The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World (Wattis Symposium Series in Anthropology) [Paperback]

Nina G. Jablonski (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0940228505 | ISBN-13: 978-0940228504 | Publication Date: June 27, 2002

As modern humans spread around the globe, the Americas represented the final continental frontier. These first colonists were modern in appearance and technology, but who were they and when did they arrive? Traditional answers to these questions have come under increasing scrutiny in the face of new findings from artifacts, skeletal remains, genes, and languages. The peopling of the Americas has become one of archaeology's most compelling and contentious subjects, as these new lines of evidence reveal a more complex solution. In this volume, distinguished scientists from the fields of archaeology, physical anthropology, paleoecology, genetics, and linguistics assess the latest evidence from Siberia to Chile and offer provocative ideas for how, when, and where humans entered the Americas.
Contributors: Bruce Bradley, Linda Brown, Scott A. Elias, Tom D. Dillehay, John Douglas, Jon M. Erlandson, Nina G. Jablonski, David J. Meltzer, D. Andrew Merriwether, Johanna Nichols, Joseph F. Powell, Anna C. Roosevelt, Jack Rossen, Dennis Stanford, D. Gentry Steele, Christy G. Turner II
Distributed for the California Academy of Sciences

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nina G. Jablonski is Irvine Chair and Curator of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences. She coedited Beyond Art: Pleistocene Image and Symbol (1997) and The Origin and Diversification of Language (1998), California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 343 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (June 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940228505
• ISBN-13: 978-0940228504
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,510,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1 of the TOP five books on the 1st americans, June 2, 2008

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This review is from: The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World (Wattis Symposium Series in Anthropology) (Paperback)

a dozen or so chapters each by experts in the field. explores the importance of various sciences to determining who the first people were, where they came from, when the arrived, the number of migrations, the important things that enabled them to make the trips, etc. Christy Turner discusses dental science showing the results of study of eastern Asia and the skeletons of american indians, Bradly and Stanford discuss the Solutrean /Clovis connection, Tom Dillehay, etc. How domesticated dogs, and the bone sewing needle allowed humans to traverse extremely cold and harsh climate to go thru Beringia and the ice free corridor, also boats along the coast, how boats were made and waterproofed. How languages of the american indians divuldge the number of migrations, the dating of various early skeletons from Wilson Leonard, to KennewickMan, Wizard Beach, etc.
explores various explanations that are possible to explain why ancient (9,000 year old) skeletons differ so much from current native americans. Discusses genetic drift, founder principle, etc. Great book. The DNA part was over my head, but that is my fault for not being well read enough in that area. Paleo-americans!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Tour De Force!, August 13, 2009

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Stephen Hammack (Macon, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World (Wattis Symposium Series in Anthropology) (Paperback)

"The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World" is a scholarly work that is eminently readable both to the professional and the layman. It contains articles on various subjects by a number of scholars, and contains some of the most recent research into the Paleoindians and their predecessors, the Pre-Clovis people. The articles cover such diverse subjects as environmental conditions, how new settlers adapt to new places, seafaring capabilities, human fossils, bioarchaeology, South American viewpoints, plant foods, languages, DNA, and the Solutrean theory of a crossing from the Iberian peninsula to the eastern coast of North America. This volume will be cited by professional archaeologists for many years to come, and will be enjoyed as a fascinating book to read by the educated public.

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-discipline essay collection hits the mark, January 9, 2012

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robert johnston (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World (Wattis Symposium Series in Anthropology) (Hardcover)

Jablonski has collected an academic oriented essay survey of the origins of the Western Hemispheres first explorers of the Pleistocene and early Holocene. There a gems to be found here. The topic is dynamic and barely scratched having only been scientifically considered since Fewkes began in 1912. Clovis was discovered and sorted 50 years ago. The almost daily revelations have accelerated our knowledge rather exponentially in the last 20 years to put skin on the skeletal notion of who, how why the first Americans populated 2 wholly new continents in decidedly unexpected ways. Anthropology has been joined here by other disciplines to piece the puzzle together. This essay collection is a superb fly-over.

Included are 11 essays by independent niche researchers. By niche, I mean DNA, materials and tools, fast changing geological conditions consistent with glacial cycles, nutrition, linguistics, climatology, travel technology and micro-flora examination supported by with bright intuitive minds and conclusions. The remnants discovered to draw inference from are few. Error bands around assumptions are large. If there's one thing to take away, it is that there is far more to be discovered and understood than is presently known.

The text is `expensive'. The target audience is academics and aggressive hobby readers. None of the material would seem to exceed the targeted readers ability to understand the material if you bring a scientific and technical skill set to the read. The maps, photographs and illustrations are rich. Both North and South America are given equal consideration.

"The First Americans' provides a 5-star reading enjoyment. The mix of contributors makes for a fascinating, multi-layered study.