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Books > History > American history
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The Search for the First Americans - Science, Power, Politics (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,446
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The Search for the First Americans - Science, Power, Politics (Hardcover)
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Who were the First Americans? Where did they come from? When did
they get here? Are they the ancestors of modern Native Americans?
These questions might seem straightforward, but scientists in
competing fields have failed to convince one another with their
theories and evidence, much less Native American peoples. The
practice of science in its search for the First Americans is a
flawed endeavor, Robert V. Davis tells us. His book is an effort to
explain why. Most American history textbooks today teach that the
First Americans migrated to North America on foot from East Asia
over a land bridge during the last ice age, 12,000 to 13,000 years
ago. In fact, that theory hardly represents the scientific
consensus, and it has never won many Native adherents. In many
ways, attempts to identify the first Americans embody the conflicts
in American society between accepting the practical usefulness of
science and honoring cultural values. Davis explores how the
contested definition of "First Americans" reflects the unsettled
status of Native traditional knowledge, scientific theories,
research methodologies, and public policy as they vie with one
another for legitimacy in modern America. In this light he
considers the traditional beliefs of Native Americans about their
origins; the struggle for primacy-or even recognition as
science-between the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology;
and the mediating, interacting, and sometimes opposing influences
of external authorities such as government agencies, universities,
museums, and the press. Fossil remains from Mesa Verde, Clovis, and
other sites testify to the presence of First Americans. What
remains unsettled, as The Search for the First Americans makes
clear, is not only who these people were, where they came from, and
when, but also the very nature and practice of the science
searching for answers.
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