Introduction
The book by Charles C. Mann is a non-fiction book based on pre-Columbian America. In his book, Mann argues that a cocktail of recent findings from different of research implies that there were numerous populations in the western hemisphere. He also argues that the indigenous people in the Americas were more culturally sophisticated, shaped and controlled the natural landscape and came earlier than the scholars indicated. This critical review evaluates Mann’s book with regard to his arguments and the evidence he presents to back them up in the four sections of the book. These sections include the Holmberg’s Mistake, Numbers from Nowhere, Very Old Bones and Landscape with Scenery. The book critique will also outline the strengths and weaknesses in these arguments and finally conclude with a general lesson picked from the book.
Discussion
In the section, Holmberg’s Mistake, the author address what he perceives a mistake propagated by the work of Allan R. Holmberg, an anthropologist in 1950. Holmberg resided among and studied the native Indians in the Americas for two years. During this period, the anthropologist studies their habits and published his assessment. Consequently, generations of scholars took Holmberg’s assessment of the native Indians as gospel truth and generalized it to other indigenous groups. In his assessment, the Siriono were seen as unimpressive people, who for the thousands of years of existence went in without innovation or progress. The anthropologist also laid claim that prior to European contact, the Siriono had no remarkable history (Mann, 2005).
In his argument, Mann posits that Holmberg overlooked archaeological and linguistic evidence that showed both significant previous construction and recent migration in the region. Mann’s argument is logical in that it showed Holmberg’s subjects were adrift for a reason and impoverished. The people Holmberg’s studied were among the last of a population of 3000 Siriono who were almost wiped out by successive epidemics. These people with whom Holmberg lived with and studies were a generation removed for the catastrophic annihilation of a large percentage of their populace. It was erroneous for Holmberg to make broad conclusions and inferences from studies made on the remaining Indians (Mann, 2005).
Mann vehemently disagrees with assertions that European technologies were by far superior to those invented by Indians. This idea was propagated by among others, Holmberg in his assessment if the indigenous Indian communities that he lived with and studied. In the section, Numbers From Nowhere, Mann presents a cocktail of evidence to back up his claims. Firstly, the Indians perceived guns to make too much noise for implements that were too difficult to aim and could not shoot farther than an arrow could fly. Their moccasins were sturdier and more comfortable that European boots. Additionally, there padding was preferred because it offered a silent approach during warfare. The canoes made by Indians were more maneuverable and faster that the small boats that the Europeans used (Mann, 2005).
Another anthropologist changed the perceptions of the pre-Columbus Americas. This anthropologist wrote that there were far more burials reported when compared to baptisms before the arrival of the Europeans. This was through the analysis of records in a Cathedral in native Peru. In this section, Mann tries to understand whether the population in the Inca Empire before its downfall surpassed those of the Spanish Conquerors. Mann considers the fact that even though both the Spaniards and the native Indians had access to metal, they used it for different purposes. While the Spaniards used metal to make tools and weapons, the Indians used metal for aesthetic purposes. This shows that they were developed and could make valuable things out if raw materials (Mann, 2005).
The anthropologist shows that the native Indians were not defeated by the weapons of the Europeans but by factionalism and disease. Prior to the clashes with the Spaniards, the native Indians were involved in a civil war where a large portion of their population was killed. For his work, the anthropologist was revered as one of those who thought that the natives neared a hundred million in numbers. This was through estimations that more natives inhabited the Americas that scholars previously thought. After the invention of carbon dating, old bones could be analyzed to determine their age. Through such analysis, it was shown that the first culture in the Americas appeared some 13500 and 12900 years ago. In his book, Mann agrees that this was shortly after the period when migration from Siberia was possible. Through this argument he validates the arguments of the high counters by showing that the numbers were not from nowhere (Mann, 2005).
Mann’s argument that migration from Siberia was connected to the numbers of Indians in native Americas was validated by the finding of very old bones in Brazil. These bones suggested that Indians might have inhabited the region many years before. Mann also delves into the evidence that Mesoamerican developed the wheel and used calendars. This evidence shows that these societies were very complex, contrary to popular opinion that the native communities were not innovative. Furthermore, the agricultural development of maize shows the innovativeness of the Indians. They basically bred maize from the start as maize did not have a wild ancestor like oats, wheat or barley. The development of maize led to surpluses in food and consequently played a part in the rise of civilizations (Mann, 2005).
In his attempts at synthesis, Mann figures that the Indians served as keystone species by affecting the abundance and survival of many species. By the use of fire to scorch landscape, they benefited some plants and animals. This is because the Indians performed a husbandry different from that of the Europeans. Mann also argues that the Indians were misunderstood because Europeans held an often racist and biased opinion of the Indians. In his eyes, the Europeans were incapable of conceptualizing the husbandry ways of Indians. The Indians conserved the environment by domesticating fewer animals and a different approach in crop husbandry compared to the Europeans (Mann, 2005).
Mann reckons that the world that Columbus saw was the point of change. With the arrival of the Europeans, the vast lands of forests started to disappear. Therefore, Mann recommends in his books that the modern society has to look far into the past in order to make the future right. This he argues is because the natives ran their land as they deemed fit. In order to reclaim the land into what it was, modern societies have to recreate the vast gardens that characterized the olden days of the native societies (Mann, 2005).
Conclusion
Mann provides a host of evidence to refute claims that indigenous societies in the Americas were backward. Mann shows they came earlier than scholars thought them to have, invented tools, developed maize and practiced conservative husbandry. Through his book, Mann restores the history of the indigenous societies in the Americas.
References
Mann, C.C. (2005). 1491: new revelations of the Americas before Columbus. New York: Alfred A. Knopf
