New World Rules
That sounds like a great read, and I can relate to your enthusiasm for it--I just finished 1491 by Charles C. Mann; as the title suggests, it's a survey of the latest anthropology about the New World before Columbus. Some of it represents revisionism of earlier thinking--for example, that the population of this hemisphere was far larger than previously thought, and North American peoples actively cultivated crops and forests rather than "living lightly on the land." Other parts make clear the sheer volume and diversity of cultures that were active over the centuries, from the Plains to the Andes. The cultural, scientific, engineering, philosophical, etc. accomplishments of these folks boggle the mind ... it could easily have been heartbreaking, given what was lost (largely to infection by European disease), but it manages to be inspirational as well, partly because they guy's just such a good writer. (And yes, these were hardly noble savages--they could be just as bloodthirsty, conniving, and venal as any other human culture, contrary to the patronizing myths applied to them by Americans with guilty consciences!)

POSTED BY jdjanzen ON 2/16/2007 7:59:50 PM