Trained as an archaeologist/ecologist, FREDERICK MATTHEW WISEMAN was principal Research Scientist at MIT's Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology and author of scholarly publications on Maya and Paleo-Indian paleoethnobiology. Now devoted to Abenaki culture and history, he teaches at Johnson State College and is an Abenaki Tribal Council member and director of the Abenaki Tribal Museum and Cultural Center in Vermont.
It is hard to imagine someone more qualified to undertake this
project than Wiseman. An Abenaki raised in Vermont and an academic
trained in archeology, he is able to provide both an insider s view
of Abenaki life and a scholarly assessment of the archeological and
ethnohistorical record. Moreover, since 1988 he has participated in
Abenaki politics and activism, making him one of the few writers
qualified to describe the Vermont tribe s political resurgence.
Paradoxa 15"
Readers looking for extensive and subtle discussions of prehistoric
artifacts in the region will find this to be a useful addition to
their libraries. Wiseman's use of some oral histories, native
philosophy, personal reflection, and quotations for native scholars
and tribal historians is refreshing and long overdue. Vermont
History"
Wiseman's book offers the reader a well-told story of natural and
human history but it is his discussion of the connection of all
this history to commonplace aspects of modern life that is
particularly compelling. Wiseman confronts the reader with the
connections among history, land, and the conditions of modern
Abenaki communities, and challenges the reader to think about these
connections . . . Wiseman's The Voice of the Dawn is essential
reading for a student of regional history or archaelogy and is
likely to challenge its readers' way of thinking. Historical New
Hampshire"
Wiseman's synthesis of widely accepted archaeology with an
innovative interpretive scheme centered on the Wabanaki is welcome
and convincing. Choice"
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