Mammoth Bones and Broken Stones: The Mystery of North America's First People
Gr 5-7–Harrison's clear text investigates a long-standing question: “Who came first?” in the prehistory of the Americas. Did people cross on the Beringia land bridge on foot? Did they paddle or sail their way along the Siberia/Beringia coastline to Alaska and points south? And when did they arrive? Harrison begins with the Clovis people, whose beautifully fluted flint points set an artistic standard in the prehistoric Americas (and who were the first to be brought to the attention of the modern world), and goes on to record the efforts and finds of scientists searching for the cultures that preceded them. Photographs of digs, artifacts, and scientists at work and maps and realistic illustrations offer visual enrichment to the text, and a glossary will assist novices to the subject. Harrison concludes with up-to-date archaeological information and photos of recent digs, but admits that the precise answer to “first?” is yet to be found. Similar in reading level to Patricia Lauber's handsome Who Came First?: New Clues to Prehistoric Americans (National Geographic, 2003), this intriguing addition is a solid find.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY. (c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.