Der erste Amerikaner: die Entdeckung der indianischen Kulturen in Nordamerika

by C.W. Ceram, Hannelore Marek

English, German (translation)

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, American, German Literature

391 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

C.W. Ceram was the pseudonym of German journalist and author Kurt Wilhelm Marek, known for his popular works about archaeology. He chose to write under a pseudonym to distance himself from his earlier work as a propagandist for the Third Reich.

Ceram was born in Berlin. During World War II, he was a member of the Propagandatruppe. His works from that period include Wir hielten Narvik, 1941, and Rote Spiegel - überall am Feind. Von den Kanonieren des Reichsmarschalls, 1943.

In 1949, Ceram wrote his most famous book, Götter, Gräber und Gelehrte — published in English as Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology — an account of the historical development of archaeology. Published in 28 languages, Ceram's book eventually received a printing of over 5 million copies, and is still in print today.

Other books by the author include The Secret of the Hittites, March of Archaeology and The First American, a book on ancient North American history.

Kurt Marek was responsible for the publication of A Woman in Berlin, presented as the non-fiction account of a German woman raped by Red Army troops.

He died at Hamburg in 1972.

Ceram Prize in archaeology is named after him.

Reviews

[Hristo Simeonov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Малко скучовата на места. И малко хаотична. Затова и оценката е по-ниска. Може би има значение и темата, която в тази книга на Керам не ми бе толкова интересна.

[Semiophrenic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The length of this book seemed intimidating at first, but it proved to be quite fascinating. After the first chapter it was difficult to put the book down. The text is flowing, etched with many facts and examples and generally well written. The author really seems to love archaelogy and manages to spark a good bit of enthusiasm in the reader as well. It focuses on archaeological methods, the conquest of South-Western U.S. and pueblos, mounds and the most relevant earliest archaelogical find. Methods such as statigraphy, radiocarbondating and dendocronology are explained in much detail (in the process paying an overwhelming tribute to Thomas Jefferson). The search for the seven (golden) cities of Cibola is retold in great length. So much so that it would seemingly make for a good movie. The story of Ishi, the last living stone age man in the U.S. is also told in some length. All in all it is a "popular history" type of book. The information is surely outdated but it still makes for a good read.

[John Geddes]

“If you ever find evidence of human life in a context which is ancient, bury it carefully, but do not forget about it.” - Kirk Bryan, p.306 citing Radiocarbon Dating and Archeology in North America by Frederick Johnson https://sci-hub.se/https://www.scienc...

The context of the quote is that Bryan was giving advice to his students during the dictatorship of Aleš Hrdlička over the Smithsonian, which suppress evidence of ancient peoples in North America (still does today)

[Bonsai · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell how old this book is. It is dated in language, attitude and scientific knowledge.

But it is a good read, very accessible even within the limits of its age. And there are few books covering the entire range of the territory (North America is the US, little is covered north of the border) and from prehistory to the conquest of the West.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although somewhat dated after 50 years, still a good introduction to the subject.

[Vince Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look into the history of America before it was known as America. The author dives deep into the people who tried to preserve the history of native americans in the land that would soon become the Americas. A very detailed anthropological look at history recording in general, he makes many a point to acknowledge his resources, the men and women who died to preserve the people, cultures, civilizations, cities, findings and all information that would become the history of "30,000 years of American history".

Lots of quotables and "whoa" moments like statements that mummies have been around before the Egyptians and that the findings of history in America should rival if not trump the archeological digs of Syria and Greek history.

A definite must read for anyone interested in history, people, America, native Americans, the Spanish conquest, and anyone looking to broaden their understanding of the world, especially the world forgotten.