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Title: The Red Man's Continent
A Chronicle of Aboriginal America, Volume 1 In The
Chronicles Of America Series

Author: Ellsworth Huntington

Editor: Allen Johnson

Posting Date: February 22, 2009 [EBook #3066]
Release Date: February, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED MAN'S CONTINENT ***

Produced by The James J. Kelly Library of St. Gregory's
University, and Alev Akman

THE RED MAN'S CONTINENT

A CHRONICLE OF ABORIGINAL AMERICA

By Ellsworth Huntington

NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & CO.

LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

1919

PREFACE

In writing this book the author has aimed first to present in readable
form the main facts about the geographical environment of American
history. Many important facts have been omitted or have been touched
upon only lightly because they are generally familiar. On the other
hand, special stress has been laid on certain broad phases of geography
which are comparatively unfamiliar. One of these is the similarity of
form between the Old World and the New, and between North and South
America; another is the distribution of indigenous types of vegetation
in North America; and a third is the relation of climate to health and
energy. In addition to these subjects, the influence of geographical
conditions upon the life of the primitive Indians has been emphasized.
This factor is especially important because people without iron tools
and beasts of burden, and without any cereal crops except corn, must
respond to their environment very differently from civilized people of
today. Limits of space and the desire to make this book readable have
led to the omission of the detailed proof of some of the conclusions
here set forth. The special student will recognize such cases and
will not judge them until he has read the author's fuller statements
elsewhere. The general reader, for whom this book is designed, will be
thankful for the omission of such purely technical details.

CONTENTS

I. THE APPROACH