1491

New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Hardcover, 480 pages

English language

Published Aug. 9, 2005 by Knopf.

ISBN:
9781400040063
OCLC Number:
56632601

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5 stars (1 review)

A groundbreaking study that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.Traditionally, Americans learned in school that the ancestors of the people who inhabited the Western Hemisphere at the time of Columbus's landing had crossed the Bering Strait twelve thousand years ago; existed mainly in small, nomadic bands; and lived so lightly on the land that the Americas was, for all practical purposes, still a vast wilderness. But as Charles C. Mann now makes clear, archaeologists and anthropologists have spent the last thirty years proving these and many other long-held assumptions wrong.In a book that startles and persuades, Mann reveals how a new generation of researchers equipped with novel scientific techniques came to previously unheard-of conclusions. Among them:- In 1491 there were probably more people living in the Americas than in Europe.- Certain cities--such as Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital--were far greater in population …

7 editions

Excellent Book

5 stars

I know basically nothing about Native American history, but this book gave me a true appreciation for the history, culture, and technology of those that we stole land from. It took me quite a while to get through this book, but it's well worth it. It is interesting, full of fun anecdotes, and will give you something that is left out of our history books.

Subjects

  • Native Americans - History
  • Indians
  • History
  • History - General History
  • Origin
  • History: World
  • North American
  • Native American
  • Americas (North Central South West Indies)
  • History / Native American
  • Antiquities
  • America