Description: Author: Priest, JosiahTitle: American antiquities, and discoveries in the West: being an exhibition of the evidence that an ancient population of partially civilized nations, differing entirely from those of the present Indians, peopled America... and inquiries into their origin, with a copious description of many of their stupendous works.. Publication: Albany: Hoffman and White, 1833, 2nd revised edition Description: 8vo, pp. 400; 2 folding plates, The first folding plate has considerable wear and wrinkling from misfolding, contains a 3 cm tears to the lower margin, a few text illustrations; original full calf with red morocco label on spine with substantial wear to the edges and hinges, with rubbing present throughout, and a small white stain on the spine. personalized and with writing on the front pastedown. Stray marks in pencil on one page of the table of contents, not obstructing the text. Second folding plate is without wear or misfolding. Mild scattered age-related toning and mild foxing to the edges, see photo of foxing in the center page. Tear and loss of a portion of the back endpaper. (In Brief) This 400-page publication centered around Priest's own study of the Bible and antiquarian journals, supplemented by information from his travels. After visiting earthworks in Ohio and New York, Priest concluded that these mounds could be traced back to a lost race that had inhabited America even before the Native Americans. This idea is now referred to as the "mound builder myth" and still has supporters in society today. The book grew in popularity because of Priest's views on Native Americans. "It tapped into the widely accepted view of those times that Native Americans were merely bloodthirsty savages, bent on the destruction of all but their own race. It was inconceivable to Priest and like-minded men that a race so lazy and inept could conceive and build such huge, elaborate structures."[6] Priest speculated that the original dwellers could be the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.[7] The reasoning Priest gives for his conclusion that there was an even earlier settler than the Native Americans relies upon his own Biblical interpretation of the flood story. According to Josiah, after the great flood disappeared, Noah and his ark landed on America. While surveying the land, Noah also discovered mounds that had been constructed before the waters rose up. Upon seeing this, Noah questioned where these agricultural phenomena came from. "Surveying the various themes of mound builder origins, he could not decide whether the mounds were the work of Polynesians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Israelites, Scandinavians, Welsh, Scotts, or Chinese, although he felt certain the Indians had not built them."[8] (wikipedia)
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Leather
Place of Publication: Albany
Signed: No
Publisher: Hoffman and White
Subject: Americana
Year Printed: 1833
Original/Facsimile: Original
Language: English
Special Attributes: 2nd Edition
Author: PRIEST, Josiah
Region: North America
Personalized: Yes
Topic: Historical