Anasazi

Fisher, Leonard Everett

ISBN 10: 0689807376 ISBN 13: 9780689807374

Publisher: Atheneum, 1997

Synopsis

Archaeologists and anthropologists explore the remnants of the once thriving southwestern Anasazi culture, piecing together both the history and the mystery of this ancient civilization using compelling archaeological evidence.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Fisher (Niagara Falls, 1996, etc.) admirably cobbles together a picture of Anasazi life from the mere fragments of culture that have weathered the centuries. The Anasazi civilization grew and flourished in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest for over a thousand years. Then, abruptly, about 700 years ago they left their traditional haunts and vanished into history. Fisher explains the development of Anasazi weaving, pottery, and toolmaking, speculates on their shift from hunter-gatherers to mesa farmers, and details the evolution of their architecture from pithouses to log-and-pole structures, to complex pueblos (one had 1,826 rooms), and finally to the glorious sandstone-block cliff houses that continue to mesmerize visitors today. Relevant terms are introduced, and a fascinating time chart alerts readers to what was happening elsewhere on the globe during the years of the Anasazi: Irish monks were toiling on the Book of Kells, chess was invented in India, Eric the Red sailed to Greenland, Cambridge University started up in England. Moody sepia illustrations, with highly contrasted areas of light and shadow, lend an ancient feel and just the right note of mystery. (map, chronology) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-5. As he has often done before, Fisher has created unique and striking monochrome paintings to illustrate his interpretation of a historical event?in this case, the extended period of Anasazi occupation of the Four Corners area. His writing is interesting and flows well. Unfortunately, both the words and pictures contain inaccuracies, and some of the theories presented are no longer considered correct (e.g., it is now accepted that pit houses are almost impossible to burn, although some may have been intentionally destroyed). On occasion, the information is technically correct, but the wording is misleading. (It may be true that pit houses were the first shelter built by the Anasazi, but they were not the first form of shelter to be utilized by them.) For the sake of accuracy, pass on this book.?Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KS
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0689807376
• ISBN 13: 9780689807374
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Fisher Leonard Everett