The siriono

One thing I really like about Mann is that he knows that archaeologists and other "science types" often have very flawed and poorly opinionated views. "But flaws in perspective often appear obvious only after they're pointed out. In this case they took decades to rectify." In this passage he's talking about an archaeologist from the 1940's who lived and observed the Siriono. He basically clamed that they were just short of barbaric and very inefficient at survival and have no form of government or infasturcture.

Iv'e learned alot about how native Americans affected thier enviroment. Iv'e heared about brush fires but i didn't know they could be used for good. Native Americans particularly, in North America (not tropical regions.) made controlled brush fires. They used these fires to keep the forest healthy and keep the forest clear of scrub vegetation so they could hunt easily.

I wish i could post these pictures I found in the book. theyre an ariel shot of a landscape in Bolivia where the forest was cleared. The land had been turned in to catle ranches in the 1950's but if you look at it from an over head view you can see that it had been home to a long forgotten society. The shape of the land is patterned in a way that looks faintly like the city plans of a place like Rome.

this book has really spike my interest in Anthropology and archaeology. I'm really interested in ancient civilizations and its cool to read about civilizations you didn't even know existed.