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1491 is a great book about the history of the Americas before Columbus. https://a.co/d/03l04Lvv https://a.co/d/03l04Lvv
by jasonpeacock 8mo ago
1491 is a great book about the history of the Americas before Columbus.
https://a.co/d/03l04Lvv https://a.co/d/03l04Lvv
- thomasjb 8mo agoI second this recommendation!
- ks2048 8mo agoI'll recommend Jungles of Stone - the story of explorers Stephens and Catherwood - the first Europeans to document and explore the sites of the ancient Maya.
- its_magic 8mo ago[dead]
- mixmastamyk 8mo agoAlso look up "Cabeza de Vaca." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvar_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Cabeza_de_Vaca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvar_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Cab... I found a book on his trip in a "little library," and was surprised they never mentioned this guy once in history class, at least enough for me to remember. Fascinating, sometimes funny story as well.
- nosuchthing 8mo ago"The Dawn of Everything" by David Graeber is a great, more recent alternative with a lot more context around the non-linear trajectory of history - the modern myths of linear progressive societal progress from savages, to agriculture, to cities and centralized technological futurism. Graeber also explores the question what defines a society, and how at certain points some groups of people identified their culture through "schismogenesis" more so in oppositional context to against other group(s) It's a massive book, but really refreshing and full of delightful little anecdotes and footnotes all through out.