Sunday, December 9, 2018

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann




Summary (Amazon):
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.


(Wikipedia)

Reviews:
New York Times: '1491' Vanished Americans https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/books/review/1491-vanished-americans.html

Kirkus Review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charles-c-mann/1491/

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/04/1493-americas-charles-mann-review

Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401609.html

Interviews:
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2005/08/21/4805434/1491-explores-the-americas-before-columbus
HCTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhncJH4UFQI



Author's Websitehttp://www.charlesmann.org/

Author's Article in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/03/1491/302445/



Series on Vimeo based on the book: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/1491channel;
Free overview: https://vimeo.com/246849321

Penguin Random House's Reading Guide (2nd Edition):
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/107178/1491-second-edition-by-charles-c-mann/9781400032051/readers-guide/

Discussion Questions: (John will be leading the discussion with his following questions)
1. What are some of the most important misconceptions about the Americas before Europeans? How did these misconceptions come about?
2. Describe the author’s depiction of the new world and how it was developed by its original inhabitants?
3. What were some of the accomplishments of Native Americans that equal or surpassed those of Europeans?
4. What were some of the most memorable, and catastrophic, initial encounters between Europeans and Native Americans, and what were common factors between them? Could we become vulnerable like the Native Americans in our global society today?  Could the tragic outcomes been avoided?
5. How has our understanding of the history of Native Americans and how they settled these continents changed during our lifetimes?
6. Infectious diseases perhaps played the most important role in the devastation of Native American populations. What were some of these diseases and their effects? What would have happened if Native Americans had also harbored infectious diseases unknown to Europeans?
7. An important goal for modern environmentalists is to preserve and restore the Amazonian forests.  How does this impact the native peoples of this region?  Could this also be seen as a modern version of foreigners imposing their wills upon indigenous peoples?


8. Do you think the world is a better place for what happened?



(Patheos.com)