Customer Reviews

A History of Dogs in the Early Americas

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Wonderfully researched, Marion Schwartz's book, A History of Dogs in the Early Americas, examines the relationship between dog and master in the pre-Columbian period. Following an anthropologic approach, the book is primarily concerned with dogs as beasts of burden, dogs in cosmology, and dogs as gastronomic delicacy.

Schwartz's text surveys prehistoric archaeology in the Americas, noting occurrences of dogs as grave goods. Schwartz also draws on the accounts of colonial period missionaries and chroniclers who accompanied de Soto and Cortés. Schwartz's scope is overly broad and leaves the reader with repetitious gloss and little interpretation; a more thorough discussion of each early American societies' significance and worldview would lend a deeper understanding of the place of dogs within the culture.

This book may be of interest to the backyard archaeologist; however, its lack of depth and poor organization make it of little use to the serious scholar. Given the book's wholistic nature, it is likely to alienate the general, dog-loving reader.

As the title of the book says, this is a history of dogs, so do not expect any deep details about the different peoples mentioned. However, as a backyard Anthropologist myself, I find no fault in this book and proclaim that it is an interesting and easy read. Schwartz touches on many cultures' relationships with dogs, which makes for handy anecdotes to wow friends and people at the dog park.

This is another boonie dog book review by Wolfie and Kansas. "A History of Dogs in the Early Americas" is an anthropological survey by Marion Schwartz, a research assistant at Yale. Despite numerous illustrations, this book is written more for academics than for dog lovers. One chapter, entitled "The Edible Dog", is particularly frightening.

Other portions of this book, such as the sections noting the key roles played by dogs in creation myths, are inspirational. On the whole, though, the sections on dogs as cuisine and dogs as ritual sacrifices leave us with the perhaps politically incorrect impression that, puppy mills and leash laws notwithstanding, the Conquest did more good than harm for caninekind.