J. M. Adovasio has spent the last thirty years at the center of one of our most fiery scientific debates: Who were the first humans in the Americas, and how and when did they get there?
At its heart, The First Americans is the story of the revolution in thinking that Adovasio and his fellow archaeologists have brought about, and the firestorm it has ignited. As he writes, "The work of lifetimes has been put at risk, reputations have been damaged, an astounding amount of silliness and even profound stupidity has been taken as serious thought, and always lurking in the background of...

Shaped by cartoons and museum dioramas, our vision of Paleolithic times tends to feature fur-clad male hunters fearlessly attacking mammoths while timid women hover fearfully behind a boulder. Recent archaeological research has shown that this vision bears little relation to reality. J. M. Adovasio and Olga Soffer, two of the world's leading experts on perishable artifacts such as basketry, cordage, and weaving, present an exciting new look at prehistory. With science writer Jake Page, they argue that women invented all kinds of critical materials, including the clothing necessary for life in...

Basketry Technology, first published in 1977, is the only comprehensive guide for archaeologists, anthropologists, art historians, and collectors for identifying and analyzing ancient baskets and basket fragments. Long out of print, this volume is again available with an extensive new introduction by the original author that summarizes the extensive work done in this area over the past 35 years. The volume describes proper field and lab techniques for recovery of specimens and offers a systematic methodology for identifying and interpreting twined, coiled, and plaited basket samples. It then...