Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
William Pidgeon proposes a vanished race in 1852.
Traditions of De-coo-dah and antiquarian researches by William Pidgeon
Pidgeon exemplifies 19th-century white writers who could not believe that Native Americans had created the archaeological remains they saw around them. In this book, which a modern historian has called a "crazy masterpiece of pseudoscience," he attempts to prove that a vanished race, culturally superior to and existing earlier than the American Indians, occupied the continent first. His book was a well-known example of the erroneous "Mound Builder" school of amateur investigation, marked by racist assumptions, fabricated evidence, and flawed conclusions.
| Related Topics: |
Early Native Peoples First Peoples Effigy Mounds Culture |
| Creator: | Pidgeon, William |
| Pub Data: | New York : H. Thayer, 1852 |
| Citation: | Pidegon, William. Traditions of De-coo-dah and antiquarian researches: comprising extensive explorations, surveys ... (New York : H. Thayer, 1852). Online facsimile at: http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/ItemRecord/56127?id=f74ba0b0dce90e74; Visited on: 4/24/2024 |
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