Feed Your Mind: Revisionist History

As I get older, I find that I enjoy reading history more and more.  And with the availability of scholars to access archives, archeological remnants, genetic information and other historical artifacts not available to previous generations of scholars, the articulation of history can be very interesting indeed, especially when new works overturn centuries old thinking about the past.  One such gem is 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.  In this fascinating read, the author, Charles Mann, examines the possibility that the Americas (North, Central, and South) were quite different than is typically portrayed.

Mann looks at the possibility that the Americas were much more populous than previously believed, that the level of scientific and cultural advancement was much more sophisticated than thought; and that the inhabitants cultivated much more of the land than was understood. The recounting of older civilizations including the Incas was fascinating.

The book also raises the spectre that the destruction of the native civilizations through war, infighting and disease from the Europeans was much more devastating and comprehensive; and that many ancient agricultural practices and cultural artifacts are poorly understood by a European-biased audience.  Of particular interest are the agricultural practices of the native Americans that cultivated the land into highly productive orchards and vibrant (but not plowed) gardens.  If you are interested in history, archeology, or agricultrue, you will find the book fascinating.