Exploring Ancient Native America

The archaeological remnants of the first Americans tell a story of advanced civilization and culture. From the Pueblo dwellings of the Southwest to the buffalo jumps of the Great Plains to the coastal villages of the Northwest, the author combines the latest field research with accounts of tribal life to offer a new perspective on Native American history, culture and ritual. Using a chronological and regional framework, Thomas describes each of the prehistoric early native cultures, including Paleoindians of the North, the moundbuilding Mississippian cultures, and the ancient Anasazi peoples of the Southwest. Covering nine million square miles and 25,000 years, Exploring Ancient Native America suggests more than four hundred accessible sites where individuals can observe the remains of prehistoric American cultures today. Thomas also includes relevant contributions from Native American scholars, poets, and activists on topics such as language, oral tradition, contact, and sacred sites. The most comprehensive guide available, Exploring Ancient Native America is an excellent primer on early Native American cultures in every region of the country for both the intrepid explorer and the armchair traveler.

David Hurst Thomas has been a curator at the American Museum of Natural History for over twenty years and is a Founding Trustee of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. He has excavated hundreds of sites, has edited more than eighty volumes, and is the author of Archaeology (1998) and Archaeology: Down to Earth (1999).

The Global Prologue; The First American:; Spreading Out Across America; Agricultural Imperatives in the American Southwest; Harvesting the Eastern Woodlands; Mississippian Transformations; Colliding Worlds: Old and New?; Epilogue: an Enduring Encounter