Reviews

An anthropologist's world tourTimbuktu, Machu Picchu, Europe, and the Orientrevealing a seldom-told history. Behind scenes of everyday life, the author explains how the wealth and knowledge of Native America transformed and permeated Old World culture. The Native American roots of industrial capitalism and constitutional democracy, of the world's diverse cuisine and abundant pharmacopoeia, and of modern land use and transportation systems are demonstrated and documented. Although the title implies that the Indians donated or loaned their science to the world, native America was sacked and pillaged. This readable and informative adjunct to Alfred W. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 ( 1972) should have general appeal. Allen C. Turner, Univ. of Idaho, Pocatello

YA-- Beginning with a clever title and continuing throughout the book, Weatherford lists the tremendous contributions which have been made by the Indian civilizations of the Americas to world culture. He shows the impact of gold and silver, agricultural techniques, medicine, and government on European history. The book makes for fascinating, thought-provoking reading, showing that Locke and Rousseau were both influenced by the concepts of power and government held by the people of the Americas before they produced their great documents of the Enlightment. Weatherford also shows how the spread of the potato to Europe saved many lives from the malnutrition which had haunted them when grain crops had previously failed. He has a far-reaching scope and even suggests a fascinating theory on the purpose of Machu Picchu. By showing how the world was changed through these contributions, the author gives a greater appreciation of the Indians of America to readers. A fine synthesis book for global studies programs as well as American history.-- Barbara Weathers, Duchesne Academy, Houston

The discovery and conquest of the New World changed the Old World forever, from economy and diet to the concept of personal freedom. Anthropologist Weatherford, author of Tribes on the Hill , examines the many contributions made by New World natives. Exploited in the mines of Peru and Mexico, Indian laborers produced the gold and silver that financed the rise of modern Europe. Weatherford points out that Indians were expert pharmacologists; they knew how to prevent goiter and scurvy, used ipecac and quinine. Their foods, especially the potato, revolutionalized European agriculture; they introduced chocolate, chili peppers and cocaine. Indian social organization was truly democratic, unlike the classic democracies in Europe, and Weatherford notes the connection with modern federal systems. He labors a bit on the topic of architecture but makes a convincing case for Indian Givers and the role they played in re-shaping the world. (October)