The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains (Cambridge World Archaeology)

The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains (Cambridge World Archaeology)
by: Douglas B. Bamforth (Author)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: 23 Sept. 2021
Language: English
Print Length: 350 pages
ISBN-10: 0521873460
ISBN-13: 9780521873468
Book Description
In this volume, Douglas B. Bamforth offers an archaeological overview of the Great Plains, the vast, open grassland bordered by forests and mountain ranges situated in the heart of North America. Synthesizing a century of scholarship and new archaeological evidence, he focuses on changes in resource use, continental trade connections, social formations, and warfare over a period of 15,000 years. Bamforth investigates how foragers harvested the grasslands more intensively over time, ultimately turning to maize farming, and examines the persistence of industrial mobile bison hunters in much of the region as farmers lived in communities ranging from hamlets to towns with thousands of occupants. He also explores how social groups formed and changed, migrations of peoples in and out of the Plains, and the conflicts that occurred over time and space. Significantly, Bamforth’s volume demonstrates how archaeology can be used as the basis for telling long-term, problem-oriented human history.

About the Author

Review ‘… a comprehensive study of the region’s archaeology … Recommended’ L. L. Johnson, Choice Connect Book Description This book uses archaeology to tell 15,000 years of history of the indigenous people of the North American Great Plains. About the Author Douglas B. Bamforth has worked on the Great Plains for 40 years, challenging stereotypes of Paleoindians and exploring neglected aspects of recent maize farmers. Previous books include The Allen Site: A Paleoindian Camp in Southwestern Nebraska and Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare on the Great Plains. Read more