Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, And The Battle For Native American Identity

Not so much about Kennewick man, but lots of history about native American history, court battles and fossils. I enjoyed the stuff about Ishi, the last Yahii.

I had to read this for an archaeology class and I loved it. It's interesting and well-written, but more importantly, it has a great description of the history of the relationship between anthropologists and Native Americans throughout U.S. history. Parts of it are quite shocking; I believe everyone living in the U.S. (not just anthropology or history students) should read it, because it shows the control Westerners had, and still have, over how we think about history and science, and how we think about indigenous groups of people.At one point Thomas mentions that Native Americans cannot be considered just another disadvantaged racial minority in the U.S., and he does a great job of showing why. There is bias for the indigenous viewpoint, which is not unfounded, but he nevertheless presents facts and events clearly, and provides opposing viewpoints for many arguments. He explains the efforts of Native Americans to reclaim their identity through NAGPRA and demonstrates why such a law was necessary for the country. I really recommend that everyone read this book.

I really savored every page of this book. One of the best I have EVER read on both an OVERVIEW of american prehistory, and american archaeology. Addresses all the important questions, and most importantly to me, the author seems very unbiased. At FIRST i thought he was going to be definitely a Pro-Native American viewpoint, since Prof. Vine Deloria wrote the foreward. However, although the authoer is PC, he is in such a way as not to be "in your face" with it. I think a very balanced book. I will keep my copy handy and refer to it often, as it is a truly VALUABLE resource! I understand more of the political ramification so of the government vs the Indians now, and the author told it in a way so as not to bore you to tears. Very well done, and my sincere, heartfelt compliments to the author, for a job well done.

Marvelous history of the anthropological/archaeological state of Native American studies. Buried deeply in the American psyche and the formative myth of Manifest Destiny is a deep ambivalent attitude to our native peoples: we have wanted to destroy them, to appropriate their lands and patrimony, while at the same time wanting to "be them". This has left deep scars in our national spirit, and resulted in a colonial attitude toward their past. A must read for anyone interested in the European misuse and abuse of our native predecessors..

This book is just wonderful. As an archaeologist, it is sometimes difficult to understand the scope of archaeology's impact on Native Americans, but this book does a great job of summarizing not only the history of archaeology in the US, but the history of archaeology's impact on Native Americans. While 15 years old, I'd say it is a must-read for anyone interested in Native American history, archaeology or anthropology. While some "archaeology" books are mostly speculative fluff trying to make a profit, this book is great for professional archaeologists or those with just a casual interest. I think the only way to make this book better would be to have an audio version read by Mr. Thomas himself.

It has a lot of information about Universities and state and federal institution still stealing Native American remains.

This is one of the best books I have read on a complicated and painful subject. It is a historical survey of archaeology in America and is written beautifully. The past is so sad, but the author has hope for the future being better. He cites inspiring examples of co-ordination between Native Americans and archaeologists. It is an interesting book that is hard to lay down and I read it almost without pause. I have loaned it to 2 friends and they liked it also.

I originally ordered Skull Wars because it was required reading for an Archaeology course. Imagine my surprise when it was not only interesting, but also written in such a way as to be entertaining without taking away from the scholarly information. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially people who are not studying archaeology or anthropology, not just because it's a good read, but also because it deals a lot with American history and who we are as a nation, as well as giving voice to Native American perspectives that are mostly ignored by mainstream America.

Excellent source of information on the impact of archaeological/anthropological theory on the sorry plight of Native Americans. A must read for anybody with the slightest interest in current US realities, as it bears not only on US historical domestic policy, but also on the attitudes toward "others" that produced the Monroe Doctrine and resultant mindless expansionism. Also, the book explains from a sympathetic point of view Native American spiritualism. As a lay person (neither Native American nor anthropologist), I found Skull Wars well worth reading. Only problem: it doesn't tell you much about Kennewick Man, for reasons that the author makes very, very persuasive.

Biased book