The First Americans

J. M. Adovasio has spent the last thirty years at the center of one of our most fiery scientific debates: Who were the first humans in the Americas, and how and when did they get there? At its heart,The First Americansis the story of the revolution in thinking that Adovasio and his fellow archaeologists have brought about, and the firestorm it has ignited. As he writes, "The work of lifetimes has been put at risk, reputations have been damaged, an astounding amount of silliness and even profound stupidity has been taken as serious thought, and always lurking in the background of all the argumentation and gnashing of tenets has been the question of whether the field of archaeology can ever be pursued as a science."

J. M. Adovasio, Ph.D., is the founder and director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute. He lives near Erie, Pennsylvania.

Jake Page is a former editor of Natural History magazine and science editor of Smithsonian magazine. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico.