Native Americans Before 1492: Moundbuilding Realms of the Mississippian Woodlands

by Lynda Norene Shaffer and Lynda N Shaffer

Book Overview

The pre-Columbian culture of the Mississippi woodlands has received surprisingly little attention from historians. Studying this culture, which was in many respects highly advanced, opens an entirely new perspective on what we are used to thinking of as American history. This essay by a distinguished historian and teacher is aimed at world history classes and other classes that cover the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563240300
• ISBN13: 9781563240300
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Excellent Example of History-Anthropology Integration

This small book is an excellent example of how the findings of anthropology can extend the frontiers of history into pre-history. It also illustrates how an historian can take too-frequently dry anthropological data and make it into a fascinating account of cultures long-gone.Shaffer, a Ph.D in East Asian and American history, uses her expertise to interpret anthropological information with historical methods, thereby incorporating this information into the larger historical record.Although information on the significance of the "Mound-Builders" has long been known in anthropological circles, the significance, the historical extent, and the geographical breadth has generally escaped notice in other fields. In just 100 text pages, Dr. Shaffer places that information into an internal historical context and ties it into the larger world picture. She gives back to the Native Americans of North America their place in world civilization and American history that had been lost.And it's a very readable book, too.