Encounters at the Heart of the World : A History of the Mandan People

A Book That Radically Changes Our Understanding Of North America Before And After The Arrival Of Europeans Encounters At The Heart Of The World Concerns The Mandan Indians, Iconic Plains People Whose Teeming, Busy Towns On The Upper Missouri River Were For Centuries At The Center Of The North American Universe. We Know Of Them Mostly Because Lewis And Clark Spent The Winter Of 1804-1805 With Them, But Why Don't We Know More? Who Were They Really? In This Extraordinary Book, Elizabeth A. Fenn Retrieves Their History By Piecing Together Important New Discoveries In Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Climatology, Epidemiology, And Nutritional Science. Her Boldly Original Interpretation Of These Diverse Research Findings Offers Us A New Perspective On Early American History, A New Interpretation Of The American Past. By 1500, More Than Twelve Thousand Mandans Were Established On The Northern Plains, And Their Commercial Prowess, Agricultural Skills, And Reputation For Hospitality Became Famous. Recent Archaeological Discoveries Show How They Thrived, And Then How They Collapsed. The Damage Wrought By Imported Diseases Like Smallpox And The Havoc Caused By The Arrival Of Horses And Steamboats Were Tragic For The Mandans, Yet, As Fenn Makes Clear, Their Sense Of Themselves As A People With Distinctive Traditions Endured. A Riveting Account Of Mandan History, Landscapes, And People, Fenn's Narrative Is Enriched And Enlivened Not Only By Science And Research But By Her Own Encounters At The Heart Of The World-- Discovering The Heart Of The World. Migrations : The Making Of The Mandan People ; Contacts : Villages And Newcomers ; Earthwork : The Substance Of Daily Life ; Connections : Sustained European Contact Begins -- Inventions And Reinventions. Customs : The Spirits Of Daily Life ; Upheavals : Eighteenth-century Transformations ; Scourge : The Smallpox Of 1781 -- At The Heart Of Many Worlds. Convergences : Forces Beyond The Horizon ; Hosts : The Mandans Receive Lewis And Clark ; Corn : The Fuel Of Plains Commerce -- New Adversities. Sheheke : The Metamorphosis Of A Chief ; Reorientation : The United States And The Upper Missouri ; Visitations : Rats, Steamboats, And The Sioux ; Decimation : The Smallpox Has Broke Out. Elizabeth A. Fenn. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for History Encounters at the Heart of the World concerns the Mandan Indians, iconic Plains people whose teeming, busy towns on the upper Missouri River were for centuries at the center of the North American universe. We know of them mostly because Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-1805 with them, but why don't we know more? Who were they really? In this extraordinary book, Elizabeth A. Fenn retrieves their history by piecing together important new discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, geology, climatology, epidemiology, and nutritional science. Her boldly original interpretation of these diverse research findings offers us a new perspective on early American history, a new interpretation of the American past. By 1500, more than twelve thousand Mandans were established on the northern Plains, and their commercial prowess, agricultural skills, and reputation for hospitality became famous. Recent archaeological discoveries show how these Native American people thrived, and then how they collapsed. The damage wrought by imported diseases like smallpox and the havoc caused by the arrival of horses and steamboats were tragic for the Mandans, yet, as Fenn makes clear, their sense of themselves as a people with distinctive traditions endured. A riveting account of Mandan history, landscapes, and people, Fenn's narrative is enriched and enlivened not only by science and research but by her own encounters at the heart of the world This Pulitzer Prize–winning work pieces together the lost history of the Mandan Native Americans and their thriving society on the Upper Missouri River. The Mandan people's bustling towns in present-day North Dakota were at the center of the North American universe for centuries. Yet their history has been nearly forgotten, maintained in fragmentary documents and the journals of white visitors such as Lewis and Clark. In this extraordinary book, Elizabeth A. Fenn pieces together those fragments along with important new discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, geology, climatology, epidemiology, and nutritional science. The result is a bold new perspective on early American history, a new interpretation of the American past.By 1500, more than twelve thousand Mandans were established on the northern Plains, and their commercial prowess, agricultural skills, and reputation for hospitality became famous. Recent archaeological discoveries show how they thrived—and how they collapsed. The damage wrought by imported diseases like smallpox and the havoc caused by the arrival of horses and steamboats were tragic for the Mandans, yet, as Fenn makes clear, their sense of themselves as a people with distinctive traditions endured.