The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere is a
reclaimed history of the deep past of Indigenous people in North and
South America during the Paleolithic. Paulette F. C. Steeves mines
evidence from archaeology sites and Paleolithic environments,
landscapes, and mammalian and human migrations to make the case that
people have been in the Western Hemisphere not only just prior to
Clovis sites (10,200 years ago) but for more than 60,000 years, and
likely more than 100,000 years.
Steeves discusses the
political history of American anthropology to focus on why pre-Clovis
sites have been dismissed by the field for nearly a century. She
explores supporting evidence from genetics and linguistic
anthropology regarding First Peoples and time frames of early
migrations. Additionally, she highlights the work and struggles faced
by a small yet vibrant group of American and European archaeologists
who have excavated and reported on numerous pre-Clovis archaeology
sites.
In this first book on Paleolithic archaeology of
the Americas written from an Indigenous perspective, The
Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere includes
Indigenous oral traditions, archaeological evidence, and a critical
and decolonizing discussion of the development of archaeology in the
Americas.