Famed archaeologist Brian Fagen has produced a captivating and readable account of the first 12,000 years of California history. A professor of anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Fagen isn’t a California scholar, but when the Society for California Archaeology drafted him to put the hundreds of scientific source materials into a readable narrative, he rose to the occasion.
With its long coastline and varied topography, you would expect a lot of variety in the early cultures of the Golden State. Northwest salmon fishers, Bay area shell mound communities, Central Valley wetland villagers, desert foragers, and the sophisticated coastal societies of the Channel Islands were a few of the diverse groups that made the state their home. Dramatic rock art is a critical part of California prehistory, and Fagen gives it the full treatment it deserves. From Chumash cave paintings to Coso Mountains petroglyphs, rock art is essential to the spiritual world of California natives.
Before California is a book for the general reader as well as the enthusiast. Fagen shows how archaeologists work to pry information from bone, shell, and stone fragments. Oral histories from historic California Indians also play an integral role. Using boxes set in the text, Fagen explains techniques and details without interrupting the narrative. Ample maps and illustrations make the story more understandable. Students of California history will find Before California a welcome addition to the story of the Golden State.
