Ancient Civilizations of North America
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Ancient Civilizations of North America
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Narrated by:
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Edwin Barnhart
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Written by:
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Edwin Barnhart
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The Great Courses
About this listen
For the past few hundred years, most of what we’ve been taught about the native cultures of North America came from reports authored by the conquerors and colonizers who destroyed them. Now - with the technological advances of modern archaeology and a new perspective on world history - we are finally able to piece together their compelling true stories. In Ancient Civilizations of North America, Professor Edwin Barnhart, Director of the Maya Exploration Center, will open your eyes to a fascinating world you never knew existed - even though you’ve been living right next to it, or even on top of it, for as long as you’ve been on the continent.
The peoples of ancient North America were exceptionally knowledgeable about their environment, but their intellectual and artistic curiosity went much beyond the immediate need for food and safety. Beginning thousands of years ago, and without benefit of written language, native peoples became mathematicians, construction and soil engineers, astronomers, urban planners, and more. They developed thriving cities, extensive trade routes, canals to bring water to the desert, and earthworks we still marvel over today.
In 24 exciting lectures, you’ll learn about the vibrant cities of Poverty Point, the first city in North America, built about 3,500 years ago, and Cahokia, the largest city of ancient North America. You’ll explore the many ways in which the Chacoan environment provided cultural and religious focus for peoples of the southwest. And you’ll learn about the Iroquoian source of some of our most basic “American” values.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Ancient Civilizations of North America
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Norman
- 2024-09-28
Important primer to prehistory in America
This fits nicely with the online course I took on Indigenous History. Because it covers the period before European contact, there is very little overlap with that course.
It does a lot to expand my understanding of what "Civilization" really means.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SD
- 2022-03-07
Course review
Lots of good information. I liked the professor, he did a great job of presenting the information in an audio performance. I will listen again to pick up more of the content.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caitlyn
- 2021-10-28
This was a great course, really well presented.
I enjoyed this course, the professor is passionate about his subject and presents it in a manner that is easy to follow.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rick B
- 2021-07-11
Excellent
The content of this course was excellent especially for this time with the discovery of numerous unmarked graves at residential schools. It gave a great background to the native North American civilization and some of their accomplishments. I was impressed to learn that the American constitution borrowed heavily from the Iroquois. I will listen to this course again as I expect to get more out of it with a second listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-03-08
Interesting course on an overlooked topic
Very nice lecture series, though it the same time a bit sad, given the end.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jamie Charles
- 2022-03-10
Ancient Civilizations In My Backyard
February 2022 | 4/5
This was fascinating and the author kept the content engaging and easy to digest. I found the companion guide to be incredibly useful in understanding the locations and technologies being discussed - and Holy moly is it thick. Easily a course in its own.
Generally when I'm learning about ancient cultures, the material is focused on sites in Europe or Africa, but this course opens my eyes to ancient civilizations that left their mark on the earth in my own back yard.
Super cool read and listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John McDougall
- 2021-01-11
who would have thought?
every student in North America to have a chance to learn how to make your mark
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- joseph arsenault ruel
- 2020-11-30
great
Quite interesting stuff although reading about unwritten history is sometimes a bit boring. overall performance is good but editing is a bit slopy in couple places, not very often tough so overall i give a 4 star for performance.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. MacDonald
- 2021-05-17
The world needs more REAL stories like this
Great information and a terrific storyteller. Enjoyed every word. Being Canadian, It would be great to hear sililar depth about the east coast Canada first Nations. Thanks for opening my eyes.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. G. Porter
- 2019-05-07
Required listening
I was worried a little that this would be a white-wash (heh) of indigenous history. Thankfully it was not. While this is coming from a settler perspective, it is far superior to any other takes on indigenous history from a Western perspective I've heard before, and the lecturer seems keenly aware of that.
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10 people found this helpful