Tom Koppel. 2003. Lost World: Rewriting Prehistory--How New Science is Tracing America's Ice Age Mariners. Atria Books: New York.
In Lost World, journalist Tom Koppel describes his adventures hanging out with archaeologists investigating an intriguing topic indeed--When did the first colonization of the American continents occur? Recently, say within the past 25 years or so, scientists have come to realize that the story of the American colonization is far more complex than was understood 50 or 60 years ago. These scientists have realized that it is possible, perhaps likely, that people moved into the Americas as long ago as 15,000 years ago, and perhaps longer.
Now, not everyone in the archaeological community subscribes to this theory; but if it's true, then the famed "Ice Free Corridor" through the central Canadian shield cannot have been the route used to enter the North American continent. It was closed during most of the last ice age, and maybe never really was open. So there has to be another trajectory. This second trajectory, never really considered seriously until fairly recently, is along the western coastline of the Americas, in boats or on foot following the shoreline. The only problem, from an archaeological standpoint that is, is that the shorelines of 10,000 or 15,000 years ago are radically different than those of today.
Now, not everyone in the archaeological community subscribes to this theory; but if it's true, then the famed "Ice Free Corridor" through the central Canadian shield cannot have been the route used to enter the North American continent. It was closed during most of the last ice age, and maybe never really was open. So there has to be another trajectory. This second trajectory, never really considered seriously until fairly recently, is along the western coastline of the Americas, in boats or on foot following the shoreline. The only problem, from an archaeological standpoint that is, is that the shorelines of 10,000 or 15,000 years ago are radically different than those of today.
Those ancient shorelines are inundated, sometimes hundreds of feet away from the current shoreline, sometimes hundreds of feet deep below the current surface of the water. Decidedly not easy to find.
But there are intrepid souls who are attempting to find these needles in the vast haystack of the northwest coast islands, offshore shoals and sea caves, and it is these individuals that Koppel spent time with so productively.
The resulting book is part adventure story and part history of archaeology; but primarily a layman's description of how the science of archaeology works. While Koppel wholeheartedly agrees with the scientists that we will eventually find evidence of coastal migration theories, that's not really a flaw of the book, because the best books take sides. Impartial treatments are often dry and uninteresting, like it or not.
Lost World is in no way dry and uninteresting. The knowledge of when and how the first people came to live in the Americas still eludes us. But this book provides insight directed specifically to the non-professional, about one way that knowledge is being sought.
But there are intrepid souls who are attempting to find these needles in the vast haystack of the northwest coast islands, offshore shoals and sea caves, and it is these individuals that Koppel spent time with so productively.
The resulting book is part adventure story and part history of archaeology; but primarily a layman's description of how the science of archaeology works. While Koppel wholeheartedly agrees with the scientists that we will eventually find evidence of coastal migration theories, that's not really a flaw of the book, because the best books take sides. Impartial treatments are often dry and uninteresting, like it or not.
Lost World is in no way dry and uninteresting. The knowledge of when and how the first people came to live in the Americas still eludes us. But this book provides insight directed specifically to the non-professional, about one way that knowledge is being sought.
