The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery (Modern Library Paperbacks)

So, a while back I read 1491 which dipped into new findings in various aspects of pre-columbian American history. It was very interesting. This was kind of a follow-up. It deals with one of the areas covered in 1491, namely the question of when humans arrived in the Americas. Adovasio is an archaeologist who was responsible for the dig at Meadowcroft, an incredibly important site that provided the first solid evidence that humans inhabited N. America before 'Clovis man', i.e. prior to about 11,000 years ago. This book is his version of American archaeology leading up to this discovery, and how it and other similar digs has changed how we look at American pre-history.

This is Adovasio's personal story, as his and other recent finds show more generated a lot of controversy and heat from 'Clovis first' nay-sayers who firmly believed that humans could not been here prior to 11,000 years ago, and Adovasio doesn't mince many words in his opinions of them. Not that he should; I think it's clear that a lot of criticism of him and his work was very much undeserved and rooted in dogma rather than good science. And from this point of view it's a successful book. In between his obvious irritation, which is really only present in a couple of chapters, he successfully describes the history of American archaeology over the last two centuries and traces what it is we know, and how we got to knowing it. And he discusses the controversies that have raged over this entire time and how they eventually became resolved, including the one he was personally involved in.

A book for those with an interest in pre-history and in finding out how science is really done. show less

The first bit was intriguing, when he mentioned Clovis Woman as a missing piece. But then she appears in the index never again, and, skimming, is only briefly mentioned in the last chapter. Mostly the book is about people and the history of archaeology, focus on the author's ego. I want more science. Then again, it is quite old, relatively speaking. Maybe I'll find something more up-to-date and more about the actual First Americans.

Btw, there were plenty of pictures - of artifacts and sites. I'd like more diagrams and charts to illustrate the differences between the different current theories and that sort of helpful data.