In this groundbreaking work of science| his| and archaeology| Charles C.
Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492..
Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school| the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather| there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them.
The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets| and was larger than any contemporary European city.
Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering.
Indeed| Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand.
Challenging and surprising| this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.