1491
New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
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1491
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Narrated by:
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Darrell Dennis
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Written by:
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Charles C. Mann
About this listen
A groundbreaking study that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.
Traditionally, Americans learned in school that the ancestors of the people who inhabited the Western Hemisphere at the time of Columbus' landing had crossed the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago; existed mainly in small nomadic bands; and lived so lightly on the land that the Americas were, for all practical purposes, still a vast wilderness. But as Charles C. Mann now makes clear, archaeologists and anthropologists have spent the last 30 years proving these and many other long-held assumptions wrong.
In a book that startles and persuades, Mann reveals how a new generation of researchers equipped with novel scientific techniques came to previously unheard-of conclusions. Among them:
- In 1491 there were probably more people living in the Americas than in Europe.
- Certain cities - such as Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital - were far greater in population than any contemporary European city. Furthermore, Tenochtitlán, unlike any capital in Europe at that time, had running water, beautiful botanical gardens, and immaculately clean streets.
- The earliest cities in the Western Hemisphere were thriving before the Egyptians built the great pyramids.
- Pre-Columbian Indians in Mexico developed corn by a breeding process so sophisticated that the journal Science recently described it as "man's first, and perhaps the greatest, feat of genetic engineering".
- Amazonian Indians learned how to farm the rain forest without destroying it - a process scientists are studying today in the hope of regaining this lost knowledge.
- Native Americans transformed their land so completely that Europeans arrived in a hemisphere already massively "landscaped" by human beings.
Mann sheds clarifying light on the methods used to arrive at these new visions of the pre-Columbian Americas and how they have affected our understanding of our history and our thinking about the environment. His book is an exciting and learned account of scientific inquiry and revelation.
©2016 Charles C. Mann (P)2016 Random House AudioWhat the critics say
What listeners say about 1491
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-02-08
Great book
This book is terrific. It presents First Nation history in a new light and provides rich archeological and historical detail as to the state of the Americas prior to European contact. This is a must listen -to to all history buffs.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 2022-06-06
Required Listening for everyone living in the Americas!
Absolutely stunning deep dive into the nuance and complexity of culture in pre-Colombian America. Great narration. Thankful to have found this! You’ll love it. Fascinating and mind-boggling, start to finish.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. Edwards
- 2019-07-24
thought provoking and informative
I always love history that takes the simplified or out of date lessons of grade schools and destroys them with the most recent facts and discoveries. so much of today's problems are founded on simply untrue information. this opened my eyes to the real history of humans in the Americas.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Papa Kilo PKDS
- 2020-02-08
A Fantastic Listen
Great narration makes a huge difference when listening to audio books.
This book has it all.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Ohman Foo
- 2022-06-27
jumps aroun too much in his chapters. Loved it
I feel like a chronological telling night have helped, especially since there is no index supplied by audible. this is a major flaw and we should not be paying full price for not a complete product.
wish the last chapter was longer.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- BARAKEIT
- 2023-05-12
Stunning and humbling revalations
This book
will change your perception of New World peoples as inferior. Long overdue!
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- nicolethebumblebee
- 2019-03-07
This needs to be mandatory reading!
I absolutely loved this book. There is so much to learn from it that reading (listening to) it once is not enough, I am tempted to start it over again right now. If you are even slightly interested in the history of the America's, read it now! Don't hesitate! You will not be dissapointed.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rick Rayburn
- 2021-05-07
Fantastic
Really great book for anyone interested in pre-contact America. Even as a history major I learned a great deal. What was really fascinating was the scientific looks at certain topics like disease, genetics etc. Stuff you wouldn’t find in a traditional “history book.” Performance was good but not great however the books points were effectively communicated so no real complaints.
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- Chris Waite
- 2020-12-14
Recommended!
Very good research and writing. In scope it reminded me of “Guns, Germs and Steel”.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J. Smith
- 2023-11-15
An in Depth history
This is an incredibly informative history of the Americas supported by Science and archeology. This book could very well be a text for an entire course. I may likely purchase a copy of the book as there is so much information it would be good to go through and highlight as well as consult maps.
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