Those Who Came Before: Southwestern Archaeology in the National Park System

by Robert H. Lister and Florence C. Lister

Book Overview

A substantially revised and expanded overview of the legacy of prehistoric cultures of the American Southwest, as preserved and interpreted by the National Park Service in more than 37 sites. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 187785638X
• ISBN13: 9781877856389
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Southwest Parks & Monuments Association
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A history of the archaeology

The Lister's are gurus of Southwest archaeology.This book is a "review of Southwestern prehistory, as it is interpreted by archaeologists, and a correlation of the regionally designated cultural variants into an interrelated whole".Lister tries to show the affinity of all ancient SW peoples.The book is 180 odd pages with a map showing where the parks are,and plenty of B & W photos.The photos go back to the 1910s as the book is essentially a history of how the sites were discovered, excavated, conserved and restored by the Parks Service.There is a colour photo section too.The first 70 pages is a synthesis of the prehistory -Hohokam, Mogollon and Anasazi cultures.It sets into perspective what follows.The balance of the book covers the 19 National Monument Parks. They are all there, the well known like Chaco canyon and Mesa Verde to the lesser known.The photos show for example Mesa Verde Cliff Palace in 1908 prior to restoration and in 1946 looking all "tidied up".Each of the 19 sites has a good Further Reading list.The book is not one that you should buy as your first book on the SW but a good second.