The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places) [Hardcover]

George R. Milner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ancient Peoples and Places Series | Publication Date: April 2004

An account of the achievements of the Moundbuilders of America designed for the general reader and student. Variously attributed to the Phoenicians, Vikings - even the ten lost tribes of Israel, in fact the curious mounds were built by the Native Americans themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The best available book on the pre-Columbian Indian societies of eastern North America. -- Bruce D. Smith, Smithsonian Institution

About the Author

George R. Milner is Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. His previous books include The Cahokia Chiefdom: The Archaeology of a Mississippian Society.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050002118X
• ISBN-13: 978-0500021187
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,255 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

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid; 3.5, November 23, 2004

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Hardcover)

This is a very good introduction to the peoples who left behind the impressive mounds in eastern North America. This book is pitched at an undergraduate level. Milner provides a chronologically arranged review of the prehistory of eastern North America. He sticks closely to the archeaology of sites and is careful to avoid speculation beyond what the often modest evidence provides. Milner is a workmanlike writer who does a solid job of describing excavations and their probable significance. The illustrations are very good and there is anice appendix describing sites that can be visited. Deficiencies of this book are that there is relatively little discussion of why cultures changed. Were there climactic factors? Some comparisons with other evolving cultures of the Americas could have been enlightening.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Review of the mounderbuilders survey, September 10, 2011

By 

old engineer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Paperback)

If you want to know more about the mound-builders of the Ohio valley, don't read this book.

I rate this 2 stars because it is well written. Some of the details of the digs were OK. I bought this book while on tour of some of these sights. I am a retired aerospace engineer and I found the academic style of writing to be outdated and boring.

Page 74, "One way to provide a taste of the rich diversity in earthwork shapes and sizes is to discuss them in terms of three categories: small circles; large circles, squares, and other shapes; and hilltop enclosures..." Not much information coming from this statement of the three shapes:round, squares and other. The author mentions Squire and Davis but never shows their work. Why not? Is this not a survey of mounds? On page 76 the author mentioned highly irregular hilltop enclosures without photos, or anything from Squire and Davis survey. Then on the same page the author states, "...and sometimes they ringed entire hilltops, including the huge Fort Ancient earthwork in Southwestern Ohio that enclosed about 125 acres..." Page 77 has photos of flatland small mounds for some unknown reason while talking about hilltop "forts?". Page 78 continues to talk about these hilltops enclosures. These hilltop enclosures and those with burned out pushed over wooden palisades are most likely sights of great violence. If an anthropologist can stand inside a fort and not understand what may have gone on "back in the day", what else is he missing?

Go visit some of these earthen sights, they are much more interesting than this book would hint at. In fact, there is much more controversy surrounding these mounds than the author has admitted and the controversies are lots of fun.

14 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference Book, November 23, 2004

By 

J. Clemens "Experiential Brain Surgeon" (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Hardcover)

As a teacher of middle school I found this book to be a great reference in class.