History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans

Average customer rating:

Height a problem
Who Were the First Americans?
fair and balanced
Riveting and well written
Who Am I?

Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans
James C. Chatters
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity
Riddle Of The Bones: The Intriguing Story of the Kennewick MAn
The Settlement of the Americas: A New Prehistory
Lost World: Rewriting Prehistory---How New Science Is Tracing America's Ice Age Mariners

ASIN: 0684859378

Amazon.com

In this intriguing work of scholarly detection, forensic anthropologist James Chatters relates the story of a fossil discovery that has challenged received wisdom about the peopling of the Americas--and that has touched off a storm of controversy.

On July 28, 1996, two students happened on a skull that peeked from the mud of a Washington riverbank. When police officers arrived at the site, they called in Chatters, a deputy coroner and scientist. At first glance, Chatters guessed that the skull was that of a white pioneer, perhaps a hundred or so years old, but on examining other skeletal remains, he began to suspect that the human eventually dubbed "Kennewick Man" was much older indeed. Various scientific tests proved him right: the skeleton was around 9,500 years old. But Kennewick Man, he announced, was also "Caucasoid" in appearance, a revelation that triggered charges of racism and tomb-robbing by local Native Americans, who claimed the remains as part of their cultural heritage. The announcement also drew in white supremacists, who seized on Chatters's discovery to argue that their forebears were the first to arrive in North America.

Both the term "Caucasoid" and its racially charged interpretations were off the mark, Chatters writes, for Kennewick Man should be seen as an ancestor to us all. Some of his features, and those of other ancient remains found elsewhere in the Americas, suggest a kinship with peoples as various as Polynesians, Ainu, medieval Icelanders, and Australian aborigines. More important than bloodline is the revision that Kennewick Man and his cousins force in our account of the arrival of humans in the Americas, which, Chatters argues, happened in waves over long periods of time and involved people of widely varied features and genetic traits.

Writing evenly of a controversy that continues to rage, Chatters provides a behind-the-scenes view of physical anthropology, as well as a fascinating revision of the human past. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In 1996, two young men found a skeleton along the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington. "Kennewick Man," as he became known, was brought to forensic anthropologist Jim Chatters, who was astonished when tests revealed the skeleton to be nearly 9,500 years old, one of the oldest intact skeletons ever found in North America -- and one that bore little resemblance to modern Native Americans. So who was Kennewick Man, and where did he come from?

Chatters set off to find out, but his work on the skeleton was soon halted when local Native American groups claimed the skeleton as an ancestor under federal law, and demanded the right to rebury the remains. Agreeing with their claim, the U.S. government seized Kennewick Man and put him into federal storage, where he remains to this day. So began a harsh, politically charged conflict, with scientists, Native Americans, and government agencies fighting to decide the destiny of Kennewick Man.

While this battle raged, Chatters began a quest to understand the lives and origins of Kennewick Man and his contemporaries, a quest that took him across three continents and far back in time to learn the identity of these true First Americans. Ultimately, it led him to a sense of what it really means to be human.

Customer Reviews:

Height a problem.......2007-10-08

I read the book and found it wonderful.

Kennewick man is 5'8" (173 cm)and even though I have been to Hokkaido seen the Ainu People.I have never seen a 5'8" Ainu.In fact at 5 '2" they were about (160cm) they were a little shorter or the same height as me.I have allot of problems with the description of this ancient Ainu man.His enormous nose and the skull look different from Ainu.My field is Archeology and I have a masters in both archeology and anthropology. This smells of politics to me and believe me there is plenty of that in Archeology.

Who Were the First Americans?.......2005-01-02

The story of the fight over Kennewick Man begins in 1996, with the discovery of a mystery skeleton in the mud of the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Washington, and, by its end, tells us more about our own strange modern world than it does about the K-man's long lost one.

Chatters recounts the struggle over K-man's remains in fascinating detail. His is a nonfiction work that also provides some of the satisfactions of a mystery and a thriller (so might want to jump over parts of this), as well as an absurdist tragicomedy. The last, thanks mostly to a US Army Corps of Engineers that exhibits all the serious scientific integrity and commitment to due process one might expect if a mad political scientist had managed to join Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks to the Spanish Inquisition.

Chatters' first reaction is that the skeleton belongs to some early colonial-era white pioneer; however, upon closer inspection, the remains prove to be much older. The initial examination is barely complete when the federal government, having jurisdiction over the excavation site, begins to seize K-man's remains to turn them over to local Indians.

The government declares that it is carrying out the provisions of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a law, according to Chatters, which is "being used by the Indian tribes to reclaim all ancient human skeletons, regardless of their age and often with little or no opportunity allowed for scientific investigation."

As the government begins to close in on K-man, Chatters hurriedly consults another anthropologist, a highly respected forensic competitor, in order to obtain an unbiased second opinion: `Male Caucasian,' she said. `You sure?' I asked. `Easy call,' was the firm response. `The face?' I probed. `White guy.' `Mandible?' `White guy.' ..."

On the day that lawmen were on their way, Chatters carefully arranges, describes and videotapes the bones, in hopes of saving as much scientific information as possible before K-man's ancient story would be boxed up, carried off, and forever buried in a secret location. Chatters stresses the gravity of the archaeological find, being only one of two complete early skeletons from the entire continent.

Chatters' emergency videotaping proves wise, since the government's level of stewardship turns out to be something less than Smithsonian. People, mostly Indians, pay visits to the remains, now kept in an unpadded box, after which some bones are found damaged, others destroyed, others go missing. The invaluable remains are also adulterated with newly introduced bones and various ceremonial materials. And, to obtain radiocarbon samples, the government employs a rotary saw on K-man's leg and foot bones with a feathery lightness of touch that might be more appropriate for hydroelectric damn demolition.

Fortunately, thanks to Chatters and allies, the courts begin holding hearings. But this doesn't stop the Interior Department from plunging ahead, making the determination that, yes, these completely non-Indian-looking bones most certainly must be surrendered to the Indians. On what evidence? Apparently, says Chatters: "geography" and "folklore."

Finally, incredibly, the Corps goes to the fragile archaeological site and dumps upon it 500 tons of rockfill. What possible explanation could they provide? `Protection.' (Bureaucratic Freudian Slip of the Year Award?)

Historically, what finally happened to these Paleo-Americans? Sketchy evidence points to a fertility rate that was only slightly above replacement, which would have made them "extremely vulnerable" to higher-fertility competing groups. (Hmmm, why does this sound familiar?)

This book provides a wonderful case study of a society--o harmonious Mecca of joyous "diversity"--that has become mired in a system of officially enforced racial victimhood, here, Indian division. Scientifically questioning any aspect of it is taboo, although the results can be pretty darn entertaining.

When the press latches onto Chatters' initial comment, that after surveying many faces he found K-man's face to most resemble that of "Star Trek" actor Patrick Stewart, Chatters goes out of his way to tamp down the resulting furor by disabusing anyone of the unscientific notion that K-man could possibly be considered `white.' (Long story short: K-man may predate modern races and represent only one of several waves of earliest migrations from hither and yon.) But after Chatters' sculptor friend, to create a K-man bust, pours over countless worldwide photographs, he finally finds "especially useful a movie that featured Clint Eastwood and Ed Harris ... the same narrow chins, square jaws and hollow cheeks of Kennewick Man."

Okay, think I got it: Cross between actors Patrick Stewart, Clint Eastwood and Ed Harris--but NOT WHITE!

The important thing, of course, is determining the scientific facts. Obviously, European Americans don't need to play a game of Who Got Here First? to know that America is their home, but it is amusing to see how threatened the media and others become when some whites express any racial affinity with Kennewick Man. Of course white people are the only group for whom any expression of ancestral or group pride is automatically considered "hate," "supremacy," or a sure sign that they are feverishly plotting world domination.

The truth about Paleo-Americans will be of special interest to some of European heritage, you know, those who "took the land away from the Indians." Obviously, what happened to the Indians, and whomever they replaced, was tragic, but this piously expressed refrain from liberals would be much more believable if I could find just one who is planning to return his property to the Indians and move back to Europe.

Under a growing barrage of criticism for decades, European Americans can be forgiven if they want to feel some measure of group pride. Pride, not just for possibly sharing some closer kinship with these ancient pioneers, but for the fact that the very concept of bold and unfettered scientific inquiry--in Chatters' case, standing up to legally enforce mythology and bumbling bureaucratic tyranny--is in itself an invention of Europeans.

In short: Fine book, outstanding scientist, brave man.

fair and balanced.......2003-11-07

This is one of the best books I've read. ever. Chatters not only shares his own theories, but he also gives the reader a complete picture of what theories are out there regarding the first Americans. When he recounts the details of the Kennewick man hearings, he doesn't slander those on the other side of the debate, but rather tries to give the reader the best view of what occured, though you can tell that the destructive actions of the corps sadden him. This is one of the easiest and most interesting reads. From the introduction where he theorizes about Kennewick man's death in story format, to the lawsuit over his remains, to the very detailed and great information about the morphology of the skull, and how it is similar to each group that is existent now and how it differs. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in archaeology.

Riveting and well written.......2003-02-13

James Chatters is a professional forensic anthropologist, paleoecologist, and archeologist working in Washington state. As such he became involved in the recent finding of the so-called Kennewick Man and the political furor over the disposition of the remains. The book is an in-depth discussion of almost every aspect of the discovery: the initial find, the socio-political conflict over it, the brief analysis of the remains, and the overall enlightment that it casts on human migrations.

For Native American activists the issue was one of yet another example of dispossession of by those of European descent, this time in the name of science. For "science" here read the "manifest destiny" of the 19th century proponents of the westward expansion that led to a systematic, almost Hitleresque genocide of the indigenous inhabitants of the continent. The active political voices of the Native American activists since the 1960s had led to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in the 1990s, and the discovery of the skeletal remains of an early American eroded from a river bank in 1996 put the laws to a critical test, one that is still yet to be settled.

For the scientists the issue was of information irretrievably lost to the store of human knowledge about the past. For this issue read "truth" forever vanquished by the "superstition" of the dark side. Certainly in a time when the validity of science education is challenged by every Tom, Dick and Harry with an opinion, when the average person is unable to think critically, when the media are rife with occult nonsense, and when "reality" TV occupies whole evenings of family time one can hardly blame them for suspecting as much!

For myself, I find the research into the human past to be an intriguing pursuit. I read Dr. Chatter's book in about a day, hanging on every word. I have to admit, though, that most of my friends and co-workers consider me an eccentric, so I know for a fact that not every one holds my high opinion of this field of endeavor. I can therefore see why Native American people, given their history with their European neighbors, might consider the analysis of the Kennewick remains as a dangerous effort to once again dispossess them, this time of what they consider to be their history and right of priority in the land.

The book brings into sharp relief that the confrontation was due to two groups of people each approaching the world with their own view and lacking understanding of the perspective of the other. It also points out, just as the brewhaha over the Ice Man in Europe did, just how much a part politics, ego, and media involvement has to do with disputes of this sort. One can only hope that in the future, scientists and Native American groups can work together with greater accord. Certainly what was discovered about the Kennewick man gave me more respect for the closeness of the global human population and for the successful adaptation of the early American people to a difficult set of circumstances.

One of the most interesting things I found from the discussion of the remains of the Kennewick specimen is that the human populations living today are more like one another than they are like their distant predecessors. In short, human evolution, at least on a superficial level, is on-going. Our decedents several thousand years hence will also be different. This was a riveting and well written book.

Who Am I?.......2002-12-15

Where did I come from? Scientists like Dr. Chatters try and peel the layers of a complicated onion in order to answer the 'larger picture'. Having lived in Washington and Oregon among the Yakama and Umatilla people I know that my first reaction to the Kennewick controversy was 'leave the Ancient One alone'! My Native friends insist that their claim to being the original peoples of this continent are being repudiated by the work of Chatters, Owsley and others. After researching for myself I have come to the conclusion that any work on this very sensitive topic is of value. There are no definitive answers now, and perhaps not in our lifetime. Look at the controversy over 'Lucy' in Africa? Science evolves just as people have. Dr. Chatters book is an excellent window on just how complicated 'our' origins are. For my own part, I am of the belief that there is not just ONE ancestor, nor can there be just ONE theory on how the contemporary people of this continent evolved. I don't find Dr. Chatters writings confusing in the least. I only wish I'd had the opportunity to meet him when I lived in Portland and went to several lectures on 'the Ancient One'. I think if I could choose who I would like to sit down with and pick his brain and learn, it would have to be Dr. Chatters. His credentials are above reproach despite the twists media have made concerning his use of a common morphological term 'caucasoid'. I would encourage him to keep digging, keep writing because many of us appreciate the intellectual stimulation our otherwise boring lives deprive us of. Excellent book!

Average customer rating:

Proving that not all American history is boring
America's First Fossil Collectors
entertaining but.....
A second first step
Pioneering and Fun

Fossil Legends of the First Americans
Adrienne Mayor
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times.
Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs
Unearthing the Dragon
When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth
After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals (Life of the Past)

ASIN: 0691113459

Book Description

The burnt-red badlands of Montana's Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, also home to the Sioux, the Crows, and the Blackfeet, the first people to encounter the dinosaur fossils exposed by the elements. What did Native Americans make of these stone skeletons, and how did they explain the teeth and claws of gargantuan animals no one had seen alive? Did they speculate about their deaths? Did they collect fossils?

Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells. Well before Columbus, Native Americans observed the mysterious petrified remains of extinct creatures and sought to understand their transformation to stone. In perceptive creation stories, they visualized the remains of extinct mammoths, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine creatures as Monster Bears, Giant Lizards, Thunder Birds, and Water Monsters. Their insights, some so sophisticated that they anticipate modern scientific theories, were passed down in oral histories over many centuries.

Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, traditional accounts, and extensive personal interviews, Adrienne Mayor takes us from Aztec and Inca fossil tales to the traditions of the Iroquois, Navajos, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Pawnees. Fossil Legends of the First Americans represents a major step forward in our understanding of how humans made sense of fossils before evolutionary theory developed.

Customer Reviews:

Proving that not all American history is boring.......2007-09-18

I bought this book because I enjoyed Mayor's previous book and I have become interested in American prehistory. This book is more readable than the First Fossil Hunters (which I also enjoyed and learned from), and makes me aware how very large this continent is and how little I know about it. The author's sympathy with the pre-literate peoples does not diminish her appreciation of modern science. It's an enjoyable read and makes me want to visit regions more fossiliferous than New England.
If you happen to be reading it at the same time as When They Separated Earth From Sky (Barber and Barber) it's like being in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation between friends and colleagues.

America's First Fossil Collectors.......2007-03-02

I always wondered how Native Americans interpreted the huge fossil skeletons of extinct animals like giant sloths and mastodons, dinosaurs and Pterodactyls. Natural History Museums in the US never address this question, even though they often display dinosaur skeletons that were dug up on American Indian Reservations.

Mayors book is based on an obvious fact: centuries before Europeans arrived, way before scientists started studying fossils, people in the Americas created stories to try to explain the weird remains of creatures that died out millions of years ago. I was amazed that she found the oldest recorded fossil legends from the Inkas and Aztecs; the book is well-researched and I liked her writing style, as she presents fossil legends told by the Iroquois, Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Navaho,Apache, and many other tribes to account for the various kinds of fossils they found.

My favorite were the exciting Lakota Sioux stories about the fossils of giant marine reptiles (Mosasaurs) and huge pterasaurs in the badlands and chalk hills of the west: they attributed the bones to wars between giant water serpents and thunderbirds.

What really impressed me was the way Mayor shows how the Native American ideas about fossils were accurate about a lot of things that scientists would discover later. This is the idea behind geomythology, which has been in the news lately as scientists are beginning to see that the myths about fossils and volcanoes, earthquakes, etc, were based on real evidence and sometimes actually got some things right without modern scientific methods. The Native American tales of fossils talk about earth's first lifeforms in primeval times, changes of species, and extinctions.

In a section at the end of the book, Mayor chronicles some entertaining misinformed accounts and deliberate hoaxes, such as claims that dinos and human beings existed at the same time.

entertaining but............2007-02-26

Nobody knows for sure when dinosaurs lived. Science has refused to use carbon 14 to date any dinosaur bones because they are afraid of what they might learn. Tbey'll date Neanderthals and other animals with carbon 14 --but curiously not dinosaurs.

Of course dinosaurs being many millions of years old has been the story science has told us for the past 100 years. But are they really? This book tells us how American Indians described in glorious detail their encounters with such animals. The author wants us to believe that all these "encounters" were not really encounters at all, but nothing but dreamed-up stories hinging on fossil discoveries. Never mind the fact that American Indians have drawn pictures of dinosaurs on cave walls and that dinosaur bones have been dug up with soft tissue embedded in their bones. Never mind that hundreds of dinosaur eggs have been dug up with fully-formed embryos inside. Never mind that dinosaurs have been depicted all throughout the ancient world in artwork, pottery, stonework and all kinds of literature.

And of course the other thing the author doesn't mention is if all these stories were dreamed up by Indians from mere fossil finds, that would imply that the fossils were probably near or on the surface of the ground. Of course science tells us that dinosaurs are old because of the "strata" they are found. Well what "strata" is on top of the ground? Surely the author doesn't want us to believe that the indians went digging around in the ground, pulled the fossils out, and then re-hingged them all together only to make up stories! If this is the case, why haven't we found fully re-constructed fossils laying on top of the ground?

All in all this book is entertaining but this lady is blinded by Darwin's theory of evolution. She has all this evidence right under her nose, yet she can't see it. In this respect it's rather frustrating.

A second first step.......2005-08-11

Following her innovative and informative study of fossils as roots for myths in the Mediterranean, Mayor brings her investigative talents to the Western Hemisphere. Here, she follows the pattern set in her earlier book, "Ancient Paleontologists" by examining the myths and legends of Native Americans. Did they, like their Eurasian counterparts in Greece, find ancient bones protruding from creek beds and bluffs? Did they also weave legends of fabulous creatures, human giants or spiritual entites from these unusual artefacts? In this account of tales and myths, Mayor's fluid style enlivens the legends, their tellers and the artefacts that inspired them.

Dividing her quest into regional investigations, she surveys the East Coast of North America, skips South to the realm of the Incas, then returns to Great Plains and Pacific Slope. Mayor finds links from recorded stories to the bones of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammoths. She is hampered, of course, by the minimal direct information available. She must rely on those who recorded and interpreted the information often gathered from conquered peoples. And many of the earliest records were destroyed by the Christian conquerors. What remains of those records has been the subject of much dispute. In early New England, Puritan Cotton Mather rejected stories and fossils alike as the invalid heritage of the heathen "salvages". In modern times, renowned paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson rejected the notion of Native American fossil finds and the legends surrounding them as lacking scientific value.

Mayor, however, shows how narrow Simpson's view has proven. Taking the legends more seriously, she notes that even President Thomas Jefferson had enough faith in fossil finds to charge the Lewis and Clark expedition with searching for living specimens. It took one of the geniuses of the times, Georges Cuvier, to bestow validity on fossil bones by declaring them the remnants of actual ancient creatures. With so many of the artefacts representing large species, the underlying logic of Native American legends depicting giant people and creatures makes sense.

The tales Mayor recounts are those of huge, terrifying animals or human-like creatures. Some raid the human settlements, only defeated by divine beings or the occasional heroic figure. Many of the stories have these beings eliminated by lightning or "fire from the sky". The powers of the giants were immense, but some felt the strength and size might be imparted to people. It remains unclear how many peoples used the bones for medicinal purposes - reminiscent of the "dragon bones" of apothecary shops in China. From Atlantic to Pacific, on the Plains or in the Andes, the bones emerged, launching fireside stories. The tales show how innovative individuals acquired special powers in the community through knowledge of fossils. These people could give the artefacts meaning or make them useful in various ways. There is a great similarity among the many peoples of the Western Hemisphere on what the strange objects appearing from the ground meant. The theme of giants, great battles and contests with fiery ends recurs often. When recorded in images, whether on tipis or stelae, they are readily identifiable.

Fossils in "enterprising" North America became the subject of frauds and deceptions. To the credulous, artefacts take on a special role and there's money to be made in them. Mayor concludes her book with an account of many of these. Fossils have been used to support "Scripture", such as accounting for the Noachean Flood. A regular business arose in Mexico through a trove of clay figurines purporting to represent ancient Sumer or even Atlantis. Red-haired giants were "found" in Nevada and ceremonies are performed in northern Mexico by people claiming to have recent contact with dinosaurs.
Mayor's books on ancient paleontology are a call for further investigation of a new field of interest. She is a herald for a new, emerging science. Simply finding bones and other fossils is no longer sufficient evidence for assessing the past. Long-term historical and legendary records have much to contribute. Mayor's plea for more studies should be taken up by young [and not so young!] scholars who are open-minded enough to apply new ideas and approaches. Her clear prose style eases the way for anybody interested in these topics to delve into them and perceive the possibilities. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Pioneering and Fun.......2005-05-05

Long before Europeans rediscovered the dinosaur, Native Americans knew about fossils. They collected and tried to explain them, and fossils remain part of the living legacy of Native culture today. Always fascinating and often passionate, this book traces the story of Amerindian fossil-collecting from the Aztecs to the Iroquois and from the pre-Columbian era to the politics of the American West. Adrienne Mayor has written a groundbreaking and scholarly book that is also a pleasure to read. The illustrations are beautiful. Mayor does for Native-American culture what she did for the Greeks and Romans in an earlier book about unknown fossil hunters. Her new volume has many strands, from paleontology to history to Hollywood, and they come together seamlessly.

The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries)

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Beautiful book
One of the best books I've ever read
A great little book
Very Good Introduction

The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (Abrams Discoveries)
Serge Gruzinski
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Aztec | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0810928213

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful book.......2007-08-09

I love the size of the book because it fist in my purse. The paper quality and the pictures are amazing. It is very easy to read because of all the images it has. Beautiful

One of the best books I've ever read.......2001-06-09

For anyone interested in learning more or learning for the first time about the Aztecs, this book is highly recommended. As mentioned by the other reviewer, it is filled with so many high quality art pictures and is very effective in describing the history, beliefs and rituals of this great empire. Someone stole my book, but I'm going to buy it again. It's that good.

A great little book.......2001-02-01

This a handy little book that can be taken with you anywhere, it is smaller than an average man's hand. It's an excellent source book for covering the the rise and fall of the Mexica(Aztec) civilization. The illustrations are wonderful reproductions of some of the most famous paintings of the conquest, including many from the murals of Diego Rivera. The paper is thick stock and fact filled with little commentary that is conjecture. The strength of this reference book is that it has many rarely seen pictures from an assortment of codexes and the reproductions are superb. Some are small but the quality remains so as to distinquish what you are looking at without any problem. The color in the illustrations is great and very much as the originals. Every page has at least one picture and most have numerous. It is visually stimulating to see as you read the history. Another strength of the book is that it has one third dedicated to documents. The conquest is retold, again, in a series of original documents, dating from the time period being discussed, most of which are primary documents. Anyone interested in Mexico and it's history will benefit from this book. Also anyone interested in art will enjoy the collection of illustrations throughout book. This is an excellent, little, wealth of information waiting for the student of Mexican history.

Very Good Introduction.......2000-09-06

This was a very helpful book in understanding the Aztec civilization and culture, and the spanish conquest. The illustrations are very helpful and the judgements are sparse and generally fair.

Average customer rating:

Ancient Pioneers: The First Americans
George E. Stuart
Manufacturer: National Geographic Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Ancient Indians: The First Americans
Roy Gallant
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0894901877

Romans in a New World: Classical Models in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America

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Romans in a New World: Classical Models in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America
David Andrew Lupher
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0472112759

Book Description

Romans in a New World shows how the ancient Romans haunted the Spanish conquest of the New World, more often than not as passionately rejected models. While the conquistadors themselves and their publicists challenged the reputations of the Romans for incomparable military genius and daring, Spanish critics of the conquest launched a concerted assault upon two other prominent uses of ancient Rome as a model: as an exemplar of imperialistic motives and behavior fit for Christians to follow, and as a yardstick against which to measure the cultural level of the natives of the New World.

In the course of this debate, many Spaniards were inspired to think more deeply on their own ethnic ancestry and identity, as Spanish treatment of the New World natives awakened the slumbering memory of Roman treatment of the Iberian tribes whom modern Spaniards were now embracing as their truest ancestors. At the same time, growing awareness of the cultural practices--especially the religious rituals--of the American natives framed a new perspective on both the pre-Christian ancestors of modern Europeans and even on the survival of "pagan" customs among modern Europeans themselves. In this incisive study, David A. Lupher addresses the increasingly debated question of the impact the discovery of the New World had upon Europeans' perceptions of their identity and place in history.

Romans in a New World holds much to interest both classicists and students of the history and culture of early modern Europe--especially, though not exclusively, historians of Spain. David A. Lupher's concern with the ideology of imperialism and colonization and with cross-cultural negotiations will be useful to students of cultural studies, as well.

David A. Lupher is Professor of Classics, University of Puget Sound.

The Story of the First Flute: Based on an Ancient Cherokee Legend

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The Story of the First Flute: Based on an Ancient Cherokee Legend
Hawk Hurst
Manufacturer: Parkway Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1887905537

Book Description

This is the tale of a boy who finds himself in trouble time after time. The forest creatures notice his plight and decide to help him by giving him a special gift.That gift enables the young boy to discover who he truly is and triumph over his self-doubt.

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