James Adair as Anthropologist

James Adair's History of the American Indians is a major source for the ethnohistory of the Indians of the Southeastern United States in the 18th century. Some scholars have seriously doubted the reliability of Adair's work because he avidly espoused the theory that the Indians were descended from ancient Hebrews. But it can be shown that while this theory misled him in some matters, it aided his understanding in other matters, and that overall the theory was more an asset than a liability in helping him understand the Indians.