Seeking Our Past: An Introduction to North American Archaeology
2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 27; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2168-4723
Autores Tópico(s)Archaeological Research and Protection
ResumoSeeking Our Past: An Introduction to North American Archaeology. SARAH W. NEUSIUS and G. TIMOTHY GROSS. Oxford University Press, New York, 2007. vii + 688 pp., figs., tables, biblio., glossary, index, CD-ROM. $61.50 (paper), ISBN 0-19-517384-8. Reviewed by Lara K. Homsey Writing an introductory archaeology text is not an enviable task. Not only is the compilation of such an enormous amount of information daunting and onerous, but writing so as to retain the interest of the reader is something of a thankless job. Sarah Neusius and Timothy Gross not only successfully compile a lot of information into 688 pages, but they manage to write with a balance of professionalism and informality: professional enough to make this an excellent reference for students and archaeologists alike and informal enough to create a conversational tone that keeps the interested reader engaged. Neusius and Gross divide the book into three sections. first section, Introducing North American Archaeology, contains two chapters. Chapter 1 places archaeology within its anthropological, historical, and scientific context. chapter opens by invoking the ever-popular Indiana Jones stereotype, timely given the recent release of the fourth Indiana Jones movie. authors use this image to point out that adventurous images of archaeology unfortunately give the impression that archaeology is the domain of the Old World, yet as the authors point out, most Americans know little or nothing about the archaeology of their own country (Neusius and Gross 2007:3). Chapter 2 introduces the culture area concept which forms the organizational framework for the remainder of the book, then continues with a review of North American biomes, habitats, and paleoclimates. As a geoarchaeologist, I am particularly pleased to see this context included. While the authors discourage an environmental determinist view of culture change, they are clear that human populations adapt to and interact with the natural environment in myriad ways which archaeologists must understand if they are to understand culture. Chapter 2 concludes with sections on sociopolitical organization, dating, and theoretical themes in the study of North American's Past (Neusius and Gross 2007:77), all of which are important though perhaps somewhat oddly mixed together at the end of this chapter. However, while their presence here may feel misplaced to the seasoned archaeologist, they come in concise packages that are probably well suited to students, which are, of course, the book's primary authence. One topic that some may find missing in this first section of the book is a summary of the history of American archaeology, but the authors have - perhaps wisely - placed this information in the bundled CDROM. As such it is readily available without taking up valuable space in the book. bulk of the book is contained in the 11 chapters that comprise the second section, The North American Past. Chapter 3 chronicles the peopling of the Americas and the Paleoindian period. One of the ways in which the authors create a conversational tone in this chapter is by organizing section headings around fundamental questions, (e.g., How did humans come south from Beringia into North and South America? p. 118), a practice that regrettably does not carry over into succeeding chapters. Chapters 4 to 13 each focus on the culture history of a particular culture area: the Arctic, Northwest Coast, Plateau, California, Great Basin, Southwest, Great Plains, Southeast, Midwest and Upper Great Lakes, and Northeast and midAtlantic. Each chapter opens with an overview of the geographic area, the environment, and notes on climate change through time before continuing with a summary of the culture history from the earliest inhabitants to early historic times. emphasis in each chapter is generally on technology and subsistence through time, with less discussion on social and political change. Each chapter contains a clear map with prominent sites clearly located, as well as a table illustrating the cultural chronology of the region. …
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