Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley


Book Description

Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley describes an archeological reconstruction of the preceding 11,000 years of an extraordinarily rich environment centered within the largest river system north of the Amazon. This book focuses on the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley from just north of the Ohio River to the mouth of the Arkansas River. Organized into 13 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the territory between the Ohio and Arkansas rivers. This text then attempts to humanize the archeological interpretations by reference to social organization, settlement system, economy, religion, and politics. Other chapters focus on understanding the nature of change through time in the Central Mississippi Valley. This book discusses as well the difference between an old braided stream surface and the younger meander belt system. The final chapter deals with the investigation of prehistoric Indian remains. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists, zoologists, and scientific hobbyists.




Twelve Millennia


Book Description

"James Theler and Robert Boszhardt provide an overview of the Driftless region of the Upper Mississippi River Valley - roughly from Dubuque, Iowa, to Red Wing, Minnesota, but framed within a somewhat larger area extending from the Rock Island Rapids at the modern Moline-Rock Island area to the Falls of St. Anthony at Minneapolis-St. Paul. The book concludes with useful catalogs of the animal remains and rock art found in the valley as well as a list of archaeological sites and museums to visit."--BOOK JACKET.




A Projectile Point Guide for the Upper Mississippi River Valley


Book Description

This useful guide provides a key to identifying the various styles of points found along the Upper Mississippi River in the Driftless region stretching roughly from Dubuque, Iowa, to Red Wing, Minnesota, but framed within a somewhat larger area extending from the Rock Island Rapids at the modern Moline -- Rock Island area to the Falls of St. Anthony at Minneapolis -- St. Paul. In addition to drawings of each style, Robert Boszhardt provides other accepted names as well as names of related points, age, distribution, a description (including length and width), material, and references for each type. The guide is meant for the many avocational archaeologists who collect projectile points in the Upper Midwest and will be a useful reference tool for professional field archaeologists as well. Book jacket.




Archeology of Mississippi


Book Description




Stone Effigies of the High Plains Hunters


Book Description

This text is meant to educate and help people with the identification of unusual stones fashioned by early man. Many of these stones are nothing short of true works of art, as you will see. In these pages are photographs and drawings of stones collected over thirty years, and four years to write this book—60,000 words and 318 photos and drawings to help you understand how ancient man used and really looked at a stone, and you will too. There's no book like this on earth!




Archaeology of Minnesota


Book Description

Demonstrating how native cultures adapted and evolved over time, Gibbon provides an explanation that is firmly rooted in the nature of local environments. He shows how the study of Minnesota archaeology is relevant to a broader understanding of long-term patterns of change in human development throughout the world."--Pub. desc.




Bone Walker


Book Description

Nearly a millennium ago, the Anasazi ruled the cliffs and canyons of New Mexico with a rich, vibrant culture that disappeared as mysteriously as it arose. The link between the 800-year-old murder of an Anasazi holy man and the ritual death of archaeologist Dusty Stewart's beloved mentor drive this rich tapestry of a novel, which moves almost seamlessly between the past and the present to its riveting conclusion. But long before that happens, the reader is drawn into the hunt for a wolf witch that resonates down the centuries, unearthing not only the secrets and relics of an ancient world but also those of Dusty's past--his father's suicide, his mother's desertion, the existence of a sister he never knew, and the reappearance of the woman whose tangled love life set a series of bloody crimes in motion.




The Mississippian Emergence


Book Description

This collection, addressing a topic of ongoing interest and debate in American archaeology, examines the evolution of ranked chiefdoms in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States during the period A.D. 700–1200. The volume brings together a broad range of professionals engaged in the fieldwork that has vitalized the theoretical debates on the development of Mississippi Valley cultures. The initial chapter provides a general discussion of various explanations for the rise of these distinctive ranked societies in the eastern United States (A.D. 750-1050) and sets the stage for the interdisciplinary analysis from multiple viewpoints that follows. The first section discusses a cluster of individual sites in the Midwest and Southeast and reveals the parallel—and occasionally divergent—paths followed by the inhabitants as they transitioned from Late Woodland into Mississippian lifeways. The chapters in the second half discuss by region the emergence of ranked agricultural societies and examine how these networks played a role in the large-scale and roughly contemporaneous socio-political development. Contributors: C. Clifford Boyd Jr. James A. Brown R. P. Stephen Davis Jr. John House John E. Kelly Richard A. Kerber Dan F. Morse Phyllis Morse Martha Ann Rolingson Gerald F. Schroedl Bruce D. Smith Paul D. Welch Howard D. Winters




Clues to Lower Mississippi Valley Histories


Book Description

2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title In Clues to Lower Mississippi Valley Histories David V. Kaufman offers a stunning relational analysis of social, cultural, and linguistic change in the Lower Mississippi Valley from 500 to 1700. He charts how linguistic evidence aids the understanding of earlier cultural and social patterns, traces the diaspora of indigenous peoples, and uncovers instances of human migration. Historical linguistics establishes evidence of contact between indigenous peoples in the linguistic record where other disciplinary approaches have obscured these connections. The Mississippi Valley is the heartland of early North American civilizations, a rich and diversified center of transportation for every part of eastern North America and to Mesoamerica. The Lower Mississippi Valley region emerged as the home of the earliest mound-building societies in the Americas and was home to some of the most impressive kingdoms encountered by Spanish and French explorers. The languages of the region provide the key to the realities experienced by these indigenous peoples, their histories, and their relationships. Clues to Lower Mississippi Valley Histories focuses on relationships that constitute what linguists call a sprachbund (language union), or language area. Kaufman illuminates and articulates these linguistic relationships through a skillful examination of archaeological and ethnohistorical data. Clues to Lower Mississippi Valley Histories examines the relationship between linguistics and archaeology to elucidate the early history of the Lower Mississippi Valley.




The Summoning God


Book Description

Book II of the Anasazi Mysteries from New York Times bestselling authors Kathleen O'Neal Gear and Michael W. Gear, The Summoning God is more than a superb murder mystery, it is a psychological thriller with blockbuster action, romance and suspense, and best of all a dynamic plot that will have you holding your breath waiting for the nest step down the dark labyrinth of their serial murderer's mind. When world-renowned Canadian Physical Anthropologist, Dr. Maureen Cole, is called to the United States to analyze burials found in an ancient subterranean ceremonial chamber, she is stunned to discover the burned bodies of thirty-three children and two adults. The children were burned in the flesh, meaning they were alive when the fire started, but was the fire an accident or deliberately set? The scattered, mutilated remains of the adults give Maureen her first clue. In order to solve the mystery she must work with American archaeologist William Dusty Stewart. They've worked on two archaeological projects in the past and get along like a mongoose and a cobra. Now they must work together to discover the dark and terrible secret of an ancient people. The Gears seamlessly weave together modern archaeology and ancient history. Like all of their books, The Summoning God is based on real archaeological sites that tell a terrifying story of North America eight hundred years ago. Breathtaking descriptions evoke the harsh beauty of the desert, while the lucid, erudite historical perspectives are informed by the authors' own extensive archeological experience. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.