Thursday, February 25, 2010

In the article 1491 by Charles C. Mann, what is his main thesis?

1491 is the title of a 2005 book by Charles C. Mann in which Mann looks at the archaeological record to demonstrate that the people of the Americas have lived there longer than previously thought and that their civilizations were every bit as vibrant and advanced as the civilizations of Europe and Africa of the same time period.  Mann states that the old theory that the native Americans arrived via the Bering Strait is largely incorrect and that Pre-Columbian societies enjoyed trade networks which spanned that entire continent.  Mann also devotes a chapter to the Columbian Exchange in which he examines the role of earthworms and wheat in the development of the Americas for Europeans.  


Mann's work is unique in that he adds to the historiography surrounding Pre-Columbian civilizations.  Mann does not use the words "native" or "indigenous" as the Pre-Columbian people were not native to the area.  He also uses science to prove that the Pre-Columbian societies did not live peacefully with nature; rather, they adjusted their environment to suit their own needs in ways similar to European and African societies.  

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