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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
A review of current genetic-based understanding of the first people's colonization of North America. It includes an overview of the author's preferred interpretations and a brief summary of other possible interpretations. A nice quick guide to current anthropological understanding.
Read it alongside https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/264289.After_the_Ice_Age and https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37941599 to get a nice picture of prehistory.
Read it alongside https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/264289.After_the_Ice_Age and https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37941599 to get a nice picture of prehistory.
Jennifer Raff writes in accessible terms about the genetic history, archeology, and theory surrounding the Americas first people. She also writes and advocates for the understanding and practice of all of the people uncovered, written about, and tested to be treated with respect and sanctity (even if the person is from an era we know little about and separated by thousands of years). I learned a lot in this book and highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of the Americas.
This was a well done analysis of what is known about the movement of people across the Behring Strait into North and South America. The author examines available information from anthropology and the more recent DNA studies of ancient remains. She is sensitive to the concerns of Native Americans and works with them to advance scientific knowledge. A good read and highly recommended. It is somewhat technical, but the author strives to write so anyone with a basic scientific knowledge and understand.
You may find this a slightly frustrating book, because it does not give you "the answers." In fact, Raff says, in a decade it may be obsolete. This is not to fault the book, however, it is to its credit. Raff probably goes overboard in saying "I find this likely, but other disagree."
I found the book a quick read, and very informative. She spent a little less time than I had hoped on the possibility of Pacific Islander travel to S. America and she's (understandably) reluctant to simplify things into a graph showing who moved where when, though I think would still be helpful to visualize things. Combining this book with "The Dawn of Everything" paints a very different picture of indigenous America (both North and South) than we were told in school.
I found the book a quick read, and very informative. She spent a little less time than I had hoped on the possibility of Pacific Islander travel to S. America and she's (understandably) reluctant to simplify things into a graph showing who moved where when, though I think would still be helpful to visualize things. Combining this book with "The Dawn of Everything" paints a very different picture of indigenous America (both North and South) than we were told in school.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
The peopling of North and South America (and lands in between and adjacent!) was once a simple and straightforward story. People came over the Bering Land Bridge as soon as the ice melted and populated this virgin land.
[a:Jennifer Raff|20392716|Jennifer Raff|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] has a few things to say about that. Many things, in fact. Backed by a mixture of genetics and archaeology she will slowly but surely blow your mind and clear out those old Bering Land Bridge cobwebs. And take you on a fascinating journey besides.
Dr. Raff also presents a caring heart for the cultures her work impacts. And a deep understanding of their willingness and reluctance to participate in her research. That is as an important takeaway from this book as the research itself.
[a:Jennifer Raff|20392716|Jennifer Raff|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] has a few things to say about that. Many things, in fact. Backed by a mixture of genetics and archaeology she will slowly but surely blow your mind and clear out those old Bering Land Bridge cobwebs. And take you on a fascinating journey besides.
Dr. Raff also presents a caring heart for the cultures her work impacts. And a deep understanding of their willingness and reluctance to participate in her research. That is as an important takeaway from this book as the research itself.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Editing my earlier comments:
I did end up coming back and finishing this book. Fortunately, the sidebars that I had found interesting but disruptive in Part 1 were used more sparingly in the rest of the book. I still struggled with the author’s writing style, but I came away with a broad understanding of the subject and a desire to continue reading about the early peopling of the Americas.
Original Comments
I read through the end of Part 1 before deciding this book wasn't for me. Based on other reviews, I had expected that the writing would be more accessible to a lay audience, but it seems a reader would benefit from some basic familiarity with the field. It was a little over my head at times and I found myself having trouble retaining the information.
Also, each chapter contains multiple side bars, which were interesting, but the placement was often disruptive to the overall reading experience. I wish the author or editor could have found a way to incorporate those details into the main narrative.
I did end up coming back and finishing this book. Fortunately, the sidebars that I had found interesting but disruptive in Part 1 were used more sparingly in the rest of the book. I still struggled with the author’s writing style, but I came away with a broad understanding of the subject and a desire to continue reading about the early peopling of the Americas.
Original Comments
I read through the end of Part 1 before deciding this book wasn't for me. Based on other reviews, I had expected that the writing would be more accessible to a lay audience, but it seems a reader would benefit from some basic familiarity with the field. It was a little over my head at times and I found myself having trouble retaining the information.
Also, each chapter contains multiple side bars, which were interesting, but the placement was often disruptive to the overall reading experience. I wish the author or editor could have found a way to incorporate those details into the main narrative.