Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Fascinating account of new information on pre-Columbian America. Everything I thought I knew might be wrong.
Hardcover, 480 pages
English language
Published Aug. 9, 2005 by Knopf.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-4000-4006-3
- OCLC Number:
- 56632601
- Goodreads:
- 329260
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4 stars
(94 reviews)
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 β¦
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 than any contemporary European city. Furthermore, Tenochtitlan, unlike any capital in Europe at that time, had running water, beautiful botanical gardens, and immaculately clean streets.- The earliest cities in the Western Hemisphere were thriving before the Egyptians built the great pyramids.- Pre-Columbian Indians in Mexico developed corn by a breeding process so sophisticated that the journal Science recently described it as "man's first, and perhaps the greatest, feat of genetic engineering."- Amazonian Indians learned how to farm the rain forest without destroying it--a process scientists are studying today in the hope of regaining this lost knowledge.- Native Americans transformed their land so completely that Europeans arrived in a hemisphere already massively "landscaped" by human beings.Mann sheds clarifying light on the methods used to arrive at these new visions of the pre-Columbian Americas and how they have affected our understanding of our history and our thinking about the environment. His book is an exciting and learned account of scientific inquiry and revelation.From the Hardcover edition.
Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is deservedly a classic work of history even though it is recent. We believe all sorts of things that just are not true about the world of the western hemisphere. Much of this is due to essential racism, since we cannot believe that the people who lived here before the Europeans arrived could have developed large and complex societies. But as this book shows, they did indeed. And it was not our superior civilization, or gunpowder, or other military advantages of the Europeans that allowed them to conquer this hemisphere, it was their diseases that brought down what was in some ways a superior civilization.
Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
In "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus", author Charles C. Mann writes about new discoveries in the archaeological world that change the way we look at pre-Columbus Indians. This includes things as bedrock shaking as where they came from, how early they were here, how big their cities and civilizations were, right down to just how many there were and why the precipitous decline.
It would take too much to cover even a little bit of the overwhelming data thrown at you in this book. It is all written in a very colloquial way, with very little jargon or complex theories. There were quite a few colorfully arcane words used, but not technical ones. He did a very good job of describing what life must have been like in many of the various Mesoamerican societies, including of course the Inkas (sic), Mayan, and even large civilizations that predate β¦
In "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus", author Charles C. Mann writes about new discoveries in the archaeological world that change the way we look at pre-Columbus Indians. This includes things as bedrock shaking as where they came from, how early they were here, how big their cities and civilizations were, right down to just how many there were and why the precipitous decline.
It would take too much to cover even a little bit of the overwhelming data thrown at you in this book. It is all written in a very colloquial way, with very little jargon or complex theories. There were quite a few colorfully arcane words used, but not technical ones. He did a very good job of describing what life must have been like in many of the various Mesoamerican societies, including of course the Inkas (sic), Mayan, and even large civilizations that predate these.
I thought he sometimes got bogged down in the nitty gritty details of some of the stories. It worked much better as an overarching description of the whole era, rather than a detailed view of various kings, emperors and wars, which tended to make my eyes glaze over.
I really enjoyed the parts about maize. Did you know that no one is really sure how maize, a staple crop of the Indians, came about? Its nearest known relative is a stalk that has very tiny ears. And its seed is so protected by the husk that it actually requires human intervention to plant itself, so there is no doubt that the ancient Indians developed it somehow. But there is plenty of discussion (and dissension) as to exactly how this came about.
That is my other big complaint about the book - there is so very little actually known. Published in 2005, I would imagine it is due for an update, because things were changing fast and furious even then. And it is really unbelievable just how vicious these academic fights can get! You would have to be pretty thick skinned to want to propose a wildly divergent theory, like instead of coming across the Bering Strait and down the coast, perhaps there was a "valley" in the glacier coverage and they actually came down the middle? Or that there were large, self-sustaining cities all up and down the Amazon, not just subsistence farmers eking out a living. Wow, the mud gets slung by the truckful!
One last factoid - Iquitos, Peru, which is 2,500 miles up the Amazon River, is the farthest inland seafaring port. Yes, sea going vessels dock after traveling up the Amazon River. The scale of the Amazon River (20% of the world's fresh water flows through it) is hard to imagine.
In the last chapter, he makes the claim that the vast flocks of passenger pigeons (some took an entire day to fly by!) and the giant herds of buffalo were actually the result of the precipitous decline of the Indian population due to the European sicknesses like smallpox. When the Indians were at their peak, the population of these and other animals were kept down by both environmental changes (like fields for maize) and by heavy hunting. Once their numbers were cut down, the populations of many animals exploded, which is sort of contrary to how you might think of things back before Columbus.
But I really enjoyed the book and the learning experience. Mann writes well and is very engaging. He tries to give both sides of an argument, of which there are legion. But he also gives you enough hard data to give you a port to dock in for a bit anyway. Highly recommended for the ancient history buff.
Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Fascinating book. I knew a lot of what was in there already, but he put it together really well (with a couple small exceptions). I did not know about much of the research on environment and agriculture (like much of the Amazon being a big orchard). Definitely recommended.
Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was a very informative book about the early history of the Americas. I have not stopped thinking about its implications since finishing it a few hours ago. Though dry in places, this book challenges classical beliefs and postulates newer theories that are informed with contemporary evidence.
Review of '1491' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I found this book absolutely fascinating and would recommend it for anyone who wants an insight into some of the ideas that are coming out of the continued research into the cultures and history of the Americas.
This made a big impression on me and I consider it one of the three most important books that I read in 2007.
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