Synopses & Reviews
More than 13,000 years ago, people settled on lands that now lie within the boundaries of the state of Connecticut. Leaving no written records and scarce archaeological remains, these peoples and their communities have remained unknown to all but a few archaeologists and other scholars. This pioneering book is the first to provide a full account of Connecticutandrsquo;s indigenous peoples, from the long-ago days of their arrival to the present day.and#160;Lucianne Lavin draws on exciting new archaeological and ethnographic discoveries, interviews with Native Americans, rare documents including periodicals, archaeological reports, masterandrsquo;s theses and doctoral dissertations, conference papers, newspapers, and government records, as well as her own ongoing archaeological and documentary research. She creates a fascinating and remarkably detailed portrait of indigenous peoples in deep historicand#160;and#160;times before European contact and of their changing lives during the past 400 years of colonial and state history. She also includes a short study of Native Americans inand#160;Connecticut in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This book brings to light the richness and diversity of Connecticutandrsquo;s indigenous histories, corrects misinformation about the vanishing Connecticut Indian, and reveals the significant roles and contributions of Native Americans to modern-day Connecticut.and#160;
Review
andldquo;The scope of information in this book is impressive. . . . I urge anyone who is interested in Connecticut to purchase one.andrdquo;andmdash;Faith Damon Davison, Archivist (retired), Mohegan Tribal Government, andandnbsp;elder, Mohegan Tribe
Review
andquot;Dr. Lavinandrsquo;s book is a well-researched and very readable account of archaeology in Connecticut. The history of archaeology, along with copious site data is expertly presented against the backdrop of culture.andquot;andmdash;Laurie Weinstein, Series Editor, Native Peoples of the Americas
Review
andquot;Lucianne Lavin has accomplished an extraordinary achievement in this comprehensive synthesis of Connecticutandrsquo;s Native peoples.and#160; Compiling the latest scientific data from archaeology and history, she also includes native oral traditions.and#160; The result is a compelling narrative stressing cultural change and continuity that is very much a story about today, as it is about the past.andquot;andmdash;Nicholas F. Bellantoni, Connecticut State Archaeologist
Review
and#8220;As a comprehensive and synthesizing work, the book is outstanding and much needed.and#8221;and#8212;Choice
Review
Won an Honorable Mention for the 2013 New England Book Festival given by the JM Northern Media Family of Festivals, in the General Non-Fiction Category.
Review
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2013 in theand#160;North America Category.
Review
Winner of the 2014 Connecticut League of History Organizations Award of Merit. Outstanding Academic Title - Choice
Review
Won Second Place in the books cateogry in the 2014 New England Museum Association Publication Award Competition. Award of Merit - Connecticut League of History Organizations
Review
andldquo;Ancestral Mounds is an excellent survey of updated information on earthworks . . . based on thorough research.andrdquo;andmdash;Blue Clark, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, author of Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock: Treaty Rights and Indian Law at the End of the Nineteenth Centuryand#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
andldquo;Jay Miller is an accomplished scholar of both traditional Native American peoples and their modern descendants. He brings fresh insights and new sense to correct old popular nonsense and outdated academic dogma regarding the profound ancestral meanings and enduring significance of earthen Indian mounds.andrdquo;andmdash;Raymond D. Fogelson, senior editor of Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 14: Southeastand#160;and#160;
Review
andldquo;Fully grounded in linguistics, archaeology, and ethnography, this exciting book rethinks the history of humans and nature.andrdquo;andmdash;Laura Dassow Walls, author of The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of Americaand#160;
Review
andldquo;Jay Miller provides a thought-provoking ethnographic interpretation of the religious nature of mound building in eastern North America. Instead of mounds as sites of political control, these sites are envisioned as places of concentrated spiritual power made available for communities driven by concerns for renewal, vitality, and security.andrdquo;andmdash;Brice Obermeyer, author of Delaware Tribe in a Cherokee Nationand#160;and#160;
Review
andldquo;Miller has a unique and valuable perspective on mounds, also known as earthen forms. I have tried to describe prehistoric mounds as fossil rituals. Miller describes them as ongoing phenomena and also broadens basic definitions.andrdquo;andmdash;Robert L. Hall, author of Archaeology of the Souland#160;
Synopsis
A groundbreaking volume on the rich 13,000-plus-year history and culture of Connecticutandrsquo;s indigenous peoples
Synopsis
A groundbreaking volume on the rich 13,000-plus-year history and culture of Connecticut's indigenous peoples
More than 13,000 years ago, people settled on lands that now lie within the boundaries of the state of Connecticut. Leaving no written records and scarce archaeological remains, these peoples and their communities have remained unknown to all but a few archaeologists and other scholars. This pioneering book is the first to provide a full account of Connecticut's indigenous peoples, from the long-ago days of their arrival to the present day. Lucianne Lavin draws on exciting new archaeological and ethnographic discoveries, interviews with Native Americans, rare documents including periodicals, archaeological reports, master's theses and doctoral dissertations, conference papers, newspapers, and government records, as well as her own ongoing archaeological and documentary research. She creates a fascinating and remarkably detailed portrait of indigenous peoples in deep historic times before European contact and of their changing lives during the past 400 years of colonial and state history. She also includes a short study of Native Americans in Connecticut in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This book brings to light the richness and diversity of Connecticut's indigenous histories, corrects misinformation about the vanishing Connecticut Indian, and reveals the significant roles and contributions of Native Americans to modern-day Connecticut.
Synopsis
More than 10,000 years ago, people settled on lands that now lie inside the boundaries of the state of Connecticut, but today these earliest residents are barely remembered. This pioneering book is the first to recount the full history of Connecticut’s indigenous peoples from their arrival to the present day.
Drawing on exciting new archaeological and ethnographic discoveries, interviews with Native Americans, a huge variety of published and unpublished materials, and her own ongoing archaeological and documentary research, Lucianne Lavin provides a remarkably detailed portrait of prehistoric indigenous peoples, as well as of their changing lives during the past 400 years of colonial and state history. She also includes a short study of Native Americans in Connecticut in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Synopsis
This groundbreaking volume draws on exciting recent archaeological and ethnographic findings to provide a full account of Connecticutandrsquo;s indigenous peoples throughout their 13,000-year history.
Synopsis
Ancestral Mounds deconstructs earthen mounds and myths in examining their importance in contemporary Native communities. Two centuries of academic scholarship regarding mounds have examined who, what, where, when, and how, but no serious investigations have addressed the basic question, why? Drawing on ethnographic and archaeological studies, Jay Miller explores the wide-ranging themes and variations of mounds, from those built thousands of years ago to contemporary mounds, focusing on Native southeastern and Oklahoma towns.and#160;Native peoples continue to build and refurbish mounds each summer as part of their New Yearandrsquo;s celebrations to honor and give thanks for ripening maize and other crops and to offer public atonement. The mound is the heart of the Native community, which is sustained by song, dance, labor, and prayer. The basic purpose of mounds across North America is the same: to serve as a locus where community effort can be engaged in creating a monument of vitality and a safe haven in the volatile world.
About the Author
Lucianne Lavin is Director of Research and Collections at the Institute for American Indian Studies. She is author of more than 100 articles and reports on the archaeology and ethnohistory of the Northeast, editor of the journal Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut, and co-director of the Connecticut Native American exhibition at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. She lives in northwestern Connecticut.