The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest

by David Roberts Narrated by Shawn Compton

Overview

An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants.



In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans and their contemporary neighbors the Mogollon and Fremont, as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche.

Editorial Reviews

Denver Post - Sandra Dallas

"A funny, witty and highly personal account."

Deseret News - Katrina Lynn Hawkins

"Fascinating…While the book is historical and biographical, it reads more like an intense novel with an invitation to explore the canyons that share the lives of these ancient peoples."

Booklist (starred review)

"[H]as the pull and excitement of a suspense novel and appeals to a wide range of readers interested in this region’s deep past and great beauty."

Durango Herald

"Roberts captivates the reader with the thrill of finding artifacts…Full of insights."

Pasatiempo - Alex Heard

"Engaging…enjoyable reading."

Starred review Booklist

"[H]as the pull and excitement of a suspense novel and appeals to a wide range of readers interested in this region’s deep past and great beauty."

Douglas Preston

"An utterly fascinating, beautifully written and elegiac exploration."

Wall Street Journal - Gerard Helferich

"Stimulating, provoking, mournful…[Roberts] has a deep and infectious passion for the landscapes, history and people of the Southwest."

Alex Beam

"David Roberts brings an unusual panoply of talents to The Lost World of the Old Ones. Part ethnographer, part archaeologist—with healthy doses of skeptical enquirer, curiosity seeker, and professional mountain climber mixed in—this talented writer navigates the secret canyons and hidden watercourses of the American Southwest in search of a lost civilization."

Tom Kizzia

"With the verve of his great mountaineering books, David Roberts takes us inside a lost ''genius climber'' civilization and its mysteries, introducing the looters, ruin baggers, warring academics, and wary tribal descendants who frame the ethical conflicts of modern archaeology—while never losing his own explorer’s energy and thirst for the thrill of wilderness discovery. These tales should be told around a campfire."

Mitchell Zuckoff

"David Roberts is not only an elegant writer and an intrepid explorer, he’s an ideal guide to the mysteries and wonders of the ancient Southwest. The Lost World of the Old Ones is the rare sequel that stands alone yet also takes its rightful place as a classic alongside its predecessor volume."

Kirkus Reviews

2015-02-02
More travels in the Southwest of yore by outdoorsman/writer Roberts (Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration, 2013, etc.).There's a place in southern Utah, not far from the Grand Canyon and closer still to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Canyonlands, where, before 2002, the author had never been—unusual, since he's scrambled up and down most of the rugged terrain in the Four Corners states over the last four decades or so. Interestingly, most of his "desert-rat cronies" hadn't been there, either. More interestingly still, as he chronicles here, neither had many ancient people, save for a few outlier Kayenta Anasazi from down south who eventually "gave up on Kaiparowits…[and] returned to their homeland." Roberts, a keen student of the region's anthropology, takes time to wonder why, noting that in the last 15 years, interest has grown, with ever more sophistication in our understanding of the many ethnic and cultural groups that contributed to regional prehistory and their far-flung network of connections. Roberts also traveled nearby to the hidden lattice of canyons where vast numbers of Fremont Culture remains were recently formally cataloged, having been "protected by a single private owner" instead of the complex of laws surrounding what are called "cultural resources." The author journeyed to places that have been overrun and ransacked by private collectors and protected, if sometimes too late, by the long arm of federal authority. Throughout, Roberts does two things: He stands on the land himself, affording armchair travelers a fine view of the place, and he scours vast stacks of scholarly literature to give us an up-to-date take on the minefield that is historical interpretation, with scholars coming just short of blows over angels-on-pinheads sorts of questions. Credit the author for including plenty of interesting photos, as well. For fans of all things Southwestern—not quite as robust and thoughtful as Craig Childs' House of Rain (2007) but a pleasure to read.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176172782
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos