Exploring Ancient Native America: An Archaeological Guide [Hardcover]

David Hurst Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

"Exploring Ancient Native America" is a lavishly illustrated guide to more than 400 of the most important Indian archaeological sites in the United States and Canada. Authoritative and insightful, this volume provides an overview of these prehistoric cultures and describes the evolution of the numerous Native American civilizations.

Written by a leading expert, the book analyzes the astonishing remains left behind by these early cultures from the Pueblo dwellings of the Southwest and the buffalo jumps of the Great Plains to the coastal villages found in the Northwest. In addition, this reference combines the latest scientific data with accounts of tribal ways of life to offer a new perspective on Native American history, culture, and ritual.>p?State-by-state listings indicate where ruins, artifacts, and reconstructions of sites are located. Information on where to get "hands-on" archaeological experience and useful advice for visiting North American ruins completes this handsome and comprehensive sourcebook.

"Exploring Ancient Native America" is the only guide to the most important precontact and historic sites in North America. The text and more than one hundred photographs, drawings, and maps bring these ancient advanced civilizations vividly to life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Exploring Ancient Native America, author David Hurst Thomas...works hard to tell the story of ancient America strictly in terms of places and artifacts you can see for yourself...he seems eager to steer clear of the Eurocentric version of American history and enhances his fact-filled reports with perspectives from a host of Native American tribes...The work is scholarly but easy to read... This is not a tour book that tells you where to eat or where to stay or how to entertain yourself when you get there--unless you're one to feed on mystery, sleep with the stars and thrill to small revelations.
–Chicago Tribune

...a fine guide which includes a healthy dose of Native American history along with basic ideas and instructions for locating archaeological sites.
–Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

David Hurst Thomas has been a curator at the American Museum of Natural History for over twenty years and is a Founding Trustee of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. He has excavated hundreds of sites, has edited more than eighty volumes, and is the author of Archaeology (1998) and Archaeology: Down to Earth (1999). --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan General Reference; 1St Edition edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671880500
• ISBN-13: 978-0671880507
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They are probably not arrowheads., September 21, 2007

By 

Old Master "Old Master" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Exploring Ancient Native America (Paperback)

After fining an arrowhead in Colorado I was curious as to its provinence. In this book I learned that what we call arrowheads are projectile points, and too heavy for a bow, even though they seem small. And it may well be over 1,000 years old. This is a wonderful tour through Native American sites and the past.