Mayan manuscripts and stone glyphs from pre-Columbian times are among the few historical documents by or about early Native Americans. Many other native artifacts have been destroyed and their memories suppressed.
To arrive at an authentic ethnohistory of Amerindians and to understand the multi-dimensional nature of the ancient indigenous world, historians must rely on the work of archeologists, anthropologists, and linguists, who are constantly announcing new discoveries. They must also reexamine Spanish and Portuguese texts written in the early years of conquest and settlement from an essentially Eurocentric point of view to uncover the Indian voices beneath the surface. New evidence is emerging to challenge old notions of native Americans as "noble savages" living an an Eden-like paradise, or isolated, primitive people quickly defeated by "superior" Europeans.
Hern n Horna's book provides a context for understanding the resilience of native languages, cultures, and populations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the demands their leaders are now making for recognition and justice in lands stretching from Patagonia to Alaska.