Table of Contents

List of maps Preface Introduction / Holmberg's Mistake 1. A View from Above Part One Numbers from Nowhere? 2. Why Billington Survived 3. In the Land of Four Quarters 4. Frequently Asked Questions Part Two Very Old Bones 5. Pleistocene Wars 6. Cotton (or Anchovies) and Maise (Tales of Two Civilizations, part I) 7. Writing, Wheels, and Bucket Brigades (Tales of Two Civilizations, part II) Part Three Landscape with Figures 8. Made in America 9. Amazonia 10. The Artificial Wilderness Coda 11. The Great Law of Peace Appendixes A. Loaded Words B. Talking Knots C. They Syphillis Exception D. Calendar Math Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

It was believed that in 1491, the year before Columbus landed, the Americas were a near-pristine wilderness inhabited by small roaming bands of indigenous people. Here, Charles Mann provides a new, fascinating and iconoclastic account of the Americas before Columbus.

About the Author

Charles Mann is the co-author of four books, includingThe Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in 20th Century Physics and Noah's Choice: The Future of Endangered Species

Reviews

Brilliantly insightful and unsettling book
*Times Literary Supplement*

A brilliant and startling exploration of the largely unrecognised great prehistoric cultures of the Americas
*Popular Science Review*

Mann rewrites the history of the new world before Columbus. It should be compulsory reading for anyone teaching the history of the Americas
*Tribune*

A well-researched and racily written new book ... There are few better introductory books on the civilisations of pre-Columbian America, and none so up-to-date
*Spectator*

An immensely valuable book to anyone interested in agriculture and ecology as well as history and archeology. It is also rich in gossip about academic squabbles
*Morning Star*