Volume 50, Number 10 · June 12, 2003
Who Came First?
By Tim Flannery
The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery
by J.M. Adovasio with Jake Page
Random House, 328 pp., $26.95; $14.95 (paper)
America Before the European Invasions
by Alice Beck Kehoe
Longman/Pearson Education, 259 pp., $20.00 (paper)
Before ever a word was written, at least five thousand generations of human beings had lived out their lives on this earth, among them extraordinary innovators and adventurers who planted the first crops, created the first art, and discovered and settled entire continents. Yet except in the most extraordinary circumstances, nothing but stone tools and broken bones remain to tell us of their lives and triumphs. It is to shed light into this void that archaeologists delve into the earth, and—as one might imagine—the stories they emerge to tell are open to interpretation. Few, however, have proven as contentious as those concerning the peopling of the Americas.
Review, 3922 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |