A Millennium of Cultural Contact

Book excerpt: Alistair Paterson has written a comprehensive textbook detailing the millennium of cultural contact between European societies and those of the rest of the world. Beginning with the Norse intersection with indigenous peoples of Greenland, Paterson uses case studies and regional overviews to describe the various patterns by which European groups influenced, overcame, and were resisted by the populations of Africa, the Americas, East Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Based largely on the evidence of archaeology, he is able to detail the unique interactions at many specific points of contact and display the wide variations in exploration, conquest, colonization, avoidance, and resistance at various spots around the globe. Paterson’s broad, student-friendly treatment of the history and archaeology of the last millennium will be useful for courses in historical archaeology, world history, and social change.