An Introduction to Native North America -- Pearson Etext

An Introduction to Native North America provides a basic introduction to the native peoples of North America, including both the United States and Canada.

It covers the history of research, basic prehistory, the European invasion and the impact of Europeans on Native cultures.  Additionally, much of the book is written from the perspective of the ethnographic present, and the various cultures are described as they were at the specific times noted in the text.

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Improve Critical Thinking - An Introduction to Native North America provides internet resources for students to supplement reading material, and contains an extensive bibliography to aid in their research.

Engage Students ― An Introduction to Native North America highlights important individuals in “VIP Profile” mini-biographies, and contains “Sidelights” throughout the text which provides short explanations of interesting aspects of native culture.

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In This Section:

I. Author Bio

II. Author Letter

Mark Q. Sutton began his career in anthropology in 1968.  While still in high school, he took advantage of the opportunity to participate in archaeological excavations conducted by the local Community College. He went on to earn a BA (1972), an MA (1977), and a Ph.D (1987) in anthropology.  He has worked as an archaeologist for the US Air Force, the US Bureau of Land Management, various private consulting firms, and taught at a number of community colleges and universities.  He taught at California State University, Bakersfield from 1987 to 2007 where he retired as Emeritus Professor of Anthropology.  He now works for Statistical Research, Inc. in San Diego.  Dr. Sutton works on understanding hunter-gatherer adaptations to arid environments but has also investigated entomophagy, prehistoric diet and technology, and optimal foraging theory.  Dr. Sutton has worked at more than 120 sites in North America and has published over 160 books, monographs, and papers on archaeology and anthropology.

Dear Colleague,

The purpose of this letter is to introduce you to the new edition (fourth) of my book Introduction to Native North America. Over the years, I have worked with, been associated with, and served a number of Native people from a variety of groups in California. When I took my first Indians class, my Professor was an Oglala woman and in the years since, some of my students have been Natives working on native issues. In addition, I have also spent some time in the Southwest and the Great Basin and have visited the Northwest Coast. While I have not been everywhere in North America, I have developed an appreciation for Native peoples.

I had taught the class many times before I decided to write the first edition, primarily out of my belief that I could offer a better organization and approach than the texts I had been using. The book has been successful, so its users generally seem to agree with my original thinking. The second and third editions focused primarily on fixing errors, updating sections, providing study questions, and instructor resources, which were all important improvements.

For the fourth edition, however, I focused on a major expansion of Chapter 13, Contemporary Issues. This expanded treatment came at the behest of reviewers (thank you all!) so that their students could better grasp today’s issues and problems. It was a great suggestion and I expended a great deal of energy in that effort, resulting in the fourth edition being much stronger in this area. Of course, I still worked to update the book; I added some new photographs and fixed some errors. I am very pleased with the new book.

What’s not to like? The book is well organized, clearly written, understandable, and student-friendly, if I say so myself. Even lay-people like it as a general reference. I am sure that you will find the book a great choice for you and your students. Of course, nothing is perfect and I am always open to suggestions, so please let me know what you think and how I can improve the work by emailing me at msutton@csub.edu.

Sincerely,

Mark Q. Sutton

Emeritus Professor of Anthropology

California State University, Bakersfield