Archaeologist Kenneth Feder’s latest book, Native America, offers the public a fascinating, highly readable, jargon-free overview that reaches surprisingly deep into the past. In presenting the vast diversity of Indigenous peoples who have inhabited North America over the last 20,000 years, Feder respectfully dispels many of the negative stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding archaeology in general and Native peoples in particular. He draws on archaeology, historical records, and Native oral histories to tell the ongoing story of Native resilience and adaptation in the face of changing environmental and sociocultural conditions, from the northern Arctic to the desert Southwest. He also encourages community collaboration in all aspects of archaeology—not to supplant Indigenous knowledge, but to supplement it.
Feder presents a compelling mix of Native origin stories—including those of the Tule River Tribe, Inuit, and Diné—and science-based, archaeologically informed accounts of the origins of North America’s Native peoples. Together, they provide an excellent introduction to New World archaeology while delving deeply enough to appeal to a broad range of readers. Feder covers the major epochs, cultures, and sites of North America, from the first peopling of the Americas through the Archaic period, the rise of agriculture, the Eastern Woodlands period, Arctic settlement, the mound builders of the Midwest, the pre-Columbian urban center of Cahokia, and developments and major sites in the Southwest, Arctic North, and Northwest Coast. He also examines radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, and other dating methods, rock imagery, warfare, residential schools—also known as Indian boarding schools—and efforts at reconciliation.
Well-written, engaging, and often humorous, this richly illustrated volume includes color photographs, hundreds of black-and-white images, detailed maps, chapter notes, and a useful index. Winner of the Society for American Archaeology’s Best Book Award in the popular archaeology category, the book represents a true master class in American archaeology.
