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Selected New Books from the NMAI Library

Here are some new titles that cam in last month to the National Museum of the American Indian Library.

Image001 (1) Peoples of the earth: ethnonationalism, democracy, and the indigenous challenge in "Latin" America, Martin Edwin Andersen; foreword by Robert A. Pastor. GN564.L29 A53. 2010. Imprint: Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2010.

"Scholars in the field of comparative ethnic nationalism have long been frustrated by the nearly total absence of information concerning the indigenous peoples of Latin America. They have been treated as outside of the sociopolitical realm, slighted by their governments and intellectuals, as well as by writers from outside Latin America. Political mobilization in recent decades among the indigenes of the Andean Cordillera from Mexico to Bolivia has belatedly forced their governments and the outside world to acknowledge them as a consequential force, but insightful, comparative analysis of these movements and their likely outcomes is needed. Martin Edwin Andersen's manuscript is a giant step in meeting that need."– Walker Connor, author of Ethnonationalism: The Quest for Understanding

Image002 (1) The Swift Creek gift: vessel exchange on the Atlantic Coast, Neill J. Wallis. E78.G3 W25 2011. Imprint: Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, c2011.

“While studies in the past have used petrographic analysis, means such as neutron activation analysis, and the recognition of stamped paddle matches to analyze pottery, Wallis combines the results of all three of these types of analysis to produce a clearer understanding of the place of manufacture of Late Swift Creek ceramics on the coast of Georgia and northern Florida. Wallis clearly demonstrates that pots were exchanged between the Altamaha River area of Georgia and the mouth of the St. Johns River area in Florida. He interprets this exchange as evidence of mate exchange between the two areas. He also clearly documents that foreign vessels were used almost exclusively in mortuary contexts in northern Florida.” —Marvin T. Smith, author of Archaeology of Aboriginal Culture Change in the Interior Southeast

Image003 (1) Sherman Alexie: a collection of critical essays, edited by Jeff Berglund and Jan Roush. PS3551.L35774 Z87 2010.    Imprint: Salt Lake City : University of Utah Press, c2010.

Sherman Alexie is, by many accounts, the most widely read American Indian writer in the United States and likely in the world. A literary polymath, Alexie's nineteen published books span a variety of genres and include his most recent National Book Award-winning The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Now, for the first time, a volume of critical essays is devoted to Alexie's work both in print and on the big screen. Editors Jeff Berglund and Jan Roush have assembled twelve leading scholars of American Indian literature to provide new perspectives on a writer with his finger on the pulse of America. Interdisciplinary in their approach to Alexie's work, these essays cover the writer's entire career, and are insightful and accessible to scholars and lay readers alike. This volume is a worthy companion to the work of one of our nations's most recognized contemporary voices. "The bar is raised. I believe this work will be seen as a role model for literary criticism of Native American fiction, poetry, and film." –Simon Ortiz, poet and professor of English at Arizona State University

Image004 (1) Ancient lives: an introduction to archaeology and prehistory, Brian M. Fagan. CC165 .F24 2010 Imprint: Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, c2010.

Written in an easy-to-read, jargron-free style interlaced with the author's first-hand archaeology experiences, this introduction to the most fundamental principles, methods, and theoretical approaches of archaeology is designed for the complete beginner. Featuring truly global coverage–reflected in examples from all parts of the world–it paints a compelling portrait of archaeology, science, and the past. Readers gain a basic grounding in the conceptual, technical, and ethical aspects of the subject; the career opportunities it offers; and some of the spectacular, and not-so-well known, discoveries that illuminate our past. "Doing Archeology" boxes and a brief guide to archaeological Web resources provide a hands-on perspective. What Happened in Prehistory? What Is Archaeology? Culture and the Archaeological Record. How Old Is It? How Do Cultures Change? Ancient Environments. Finding the Past. Digging Up the Past. Artifacts of the Ancients. How Did People Live? Settlement and Landscape. People of the Past. The Archaeology of the Intangible. So You Want to Become and Archaeologist! For general readers interested in the concepts and methods of archaeology. From the back cover…

Lynne Alstatt

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