Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650 (Civilization of the American Indian Series) [Paperback]

Kathleen J. Bragdon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1999 | Series: Civilization of the American Indian Series (Book 221)

In this first comprehensive study of American Indians of southern New England from 1500 to 1650, Kathleen J. Bragdon discusses common features and significant differences among the Pawtucket, Massachusett, Nipmuck, Pocumtuck, Narragansett, Pokanoket, Niantic, Mohegan, and Pequot Indians. Her complex portrait, which employs both the perspective of European observers and important new evidence from archaeology and linguistics, shows that internally developed customs and values were primary determinants in the development of Native culture.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathleen J. Bragdon is Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the author of Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650, winner of the Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize of the American Society for Ethnohistory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806131268
• ISBN-13: 978-0806131269
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dense, but worth it, February 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650 (Civilization of the American Indian Series) (Paperback)

This book is a keenly interesting look into the ways, the works, and the world-views of the early inhabitants of what today is Southern New England. Dr. Bragdon writes not in an historical style, but rather in the ethnographic tradition. Thus, her chapters are sometimes rather slow going unless you're an anthropologist. There's a lot of jargon. It's still a great read for the non-specialist, however. I would like to recommend keeping a dictionary handy, for times when the esoteric nomenclature of anthropology becomes as impenetrable as a pre-colonial flock of passenger pigeons.

The book is not divided up by tribe, as one might expect. Instead, Dr. Bragdon has divided her work by conceptual paradigms, or by umbrella descriptions of features of life shared by all the peoples of the land under discussion. Chapters delve into cosmology, ritual, or social relations, as well as "Kinship as Ideology," "Metaphors and Models of Livelihood," and "The Quotidian World:Work, Gender, Time, and Space."

By the way -- if you don't read fairly carefully at the beginning, you may miss something important. Dr. Bragdon has chosen to employ the term "Ninnimissinuok" as a blanket term for members of ALL the local Algonquian tribes. Just be aware that that what the word means -- otherwise you might waste a lot of time scratching your head, wondering who, exactly, these Ninnimissinuoks are supposed to be. I mention this because it's not nearly so well-known a term as, for example, Narragansett, or Wampanoag -- but perhaps it should be. The author demonstrates it's validity, and it's importance.

The bibliography at the end of this book is worth the book's price, all on it's own. There's a discouragingly large amount of poorly researched, pseudo-mystical writing out there, on the subject of Native Americans. Well, you won't find any here! All the cited works I've tried to locate have been of an extremely high caliber. The bibliography alone could keep you happily reading about the native peoples of Southern New England for many, many moons.

Again, this book can be a little steep going at times, if you aren't trained as an anthropologist, but it's worth the effort. Definitely two thumbs up.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with important and interesting information, August 17, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650 (Civilization of the American Indian Series) (Paperback)

This is an examination of the American Indians who inhabited southern New England (including Long Island) from roughly Cape Ann near Boston to the Housotonic River in Connecticut. All aspects of the Natives' life and culture are considered, with separate chapters focusing on settlement, agriculture and trade, work and gender, livelihood, the role of the sachem (tribal leader), kinship, cosmology and religion, and ritual. Bragdon quotes frequently from first-hand accounts kept by early Europeans, including Roger Williams, William Wood, and Edward Winslow. But she also cites the archeological record, detailing much of what has come to light at various sites within the region. It's estimated that about 90,000 Natives populated the area at the time of European contact; epidemics and rapid European population growth slowly at first, and then much more quickly, reduced that number greatly by 1650. The very earliest relations between the Indians and whites seemed to be friendly, but that didn't last long: cultural differences were too great to sustain cooperation. I found the most interesting chapters to be those about the sachems, social relations, and rituals, though all of the book is filled with meaningful and compelling detailed information. The book takes a worthy spot among the many other outstanding volumes in Oklahoma's "Civilization of the American Indian" series. Highly recommended.