North America’s Forgotten Past
North America's Forgotten Past (Gelegentlich auch First North Americans, in den deutschsprachigen Ausgaben nicht übersetzt) ist eine Buchreihe historischer Romane, die von Tor Books und Forge veröffentlicht und vom Ehepaar W. Michael Gear und Kathleen O’Neal Gear geschrieben wurde. Die Reihe, die 1990 mit Im Zeichen des Wolfes begann, untersucht verschiedene Zivilisationen und Kulturen im prähistorischen Nordamerika. Es ist vergleichbar mit der Reihe Kinder der Erde von Jean M. Auel, die in prähistorischem Europa spielt, aber jedes ihrer Bücher konzentriert sich auf einen anderen Zeitraum, Ort und Protagonisten.
Die ersten vier Romane bilden eine zusammenhängende, mehr oder weniger lineare Erzählung aus der anfänglichen Migration von Sibiriern um 13.000 v. Chr. in das heutige Kanada und Alaska bis zum Aufblühen der halbstädtischen Hügelbaukultur in Mississippi, die als "Hochwassermarke" der nordamerikanischen präkolumbianischen Zivilisation gilt, um 1000 n. Chr. Die verbleibenden Romane decken eine Vielzahl von Zeiten und Schauplätzen ab, die meisten mit eigenständigen Geschichten in keiner bestimmten Reihenfolge, angefangen vom tropischen Florida im 6. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Bis zum Reich der Chaco-Canyon-Kultur im heutigen Chaco Culture National Historical Park im 13. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Die Romane berücksichtigen neue Entwicklungen in der nordamerikanischen Archäologie wie die Entdeckung des Kennewick-Manns und die Entwicklung des Küstenroutenmodells als mögliche Alternative oder Ergänzung zur Überlandmigration von Beringia aus.
Die Romane haben im Allgemeinen einen in der Neuzeit angesiedelten Prolog, in dem Archäologen oder andere antike Artefakte und andere Überreste der prähistorischen nordamerikanischen Zivilisation entdecken. Der Hauptteil der Romane beschreibt dann das individuelle Leben derer, die die Artefakte zurückgelassen haben. Obwohl die Romane allgemein für ihre Genauigkeit und Liebe zum Detail bekannt sind (beide Autoren sind professionelle Archäologen), enthalten sie normalerweise mystische Elemente, die sich auf schamanistische Visionen konzentrieren. Protagonisten früher Romane erscheinen in späteren Bänden manchmal als Personen in Träumen der Protagoniosten des aktuellen Romans oder Legendenfiguren.
According to the author's website, future titles in the series will include novels dealing with the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia; the high cultures of the Southeast, including Moundville, Alabama, and the Etowah Indian Mounds, Georgia; the Hohokam in southern Arizona; the Mimbres in New Mexico; and the Salado in the Salt River basin.
Romane in der Reihenfolge der Veröffentlichung
- 1 People of the Wolf, Tor, 1990, ISBN 0-812-52133-1
- Im Zeichen des Wolfes, Zsolnay, 1991, Übersetzerin Dagmar Roth, ISBN 3-552-04324-1
- 2 People of the Fire, Tor, 1991, ISBN 0-812-50739-8
- Das Volk des Feuers, Zsolnay, 1992, Übersetzerin Dagmar Roth, ISBN 3-552-04403-5
- 3 People of the Earth, Tor, 1992, ISBN 0-812-50742-8
- Das Volk der Erde, Zsolnay, 1993, Übersetzerin Dagmar Roth, ISBN 3-552-04528-7
- 4 People of the River, Tor, 1992, ISBN 0-312-85235-5
- Das Volk vom Fluss, Zsolnay, 1994, Übersetzerin Dagmar Roth, ISBN 3-552-04622-4
- 5 People of the Sea, Forge, 1993, ISBN 0-312-93122-0
- Das Volk an der Küste, Zsolnay, 1995, Übersetzerin Barbara Ostrop, ISBN 3-552-04719-0
- 6 People of the Lakes, Forge, 1994, ISBN 0-312-85722-5
- Das Volk an den Seen, Heyne, 1997, Übersetzer Wolfdietrich Müller und Fred Schmitz, ISBN 3-453-12343-3
- 7 People of the Lightning, Forge, 1995, ISBN 0-312-85852-3
- 8 People of the Silence, Forge, 1996, ISBN 0-312-85853-1
- Das Volk der Stille, Heyne, 1998, ISBN 3-453-14301-9
- 9 People of the Mist, Forge, 1997, ISBN 0-312-85854-X
- Das Volk des Nebel, Heyne allgemeine Reihe #13557, 2003, Übersetzer Fred Schmitz, ISBN 3-453-21203-7
- 10 People of the Masks, Forge, 1998, ISBN 0-312-85857-4
- Das Volk der Masken, Heyne allgemeine Reihe #13305, 2001, Übersetzerin Christine Roth, ISBN 3-453-18915-9
- 11 People of the Owl, Forge, 2003, ISBN 0-312-87741-2
- 12 People of the Raven, Forge, 2004, ISBN 0-765-30855-X
- 13 People of the Moon, Forge, 2005, ISBN 0-765-30856-8
- 14 People of the Nightland, Forge, 2007, ISBN 0-765-31440-1
- 15 People of the Weeping Eye, Forge, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7653-1438-3
- 16 People of the Thunder, Forge, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7653-1439-0
- 17 People of the Songtrail, Tor, 2015, ISBN 978-0-7653-3725-2
Romane in chronologischer Reihenfolge
| Titel | Zeiraum | Kurzbeschreibung |
|---|---|---|
| Im Zeichen des Wolfes | 13.000 v. Chr. | Die anfängliche Migration sibirischer Jäger über Beringia nach Alaska |
| People of the Nightland | 13.000 v. Chr. | Das Abschmelzen der Gletscher im Süden von Ontario |
| People of the Raven | 9.000 v. Chr. | Eine spekulative fiktive Darstellung des Kennewick-Manns, einem offensichtlichen kaukasischen Mann, der im pazifischen Nordwesten lebte. |
- People of the Sea (8,000 BC): The initial development of California Native American culture, as a result of climatic warming.
- People of the Fire (8,000 BC): The transition of Native American culture from Paleo-Indian to Archaic, as a result of sudden climatic warming, in the High Plains and Western Rockies region.
- People of the Lightning (7,000 BC): The travails of an albino youth in Early Archaic Florida.
- People of the Earth (5,000 BC): Plains and Basins region.
- People of the Owl (1,500 BC): The Poverty Point semi-urban culture in the lower Mississippi Valley.
- People of the Lakes (100 AD): The journey of a band of Hopewell Indians across the Great Lakes.
- People of the Song Trail (980 AD): The first contact between Native Americans and Vikings.
- People of the Masks (1000 AD): Iroquois culture of the Woodland period.
- People of the River (1080 AD): The mound-building Cahokia empire on the Mississippi River.
- People of the Morning Star, Sun Born, Moon Hunt, and Star Path (1100 AD): A tetrology set in the Cahokian empire.
- People of the Silence (1130 AD): The decline of the Chaco Empire of the Southwest.
- People of the Moon (1150 AD): The collapse of the Chaco Empire's frontier, from the perspective of a subject people in what is now southern Colorado.
- People of the Mist (1200 AD): A murder mystery set among the Algonquian people of the Chesapeake Bay region.
- People of the Weeping Eye and People of the Thunder (1200 AD): The mound-building culture around Moundville, Alabama.
- People of the Longhouse, The Dawn Country, The Broken Land, and People of the Black Sun (1400 AD): Conflict within the Iroquois nation in New England and New York.
Novels
People of the Wolf
People of the Wolf (Vorlage:ISBN), the first book in the series, the story explores the migration of humans into pre-historic North America. The plot concerns a man and woman contemplating having a child. Then a band of Siberian hunters pursues game across Beringia during the last Ice Age. Spurred by a vision he had while on a hunt, a young tribesman named Runs in Light, later called Wolf Dreamer, leads a handful of tribes people, in rebellion against the tribal shaman, south down the Yukon River valley into what is now Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
People of the Fire
People of the Fire (Vorlage:ISBN, 1991) dramatizes the transition of Native American culture from Paleo-Indian to Archaic as a result of climatic warming, set in the High Plains and Western Rockies region. It is the second book in North America's Forgotten Past series.
Amid disastrous climate changes, the Red Hand and Short Buffalo tribes struggle for survival, and against each other. In order to survive in the changing world, they must change with it, but to do that, they need the guidance of a new Dreamer, and the Red Hand's sacred Wolf Bundle must be renewed.
People of the Sea
People of the Sea (Vorlage:ISBN) dramatizes the initial development of the California Native American culture and the imminent extinction of mammoths and mastodons as a result of climatic warming ca. 8000 BC. It is the fifth book in the series.
People of the Lakes
People of the Lakes (Vorlage:ISBN) is the sixth book in the series. The title is a reference to the location and type of natives portrayed in the book, following the naming convention set forth by previous books in the series.
The book is set in the North American continent during the Iron Age (c. 100 CE) and follows the plight of a group of natives trying to save their clan from a great evil and avoid a rival clan. Clan fighting over a powerful totemic mask has brought the Mound Builder people of the Great Lakes region to the edge of destruction. It is up to Star Shell, daughter of a Hopewell chief, to rid her people of this curse. Along with her companions: Otter, a trader; Pearl, a runaway; and Green Spider, either prophet or madman, she braves the stormy waters of the lakes to reach the majestic waterfall known as Roaring Water. She is determined to banish the mask forever to a watery grave. But vengeful clan members are close on her heels, and they have a similar fate planned for her.
Main characters
Little Dancer/Fire Dancer: A young man of the Red Hand raised in a village of the Short Buffalo People, Little Dancer struggles to understand and come to grips with his emerging shamanic Power. He later becomes Fire Dancer after said Power comes into full bloom.
Two Smokes: An aging Two-Spirit who helps raise Little Dancer while seeking to glean a new food source in light of the dwindling numbers of buffalo.
Elk Charm: The love-interest of Little Dancer, she leaves the Red Hand camp after completing her first menstruation, fearing ambush and rape by Blood Bear.
Tanager: An independent-minded Red Hand warrior-woman amazingly skilled in battle. She is renowned for her ability to outrun men, to evade flying war-darts (spears launched by means of an atlatl) and her ferocity in battle.
Blood Bear: Ferocious war-leader of the Red Hand who becomes Keeper of the Wolf Bundle after reclaiming it from the Short Buffalo People, but shows no respect to the sacred object in private. He is revealed to be Little Dancer's biological father.
Heavy Beaver: Chief of the Short Buffalo tribe who uses false Dreams to obtain power for himself. Heavy Beaver suffers greatly from an Oedipus complex, struggling to prove his worth to the memory of his dead mother.
White Calf: The ancient medicine woman who teaches Little Dancer to harness his Dreams.
Recurring terms
- Dreamer: When capitalized ("Dreamer" instead of "dreamer"), refers to a shaman, or one who possesses the talent for shamanic visions.
- Dream: Also called a Power Dream, refers to a shamanic vision (differentiated from ordinary REM sleep by means of capitalization).
- Power: When capitalized, refers to things in and of the spirit world, magic, Dreaming, etc.
- dart: A spear launched by means of an atlatl, in common use prior to the invention of the bow and arrow in North America. "War darts" are darts intended specifically for killing humans in war-time, as opposed to buffalo or mammoths or other prey animals of ancient North America.
- Wolf Dreamer/First Man: The main protagonist of the first book, who becomes a figure of legend in subsequent books. The further "ahead" the books go, the more the alteration effect of oral history becomes apparent.
- First Woman: Though her name is never mentioned, it is assumed that her true name is Heron, who helped Wolf Dreamer in the first novel. She appears in subsequent novels as a loner spirit who lives in a cave, fickle.
- the One: Refers to the belief that all life is one life, but viewed from many perspectives. To touch the One is a state of Zen-like self-transcendence where a Dreamer is at his or her most Powerful.
External links
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