![]() One detail that was so strange I have difficulty believing the author didn't make it up was that Ohlone mothers used to shape the pliable skulls of their infants so they would have a particular facial structure. If we take Margolin at his word, though, there are some pretty interesting nuggets. Look how in harmony with nature they are! Look how tolerant they are! They had no problem with homosexuality! Even if these things were true, harping on them just makes Margolin seems biased, and since there are absolutely NO citations, it's impossible to verify most of the claims without simply reading through his entire bibliography. It's engaging and memorable, but I found it almost impossible to trust any of the factual details included because of the fictional style and the author's obvious belief in the moral superiority of the Ohlone. More than half the book is written in a narrative style, describing possible scenes from an Ohlone village. I think this is probably a decent introduction to learning about the native peoples of the Bay Area, but the form is seriously flawed. ![]()
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