Prehistoric California (The Anthropology of Pacific North America): Archaeology and the Myth of Paradise

In this anthology, Mark Raab and Terry Jones present a series of research articles that dispel lingering mythologies about California’s prehistory. They begin with the most enduring notion—that of an essentially stable, benign climate—presenting evidence that prehistoric climate flux played a significant role in culture change. From there, Raab and Jones seek to dispel the myth of California as a natural cornucopia. They show that prehistoric foragers themselves had the capacity to negatively…