Essential for programs in anthropology, archaeology, and cognitive, religious, and Native American studies.Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

William Romain attempts to do the magic of mind-reading a people long gone. How did the Hopewell understand their world, or make meaning from their existence? By laying out the physical, ethnographic, and historical evidence, and mixing this brew with ingredients from the cognitive sciences, Romain concocts a potion that evokes a compelling vision of the shamanic Hopewell's lives and thoughts. Efficiently written, Shamans of the Lost World offers a model of how to do scientifically informed cognitive archaeology.

Justin L. Barrett, Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford

Overall, this is a valuable contribution to the study of religion in general and of the structure and origins of Hopewellian religion in particular. In addition to the thoroughness of basic principles and archaeological data, the book is well written and well illustrated. This book is essential for anyone interested in these important topics.

Northwest Ohio History