hand-dug canals and ditchesof the Hohokam in the north of Peru; the Mound Builders of the LowerMississippi Valley; and more. In Search Of Lost Civilizations is also aguidebook for those wanting to travel themselves to see such sights andoffers a list of resources and contact information. There is also a lengthybibliography of publications for further reading on the variousarchaeological and anthropological subjects covered in this fascinating andinformative book. In Search Of Lost Civilizations is highly recommendedreading for students of pre-Columbian history and archaeologicalexploration in the western hemisphere. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, published by Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn. on November 1, 1998. The length of the article is 659 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: In Defense of Mohawk Land: Ethno-Political Conflict in Native North America. (book review)
Author: Douglas M. Skoog
Publication: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 1998
Publisher: Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn.
Volume: 35Issue: 4Page: 580(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from Revista de Arqueología Americana, published by Instituto Panamericano de Geografica e Historia on January 1, 1999. The length of the article is 7147 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Seal use and storage in the Thule Culture of Arctic North America. (Seccion I: Articulos Originales).
Author: Robert W. Park
Publication: Revista de Arqueología Americana (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1999
Publisher: Instituto Panamericano de Geografica e Historia
Page: 77(21)

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, published by Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn. on February 1, 1999. The length of the article is 973 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Aboriginal Slavery on the Northwest Coast of North America.(Review)
Author: Michael E. Harkin
Publication: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 1999
Publisher: Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn.
Volume: 36Issue: 1Page: 131(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, published by Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn. on August 1, 2003. The length of the article is 827 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Michael R. Haines and Richard H. Steckel (eds.), A Population History of North America.(Book Review)
Author: Kevin McQuillan
Publication: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2003
Publisher: Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn.
Volume: 40Issue: 3Page: 358(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, published by Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn. on February 1, 1999. The length of the article is 673 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: AIDS as an Apocalyptic Metaphor in North America.(Review)
Author: Lorne L. Dawson
Publication: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 1999
Publisher: Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn.
Volume: 36Issue: 1Page: 147(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Described by Lewis Binford in his new foreword as a "solid foundation on which to build a vital and growing historical archaeology," Stanley South's famous book on historical archaeology includes a new introduction by the author that discusses how the book came to be written and the evolution of the field. Widely regarded as one of the most influential books in historical archaeology, the book was originally published by Academic Press in 1977. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An informed and informative survey of archaeology in the American Southwest
Professor William `Bill' L. Lipe has enjoyed a five decade career that has made him an acknowledged and respected expert in conservation archaeology and the archaeology of the American Southwest where he has worked in Utah's Glen Canyon, Red Rock Plateau, and Cedar Mesa, Colorado's Dolores Valley and Mesa Verde, and key archaeological projects defining much of what we now know about Native American life in antiquity. It was Professor Lipe who developed the concept of `private archaeology' and served in the Society for American Archaeology, the Register of Professional Archaeologists, and the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center at Cortez, Colorado. Assembled and edited by R. G. Matson and Timothy A. Kohler, "Tracking Ancient Footsteps: William D. Lipe's Contributions To Southwestern Prehistory And Public Archaeology" is a compilation of articles by nine of Professor Lipe's associates, each of whom outlines the archaeological digs and researches associated with his remarkably productive career. Of special note is the final chapter, `A Conversation with Bill Lipe. An impressive and highly recommended addition to academic library Archaeology and Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "Tracking Ancient Footsteps" is not just a testimonial to a consummate professional by his peers, it is also an informed and informative survey of archaeology in the American Southwest and the earliest Native American cultures discovered in the region. ... Read more

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