Reuben Hoar Library (Littleton)

Encounters at the heart of the world, a history of the mandan people, Elizabeth A. Fenn

Label
Encounters at the heart of the world, a history of the mandan people, Elizabeth A. Fenn
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Illustrations
illustrationsmaps
Index
index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
Encounters at the heart of the world
Nature of contents
bibliography
Oclc number
846545690
Responsibility statement
Elizabeth A. Fenn
Sub title
a history of the mandan people
Summary
"A book that radically changes our understanding of North America before and after the arrival of Europeans Encounters at the Heart of the World concerns the Mandan Indians, iconic Plains people whose teeming, busy towns on the upper Missouri River were for centuries at the center of the North American universe. We know of them mostly because Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-1805 with them, but why don't we know more? Who were they really? In this extraordinary book, Elizabeth A. Fenn retrieves their history by piecing together important new discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, geology, climatology, epidemiology, and nutritional science. Her boldly original interpretation of these diverse research findings offers us a new perspective on early American history, a new interpretation of the American past. By 1500, more than twelve thousand Mandans were established on the northern Plains, and their commercial prowess, agricultural skills, and reputation for hospitality became famous. Recent archaeological discoveries show how they thrived, and then how they collapsed. The damage wrought by imported diseases like smallpox and the havoc caused by the arrival of horses and steamboats were tragic for the Mandans, yet, as Fenn makes clear, their sense of themselves as a people with distinctive traditions endured. A riveting account of Mandan history, landscapes, and people, Fenn's narrative is enriched and enlivened not only by science and research but by her own encounters at the heart of the world"--, Provided by publisher
Mapped to

Incoming Resources