North America - History - General & Miscellaneous, North America - Antiquities, Latin America & the Caribbean - Antiquities, Americas - Indigenous Peoples - History, Native American Studies - History - General & Miscellaneous, Native American Studies - Ge

The First Americans

Name: The First Americans
Author: Juan Schobinger
ISBN: 9780802837660

by Juan Schobinger

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Overview

This beautiful volume traces the development of early civilization in the Americas and surveys the origin, history, and culture of some of the most fascinating and spectacular civilizations the world has ever known. Lavishly illustrated throughout with full-color and black-and-white pictures, drawings, and maps, this book traces the six most important steps in the development of pre-Columbian civilization in North, Central, and South America. Juan Schobinger, writing with general readers in mind, describes the diverse cultures of the first Americans according to region, while noting especially those "events of civilization" that stand as milestones for understanding the history of civilization in the Western Hemisphere as a whole.

In a scholarly yet readable text written for the general reader, Argentine anthropologist Juan Schobinger describes the complex development of the historical periods by which we understand the development of civilization in the Western Hemisphere. 188 full-color and black-and-white photos, illustrations, and maps.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Although beginning with a hemispheric review of evidence for the dating and source of the earliest human population in the Americas, this book concentrates largely on the late prehistory of Middle and South America. In a compact yet informative style, the author, an Argentinian academic and anthropologist, summarizes current knowledge of the origins of agriculture and the cultural history of Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru. Also included are the American Southwest and northwestern Argentina. Archaeological cultures described in detail include Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Chavin, and Tiahuanaco. Of interest to some readers will be the author's fascination with the possibility of transoceanic contacts, an idea ignored or dismissed by most archaeologists. Lavishly illustrated, this book provides a helpful introduction to the prehistory of the Americas. For general and informed lay readers.-William S. Dancey, Ohio State Univ., Columbus

Booknews

Originally published in Italian (1994: Editoriale Jaca Book spa, Milan). The author, an archaeologist affiliated with the University of Cujo in Argentina, writes for a general audience. The scope is broad: coverage of the origin, history, and culture of early civilization in the Americas. Abundantly illustrated with color photos of monuments and artifacts as well as the terrain of various regions, and drawings, maps, and charts, this presentation is marred by the dramatically inconsistent quality of the photos and their reproduction. Also unfortunate is the lack of an index and a bibliography. 9.25x12" Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)