Overview

The Athapaskan departure from the Canadian Subarctic centuries ago and their subsequent arrival in the American Southwest has remained the subject of continuous debate in anthropological research. This book examines archaeological, genetic, linguistic, and traditional oral history data and brings them together in fresh ways, in many cases for the first time. With a backdrop of these new and interrelated lines of evidence, each subfield must now reevaluate its approach and the forms of evidence it uses to construct arguments. The contributors here include the most knowledgeable scholars in each of the above fields, collectively providing the most up-to-date research on early Athapaskans and their movements and migrations. Each chapter approaches Athapaskan migration with data obtained from different regions, providing clarity as to the basis for individual arguments. Often, entrenched regional visualizations and localized conventions are clarified only when placed in juxtaposition to those of other regions. Because of this, conclusions rest on sometimes widely divergent theoretical and methodological underpinnings, thus expressing preference for and conveying weight to certain types of evidence and lines of reasoning. The goal of this volume is to expose these arguments in order to clarify appropriate directions for future research, making advances possible.

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9781607811756

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Reviews

<p> Provides a 'state-of-the-knowledge' overview of research on Athapaskan origins and migrations that will serve as a point of reference and departure for future research on the subject. --William L. Merrill, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution<br>

The most comprehensive, and latest, word on a topic that has intrigued anthropologists for more than a century. Seymour has done a yeoman s job of seamlessly integrating papers and creating a volume that will be a significant contribution for the next decade and beyond. American Antiquity

Provides a 'state-of-the-knowledge' overview of research on Athapaskan origins and migrations that will serve as a point of reference and departure for future research on the subject. --William L. Merrill, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution

Author Information

Deni J. Seymour has research affiliations with the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Arizona as well as at Jornada Research. She is author of Where the Earth and Sky Are Sewn Together: Sobaipuri-O'odham Contexts of Contact and Colonialism (The University of Utah Press, 2011).

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