El Niño, Catastrophism, and Culture Change in Ancient America (Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Pre-Columbian Studies) [Hardcover]

Daniel H. Sandweiss (Editor), Jeffrey Quilter (Editor), Brian Billman (Contributor), David Hodell (Contributor), Gary Huckleberry (Contributor), David Keefer (Contributor), Kirk A. Maasch (Contributor), Paul Mayewski (Contributor), Michael Moseley (Contributor), James B. Richardson III (Contributor), Paul Roscoe (Contributor), Payson D. Sheets (Contributor), S. Jeffrey K. Wilkerson (Contributor), Jason Yaeger (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2009

El Niño is an extreme climate perturbation that periodically changes weather throughout the globe, often with dire consequences. First recognized in Peru, El Niño events are best known and documented there. This book summarizes research on the nature of El Niño events in the Americas and details specific historic and prehistoric patterns in Peru and elsewhere. By also looking at other catastrophic natural events in the ancient New World, the book illustrates how scientific archaeology can serve pure research as well as provide information for contemporary issues.

(20100101)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The contributions range from providing detailed understandings of paleoclimatic data to specific effects of catastrophic events on human populations and the solutions and adaptations made throughout prehistoric and historic periods. In that sense, the chapters open climatic discussions to the vast range of data from archaeological contexts, which provide the evidence for catastrophic events in the past as well as the different ways in which people in pre-Columbian cultures responded to potential catastrophes.
--R. P. Wright (Choice )

About the Author

Daniel H. Sandweiss is Professor of Anthropology and Quaternary and Climate Studies and Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies at the University of Maine.

Jeffrey Quilter is Deputy Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 438 pages
• Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (January 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884023532
• ISBN-13: 978-0884023531
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,175,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)