7 - Ancient America



7.6 Ancient American Inscriptions: low Marks or History?, by William R. McGlone, Phillip M. Leonard, James L. Guthrie, Rollin W. Gillespie, and James P. Whittall Jr., Early Sites Research Society, Sutton, MA, 1993. reviewed by T. Michael Smith.

For years, claims of Old World travelers coming to this land abounded; and mainline archaeology of the past hundred years did a thorough job of dismissing, condemning, and ignoring those claims. As a student of archaeology, I was tested from those mainline textbooks. Then Berry Fell came along and focused a great deal of new attention on some of those old claims, plus his seemingly extravagant new ones. Well, we all owe Dr. Fell a debt of gratitude because ancient America hasn't been the same place since! Many thought the mainline folks had it all basically figured out, but now some of us aren't so sure about that. Ancient American Inscriptions is an important new book that is a result of that stir. It is the best, most scholarly presentation of the saline issues of the debate yet printed. Every student of ancient America should read this book; and anyone seriously studying transoceanic contact or American epigraphy, particularly North American epigraphy, will want it for his or her library.

If you have read some of the many other archaeology books on fringe topics, like Atlantis being the Americas, you know they usually have an amateur flavor. This book's not like that. This one addresses controversial issues with decent, careful scholarship. In fact, the very point of the book is that mainline academia has not seriously considered these important issues because of (1) their bias and (2) the previous typically hasty, unscholarly presentation of those issues. The authors couldn't directly change the bias, but they did do a good job of improving the presentation of contact evidence. When you have read this book, you know that important transoceanic contact

issues are out on the table for serious consideration.

An important earlier book, Ancient Celtic America, summarized the case for American epigraphy up to 1986. This book is a sequel to that one and additionally stresses two important things beyond the latest information. Ancient American Inscriptions speaks to the rift between epigraphers and professional academics and outlines ridge criteria for dealing with epigraphy---criteria that the authors then do a good job of following as they deal with the latest interpretations of North America's most important epigraphy.

The book is substantial, being 340 pages of text and 403 with appendices, bibliography, etc. It has good drawings, black-and-white photographs of the more important rock art being discussed, and three important tables. Table I lists the 16 "Recommendations for Improvement of Epigraphic Methodology." Table II lists the "Criteria For Acceptance" one ought to apply to epigraphy. Table III lists the "Criteria for Ogam Acceptance."

The work is divided into four parts with accompanying chapters. Part I reviews epigraphy in America in terms of before and after Berry Fell. The authors seem both critical and fair to Dr. Fell's work so far as my somewhat limited experience with these epigraphy issues can assess. Part II addresses difficulties with the case for American epigraphy and is the part of the book that deals most heavily with methodology issues, fraud, bias, etc. Part III reviews what the authors consider to be the valid epigraphic data. It is a fine review, well written and edited. It contains an unusual amount of historical background on the lines considered, who discovered them, who did this, who did that. Part IV is titled "Epigraphy Today and Tomorrow" and in two chapters deals with (1) overcoming the grid lock between the academic establishment and the epigraphers and (2) drawing conclusions from what has been presented.

The authors go to some lengths to be conservative while presenting evidence that argues there is something substantial to be learned about American prehistory for the undeciphered, partially deciphered, and deciphered epigraphy., They are reasonably successful as they try to establish themselves as a rather middle of-the-road voice between the yes-it-is and no-it-can't

be camps. In their final conclusions, they state: "What it boils down to is the question of whether there is something to Epigraphy, and based on this book we conclude that there probably is . . . The Challenge is real and merits attention." I have to agree. They make a strong case.

Ogam is an ancient form of writing used by the Celts and perhaps others. I would have expected to find some good examples of it in New England, around all of that European-looking stone architecture, but to learn some of the best Ogam comes from southeastern Colorado-now that challenges our, ability to know what was happening in ancient America.

The book does have some shortcomings. First, there is that title. In 1990, David Kelley commented in his important Proto-Tifinagh and Proto-Ogharn article that McGlone and Leonard mistitled Ancient Celtic America. It was really more about selected inscriptions. The sequel book has made a similar mistake. I suspect a lot of rock art students will be quite put off because the broad title Ancient American Inscriptions promises so much when the book really only covers a few inscriptions. Basically, this is a book about Ogam, the important Ogam inscriptions, and how they should be approached.

Second, I was disappointed that I did not see a better inventory of the known ogam inscriptions. The authors key on the important, best cases, and just list some of the others. Many interesting ones are never mentioned.

Third, I found myself wanting to know more about the Old World studies of such things. While there was a good deal. of reference material here and there in the text, an appendix article on such things to clearly orient the readers toward relevant Old World studies or a section with a relevant bibliography would have been useful.

Overall, this is a fine book. As far as I am concerned, it addresses one of the most important topics in North American archaeology and is a book that needed to be written.

Bibliography

Kelley, David H. "Proto-Tifinagh and Proto-Ogham in the Americas" The Review of Archaeology Spring 1990, p. 8.

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