Native America on the Eve of Discovery

Native America on the Eve of Discovery focuses upon the cultures that were flourishing in America when the Europeans arrived. The first section focuses upon the tribesmen who lived in the major geographical sections of the present-day United States and Canada. The second section is devoted to the great civilizations of Central and South America: the Inca and the Aztec.

Each chapter begins with a detailed description of the local environment, and emphasis is placed upon the ways that native cultures responded to that environment. Emphasis is placed upon Native American folklore (tales of Raven, the Corn Princesses, White Buffalo Woman, and many others) and such religious rituals as those performed by the False Face Society of the Iroquois, the Kachina dancers of the Hopi, and the feather-clad priests of the Aztec.