Traditions of De-Coo-Dah

Couverture
Cosimo, Inc., 1 oct. 2007 - 336 pages
First published in 1852, Traditions of DE-COO-DAH is the only remembered work of American writer WILLIAM PIDGEON (1818-c.1870). Today, it is considered an amusing and telling example of the flaws and prejudices found in white researchers of the era, and has been called "a crazy masterpiece of pseudoscience." Pidgeon suggests that the various burial mounds found throughout North and South America are the work of an unknown civilization that lived in those areas prior to the American Indians. American Indian tribes could not have constructed something so grand on their own, according to Pidgeon. Even at the time of its printing, Pidgeon's work was rejected by academics and academic societies, including the Smithsonian Institute and the American Antiquarian Society. While mounds have been found in the places he describes, they do not match his descriptions in exact location, size, or arrangement. Nor has any evidence ever been found to suggest that a more advanced civilization than the American Indians would have been necessary to have built them. Students of history and archeology will find this book a valuable lesson on pitfalls of prejudice and assumption.
 

Table des matières

ren County Ohio Discovery of the Ancient Existence of a Deep
73
The Great Spider Memoralized on the Plains
81
Minnesota The Sacrificial Pentagon The Offering of Human Sac
89
Earthen Effigies Memorials of Chiefdom c
104
Great Dimensions in Iowa
115
Festivity when in National Union The Order of Celebration c
126
Habitations Previous Preparations The Mode and Manner
134
His Reverence of Sacred EarthWorks Customs of French
140
rial placed at his GraveDiscovery of Triangular Works near
186
from the Mississippi to Missouri River in connection with Serpentine
201
Mounds of Wisconsin Their Traditional Import and Various Com
209
cluded Places Their Probable Origin and Design PAGE
226
West and North Royal Cemeteries on the Scioto River c
239
Holy City Festival Circles Royal Union Prophets Metropolis
247
finished Stone Work on Fort Hill in Highland County Mounds
262
Traditions of Decoodah relative to its Origin and Use Its Adapta
288

His Distinction between Christian and Indian Theology
153
of the Ancient Elk Nation The Execution of Decota the Great
161
from other EarthWorks Their Matrimonial Appendages
173
tents Painted Rocks Indian Reverence for Them Werucun
180
Pipe Its Origin with the MoundBuilders c
298
Other Parts of the North American Continent
307
National Degeneration Its Origin and Effects
323
Droits d'auteur

Autres éditions - Tout afficher

Expressions et termes fréquents

Fréquemment cités

Page 14 - An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen : in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Page 16 - Ptolemy" — the remainder of the inscription could not be deciphered. This stone covered an excavation, which contained two very ancient swords, a helmet, a shield, and several earthen amphorae of large capacity. On the handle of one of the swords was the portrait of a man, and on the helmet there was. sculptured work representing Achilles dragging the corpse of Hector round the walls of Troy. This was a favourite picture among the Greeks.
Page 8 - A good man — a good white man!" Again fixing on me his eyes that now beamed with benevolence, he added, "The red man's friend," and extended his hand. I received it with a cordial grasp ; he drew from his belt the big pipe of friendship, of antique structure, formed with a double tube for the admission of two stems, and asked for tobacco. I handed him a small plug, which he took, and after mixing it with bark, and rubbing them well together, filled the big pipe, introduced two stems, each about...

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