At the height of their power in the late eleventh century, the Chaco Anasazi dominated a territory in the American Southwest larger than any European principality of the time. Developed over the course of centuries and thriving for over two hundred years, the Chacoans’ society collapsed dramatically in the twelfth century in a mere forty years.David E. Stuart incorporates extensive new research findings through groundbreaking archaeology to explore the rise and fall of the Chaco An...

Fresh out of college, David Stuart put off graduate school to take a job close to his West Virginia home as a counselor at the Youth Development Center at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Known locally as the Morganza, the facility was founded in the nineteenth century as a farm for orphaned boys. By the 1960s, the Morganza had long been burdened with a sinister reputation when it was converted into a detention center for Allegheny County youth convicted of crimes ranging from petty theft to arme...

Over twenty-five years ago, David Stuart began writing award-winning newspaper articles on regional archaeology that appealed to general readers. These columns shared interesting, and usually little-known, facts and stories about the ancient people and places of the Southwest.By 1985, Stuart had penned enough columns to fill a book, Glimpses of the Ancient Southwest, which has been unavailable for years. Now he has rewritten most of his original articles to include recentl...

May 1970, freelance human rights investigator John Alexander rides on horseback, away from the scene of his latest mission. Flames engulf the second story of the Hacienda Atalaya in southern Ecuador's Santa Isabel district that Alexander and a local named Efraín have just set ablaze. Their arson is not just a typical job in Alexander's "human rights" campaign. It is a symbolic burning of the powerful Veintimita clan's shady politics and exploitation of the local peasantry. A hired snitch w...

This lively overview of the archaeology of northern New Mexico's Pajarito Plateau argues that Bandelier National Monument and the Pajarito Plateau became the Southwest's most densely populated and important upland ecological preserve when the great regional society centered on Chaco Canyon collapsed in the twelfth century. Some of Chaco's survivors moved southeast to the then thinly populated Pajarito Plateau, where they were able to survive by fundamentally refashioning their society. Dav...

A wholly new perspective on the importance of gardens and agriculture on the Chacoan world, establishing the female dominated gardeners as the basis of Chacoan culture. Author David E. Stuart digs beyond the standard archaeological examination of structures, tools, and rituals of the age to provide a more rounded view of this remarkable culture.An original look at the gardens and gardeners of the Chacoan World, internationally acclaimed ethno-anthropologist David E...

Celebrate Indigenous thinkers and inventions with this beautifully designed, award-winning interactive nonfiction book—perfect for fans of Braiding Sweetgrass.Corn. Chocolate. Fishing hooks. Boats that float. Insulated double-walled construction. Recorded history and folklore. Life-saving disinfectant. Forest fire management. Our lives would be unrecognizable without these, and countless other, scientific discoveries and technological inventions from Indig...

The cultural and intellectual achievements of Old World civilizations—ancient Greece or Egypt, for instance—can be glimpsed in present-day societies the world over. Unfortunately, accomplishments of the ancient civilizations of the New World have often been obscured by the colonial forces that eventually eradicated much of their populations. One glance at the imposing architecture left behind by the Inca or the mathematical strides made by the Maya reveals that the early peoples of the Ame...

Carved from cliffs and canyons, buried in desert rock and sand are pieces of the ancient past that beckon thousands of visitors every year to the American Southwest. Whether Montezuma Castle or a chunk of pottery, these traces of prehistory also bring archaeologists from all over the world, and their work gives us fresh insight and information on an almost day-to-day basis. Who hasn't dreamed of boarding a time machine for a trip into the past?This book invites us ...

As biological diversity continues to shrink at an alarming rate, the loss of plant species poses a threat seemingly less visible than the loss of animals but in many ways more critical. In this book, one of America's leading ethnobotanists warns about our loss of natural vegetation and plant diversity while providing insights into traditional Native agricultural practices in the Americas.Gary Paul Nabhan here reveals the rich diversity of plants found in tropical f...

**Rooted in Indigenous wisdom and a four-element framework, this book invites readers to rediscover and re-embody the truth that caring for ourselves and caring for the living Earth are one and the same.Global knowledge, personal stories, and natural science for repairing environmental harm, restoring biodiversity, and rekindling cultural-ecological bonds—for readers of The Serviceberry and Fresh Banana Leaves**Healing the Land Teaches Us Who ...

Beginning with the immigrants from Asia, through inventions of agriculture, cities and kingdoms, American First Nations are integral to the history of the United States. They explored the continent, pioneered its waterways and mountain passes, cleared forests, irrigated deserts, and ranched its great plains.Invading Europeans justifies their conquests by denying the evidence of American Indian civilisations. Using her familiarity with the archaeological remains and remnants, Alice ...