Light on the Path (Paperback)

Jerald T. Milanich

ISBN 10: 0817352872 / ISBN 13: 9780817352875

Published by The University of Alabama Press, Alabama, 2006

About this Item

Paperback. The past 20 years have witnessed a change in the study of the prehistory and history of the native peoples of the American South. This paradigm shift is the bridging of prehistory and history to fashion a seamless social history that includes not only the 16th-century Late Mississippian period and the 18th-century colonial period but also the largely forgotten - and critically important - century in between. The shift is in part methodological, for it involves combining methods from anthropology, history, and archaeology. It is also conceptual and theoretical, employing historical and archaeological data to reconstruct broad patterns of history - not just political history with Native Americans as a backdrop, nor simply an archaeology with added historical specificity, but a true social history of the Southeastern Indians, spanning their entire existence in the American South. The scholarship underlying this shift comes from many directions, but much of the groundwork can be attributed to Charles Hudson. The papers in this volume were contributed by Hudson's colleagues and former students (many now leading scholars themselves) in his honor. The assumption linking these papers is that of a historical transformation between Mississippian societies and the Indian societies of the historic era that requires explanation and critical analysis. In all of the chapters, the legacy of Hudson's work is evident. Anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians are storming the bridge that connects prehistory and history in a manner unimaginable 20 years ago. While there remains much work to do on the path toward understanding this transformation and constructing a complete social history of the Southeastern Indians, the work of Charles Hudson and his colleagues have shown the way. There has been a change in the study of the prehistory and history of the native peoples of the American South. This book looks at the shift, which is in part methodological, combining methods from anthropology, history, and archaeology. It employs archaeological data to reconstruct broad patterns of the social history of the Southeastern Indians. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780817352875

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Light on the Path (Paperback)
• Publisher: The University of Alabama Press, Alabama
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0817352872
• ISBN 13: 9780817352875
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The past 20 years have witnessed a change in the study of the prehistory and history of the native peoples of the American South. This paradigm shift is the bridging of prehistory and history to fashion a seamless social history that includes not only the 16th-century Late Mississippian period and the 18th-century colonial period but also the largely forgotten - and critically important - century in between. The shift is in part methodological, for it involves combining methods from anthropology, history, and archaeology. It is also conceptual and theoretical, employing historical and archaeological data to reconstruct broad patterns of history - not just political history with Native Americans as a backdrop, nor simply an archaeology with added historical specificity, but a true social history of the Southeastern Indians, spanning their entire existence in the American South. The scholarship underlying this shift comes from many directions, but much of the groundwork can be attributed to Charles Hudson. The papers in this volume were contributed by Hudson's colleagues and former students (many now leading scholars themselves) in his honor. The assumption linking these papers is that of a historical transformation between Mississippian societies and the Indian societies of the historic era that requires explanation and critical analysis. In all of the chapters, the legacy of Hudson's work is evident. Anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians are storming the bridge that connects prehistory and history in a manner unimaginable 20 years ago. While there remains much work to do on the path toward understanding this transformation and constructing a complete social history of the Southeastern Indians, the work of Charles Hudson and his colleagues have shown the way.

About the Author

Thomas J. Pluckhahn is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma and author of Kolomoki: Settlement, Ceremony, and Status in the Deep South, A.D. 350 to 750. Robbie Ethridge is McMullan Associate Professor of Southern Studies and Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Mississippi, as well as editor of The Transformation of the Southeastern Indians: 1540-1760.