The Search for the First Americans Science, Power, Politics

"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 Nati...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Davis, Robert
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: University of Oklahoma Press 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: Directory of Open Access Books - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 03391nma a2200337 u 4500
001 EB002046090
003 EBX01000000000000001189756
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 220822 ||| eng
020 |a 9780806175911 
020 |a 9780806175935 
100 1 |a Davis, Robert 
245 0 0 |a The Search for the First Americans  |h Elektronische Ressource  |b Science, Power, Politics 
260 |b University of Oklahoma Press  |c 2021 
300 |a 1 electronic resource (224 p.) 
653 |a History of the Americas / bicssc 
653 |a Anthropology / bicssc 
653 |a Archaeology / bicssc 
653 |a History of science / bicssc 
653 |a First Americans;Native American archaeology;Archaeology;Native myths;Pre-Clovis;Clovis;American Indian mythology;origin stories;Mesa Verde;Meadowcroft;Atlantis;Chinese Bestiary;Bioanthropology;Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act;Kennewick Man;Tarim Basin;Clovis-First 
653 |a Social & cultural history / bicssc 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b DOAB  |a Directory of Open Access Books 
500 |a Creative Commons (cc), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 
028 5 0 |a 10.38118/9780806175935 
856 4 0 |u https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50117/2/9780806175935.epub  |7 0  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
856 4 2 |u https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/71345  |z DOAB: description of the publication 
082 0 |a 900 
082 0 |a 301 
520 |a "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. "