1491

1491, a sober account of life in North and South America before Columbus’ arrival, provides a corrective historical lens for how we should view the level of ecological and technological development common among indigeneous American societies of that era. Rather than “living lightly” on the land, indigeneous communities are known to have been intentional sculptors of their ecological environments, through techniques such as regular burnings, irrigation, and agriculture. Interestingly, indigeneous societies were arguably more advanced and well-populated than their European counterparts in this time period, providing examples of how separately developed civilizations can ultimately develop similar technologies and social structures without direct communication or exchange.