The Moundbuilders Ancient Societies Of Eastern North America Second Edition

Brought up to date with the latest research, The Moundbuilders is the definitive visual guide to North America’s eastern region and the societies that forever changed its landscape. Hailed by Bruce D. Smith, curator of North American archaeology at the Smithsonian Institution, as “without question the best available book on the pre-Columbian . . . societies of eastern North America,” this wide-ranging and richly illustrated volume covers the entire prehistory of the Eastern Woodlands and the thousands of earthen mounds that can be found there, built between 3100 BCE and 1600 CE. The second edition of The Moundbuilders has been brought fully up-to-date, with the latest research on the peopling of the Americas, including more coverage of pre-Clovis groups, new material on Native American communities in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries CE, and new narratives of migration drawn from ancient and modern DNA. Far-reaching and illustrated throughout, this book is the perfect visual guide to the region for students, tourists, archaeologists, and anyone interested in ancient American history.

The secrets of the mysterious shaped earth mounds of the eastern United States are revealed in a history of the entire region, with some of the most impressive mounds discussed in depth and including a guide to the mounds that can still be visited today.

Nineteenth-century explorers of the American continent were amazed to find great monuments built of earth in the Eastern Woodlands. Thousands of these mounds were discovered in the plains and forestssome up to a hundred feet high, some overgrown hillocks, some conical, others flat-topped. Speculation was rife as to the identity of the moundbuilders. As George Milner shows, research over the past century demonstrates conclusively that Native Americans built these mounds. In a period ranging from 3000 BC to the sixteenth century AD, North American Indians quarried tons of earth to form the monuments, which vary widely in location, size, and purpose. Some contained thousands of burials, others served as platforms for chiefs' residences, and many were low-lying "effigy" mounds in the form of serpents, panthers, and other sacred beasts. Moundbuilding was a key element in society—how people worshiped gods, buried the dead, remembered their ancestors, and respected their leaders—and many beautiful objects have been found inside the mounds, including artifacts of shell, copper, and mica. The Moundbuilders covers the entire sweep of Eastern Woodlands prehistory, with an emphasis on how societies developed from hunter-gatherers to village farmers and town-dwellers. Great strides have been made in recent research, and many of the most impressive mounds, such as Poverty Point, Cahokia, and Moundville, are described and discussed in detail. This wide-ranging and copiously illustrated book, complete with information on dozens of sites to visit, is the perfect guide to the region for tourists, archaeologists, and students.

Ancient Mound Builders created thousands of sacred earthen structures all across America. These native Indian cultures flourished for 4000 years before the first settlers came, creating mysterious giant earthen shapes of birds, bears, snakes, and alligator mounds, along with great conical mounds that held the bones of their leaders and loved ones. Who were these sophisticated and spiritual ancient people? They were talented shamans, farmers, hunters, fishermen, artists, and midwives who held special reverence for Mother Earth. Learn more about them and see some of their amazing artistic achievements inside The Mound Builders of Ancient North America. Study a detailed TimeLine that helps to place everything in exact perspective. See what was also happening elsewhere in the world during the Mound Builders heydays. Surprising fetes of engineering and geographic earthworks remind us that these ancient cultures held impressive worldviews.

Ancient South America, 2nd edition is completely revised and updated to reflect archaeological discoveries and insights made in the past three decades. It features the full panorama of the South American past from the first inhabitants to the European invasions.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492—from “a remarkably engaging writer” (The New York Times Book Review). Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

"Very readable book written during height of NAFTA debate. Remains a valuable resource for discussing impact of the trade agreement in Mexico and US"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.