An Outline of Early Man Studies in the United States

Abstract

AbstractFluctuating modes of thought concerning the origins of the American Indians are traced from the time of the Spanish Conquest to the present. Early Man studies are related to the broader aspects of archaeology in Europe as well as in North America. Six periods are presented, in each of which different conceptions of Indian origins were dominant: (1) 1520-1780, (2) 1780-1859, (3) 1859-1890, (4) 1890-1925, (5) 1925-1950, (6) 1950-present. It is shown that developments in other fields of inquiry influenced the conceptions that evolved in each of these periods.