1491
The Americas Before Columbus

It was believed that in 1491, the year before Columbus landed, the Americas, one-third of the earth's surface, were a near-pristine wilderness inhabited by small, roaming bands of indigenous people. The author brings together the research, and the results of his own travels throughout North and South America.

Up until very recently it was believed that in 1491, the year before Columbus landed, the Americas, one-third of the earth's surface, were a near-pristine wilderness inhabited by small, roaming bands of indigenous people. But recently unexpected discoveries have dramatically changed our understanding of Indian Life. Many scholars now argue that the Indians were much more numerous, were in the Americas for far longer, and had far more ecological impact on the land than previously believed. This knowledge has enormous implications for today's environmental disputes, yet little has filtered into textbooks, and even less into public awareness. Mann brings together all of the latest research, and the results of his own travels throughout North and South America, to provide a new, fascinating and iconoclastic account of the Americas before Columbus.

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