The ecological Indian : myth and history

Krech, Shepard 1944- (Author).

Summary: The idea of the Native American living in perfect harmony with nature is one of the most cherished contemporary myths. But how truthful is this larger-than-life image? According to anthropologist Shepard Krech, the first humans in North America demonstrated all of the intelligence, self-interest, flexibility, and ability to make mistakes of human beings anywhere. As Nicholas Lemann put it in The New Yorker, "Krech is more than just a conventional-wisdom overturner; he has a serious larger point to make. . . . Concepts like ecology, waste, preservation, and even the natural (as distinct from human) world are entirely anachronistic when applied to Indians in the days before the European settlement of North America." - Back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 0393321002 (pbk.)
ISBN: 0393047555
ISBN: 9780393321005 (pbk.)
ISBN: 9780393047554
Physical Description: 318 p. : ill ; 21 cm.
print
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, c1999.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-308) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Pleistocene extinctions -- 2. The Hohokam -- 3. Eden -- 4. Fire -- 5. Buffalo -- 6. Deer -- 7. Beaver -- Epilogue -- Endnotes -- Index.