Best of
Archaeology

2010

The Secret of the Stones


Ernest Dempsey - 2010
    Former government agent, Sean Wyatt, learns of his friend's disappearance and must race against the clock to unravel the clues to the ancient mystery. But to save him, he will have to fight off highly trained mercenaries in hand to hand combat, violent shootouts, and high speed car chases through the Blue Ridge Mountains.And in the end, what he learns will change the history books as we know them.

The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today


Francis Pryor - 2010
    From our suburban streets that still trace out the boundaries of long vanished farms to the Norfolk Broads, formed when medieval peat pits flooded, from the ceremonial landscapes of Stonehenge to the spread of the railways - evidence of how man's effect on Britain is everywhere. In "The Making of the British Landscape", eminent historian, archaeologist and farmer, Francis Pryor explains how to read these clues to understand the fascinating history of our land and of how people have lived on it throughout time. Covering both the urban and rural and packed with pictures, maps and drawings showing everything from how we can still pick out Bronze Age fields on Bodmin Moor to how the Industrial Revolution really changed our landscape, this book makes us look afresh at our surroundings and really see them for the first time.

Black Feminist Archaeology


Whitney Battle-Baptiste - 2010
    Whitney Battle-Baptiste outlines the basic tenets of Black feminist thought and research for archaeologists and shows how it can be used to improve contemporary historical archaeology. She demonstrates this using Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the WEB Du Bois Homesite in Massachusetts, and the Lucy Foster house in Andover, which represented the first archaeological excavation of an African American home. Her call for an archaeology more sensitive to questions of race and gender is an important development for the field.

Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations


W.C. Jameson - 2010
    Jameson's account of one intrepid man's efforts to find the lost treasures of North America and beyond. Jameson and his partners piece together centuries-old histories through documents, maps, and stories passed down from one generation to the next, facing life-threatening danger time and again. These riveting stories, told with humor and candor, are a portal to another time, and are a testament to the spirited independence of risk-takers, a few of whom still exist in what we think of as the modern age.

Exodus Lost


S.C. Compton - 2010
    The adventure begins with Aztec and Mayan chronicles of an epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. By mapping the details within these texts, the author tracks down their lost homeland and corroborates the local traditions of an ocean-crossing long before Columbus. This discovery leads to new insights into the origins of Mexican and Western civilizations, the Bible (including new archaeological evidence for two major biblical events), the alphabet, and much more. Enter a world of exploration and discovery, mystery and revelation. Whether your passion is archaeology or religion, history or simply a great adventure, Exodus Lost delivers.Beautifully illustrated with 126 photos, maps, and engravings.

World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways Through Time


Michael Chazan - 2010
    It provides the tools to allow for a lifelong engagement with archaeology, and draws students into the process of archaeological research and discovery. The author, Michael Chazan, brings students to the cutting edge of archaeological research by presenting the most recent discoveries and theoretical perspectives. For h"ow "we know the past is inseparable from" what" we know of the past. His text allows students to see that archaeology is a dynamic field in which knowledge is continually refined through scientific inquiry--while providing a sense of the relevance of archaeology in the contemporary world. The cornerstone of this book presents an integrated picture of prehistory as an active process of discovery--where methodological issues are not relegated to the opening chapters alone. While the introduction to archaeological methods in the first two chapters is necessary, the questions of "how "we know the past are not abandoned at that point. In fact, a number of key features--"found within every chapter"--have been especially developed for this text in order to draw together an integrated presentation of prehistory for students. "So what are you waiting for?" Contact your local publisher's representative today for YOUR review copy and see how "World Prehistory and Archaeology" will be able to draw YOUR students into the amazing world of archaeological reserach and discovery!

Signals of Belief in Early England: Anglo Saxon Paganism Revisited


Martin Carver - 2010
    Previous understanding of the topic, well-rooted in the ideas of its time, regarded the English as adherents of two consecutive religions: Paganism governed the settlers of the 4th-6th century, but was superseded in the 7th-10th century by Christianity. Of the two, Christianity, a religion of the book, documented itself thoroughly, while in failing to do so Paganism laid itself open to centuries of abuse, conjecture or mindless admiration. In developing new objectives, the papers here demonstrate that beliefs varied from place to place and were expressed in material culture. Through archaeology, therefore, these beliefs can be rediscovered. Aware of the fact that even the best archaeology provides no open access to the mind, the contributors record, and study, signals of belief rather than what was believed. The premise of this volume is that paganism was not a religion with supraregional rules and institutions, but a loose term for a variety of local intellectual world views. The same courtesy is extended to Christianity. Both religions are treated as sources on which local people - the true agents of Anglo-Saxon England - eclectically drew. A range of material culture and locations across Northern Europe are explored, looking at signals of belief from the landscape, water cults, burial rites, the hall and animals in life and art. Each author looks across the sea to Scandinavia, as well as to the woods and fields, mires and mounds of Old England, resulting in a new perspective on the intellectual preoccupations and anxieties of a crucial age.

Mummies of the World


Alfried Wieczorek - 2010
    As the companion catalogue to the Mummies of the World exhibition, this book features mummies from a variety of natural environments and several cultures, including Asia, Oceania, South America, Europe and Ancient Egypt. The book reveals not only many of the techniques that ancient cultures used to preserve the bodies of the dead, but also the many natural processes leading to the preservation of bodies in desert sands, ice or acidic bogs, or even in attics. Nearly thirty scientific essays, with outstanding photographs and illustrations, bring together the latest research in mummy studies, with contributions from archaeology, anthropology, palaeopathology, biology and many other disciplines. With dignity and reverence, this volume shares the hidden information contained within the mummies.

Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead


John H. Taylor - 2010
    It is a ground-breaking and timely book that draws on intensive recent research at an exciting moment. It is the first comprehensive book on the subject for over thirty years. The British Museum holds an unequalled collection of Book of the Dead manuscripts on papyri, many of which have never been published before New photography provides lasting record of fragile and rarely exhibited material. It is published to accompany a major exhibition at the British Museum, 4 November 2010 6 March 2011. The Book of the Dead is a compilation of spells that the ancient Egyptians believed would assist them in the afterlife as they made their perilous journey towards the realm of the gods and the ultimate state of eternity.

The Archaeology Book


David Down - 2010
    ADD THE ARCHAEOLOGY BOOK TO YOUR WONDERS OF CREATION COLLECTION TODAY!

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt


Zahi A. Hawass - 2010
    Secrets unfold in the official companion book to the new exhibition cosponsored by National Geographic, opening in Philadelphia in May 2010 and touring the United States for several years. Written by the inimitable Zahi Hawass in collaboration with underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio, this richly illustrated book chronicles the life of Cleopatra and the centuries-long quest to learn more about the queen and her tumultuous era, the last pharaonic period of Egyptian history. For the crowds nationwide who will visit the blockbuster exhibit—as well as the huge readership for popular illustrated histories such as this—Cleopatra and the Lost Treasures of Egypt holds rare glimpses and stunning revelations from the life of a star-crossed queen.

Digging Up History


Lisa Jane Gillespie - 2010
    A simple introduction to archaeology that discusses how archaeologists find artifacts and what they can learn from them.

Wretched Ruins


Steven L. Stern - 2010
    Are these places still haunted by long-past tragedies? In this title, readers will glimpse abandoned ruins such as Machu Picchu, Peru, known as the Lost City of the Incas. In 1911, explorer Hiram Bingham discovered this deserted city high in the Andes Mountains after it had been forgotten for 400 years. The beautiful remnants of the city included about 200 stone buildings. But what had happened to the people of Machu Picchu? Why did they simply vanish? No one can say for sure. The mysteries of the 11 desolate places featured in this book will keep young readers turning the pages wanting more and more.

Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah


Steven R. Simms - 2010
    300–1300 A.D.) first defined by archaeologist Noel Morss in 1928 based on characteristics unique to the area. Initially thought to be a simple socio-political system, recent reassessments of the Fremont assume a more complex society. This volume places Fremont rock art studies in this contemporary context. Author Steven Simms offers an innovative model of Fremont society, politics, and worldview using the principles of analogy and current archaeological evidence. Simms takes readers on a trip back in time by describing what a typical Fremont hamlet or residential area might have looked like a thousand years ago, including the inhabitants' daily activities. François Gohier's captivating photographs of Fremont art and artifacts offer an engaging complement to Simms's text, aiding us in our understanding of the lives of these ancient people.

Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature


Barry Cunliffe - 2010
    This 'Celtic Atlantic Bronze Age' theory represents a major departure from the long-established, but increasingly problematic scenario in which the story of the Ancient Celtic languages and that of peoples called Keltoi 'Celts' are closely bound up with the archaeology of the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures of Iron Age west-central Europe. The 'Celtic from the West' proposal was first presented in Barry Cunliffe's Facing the Ocean (2001) and has subsequently found resonance amongst geneticists. It provoked controversy on the part of some linguists, though is significantly in accord with John Koch's findings in Tartessian (2009). The present collection is intended to pursue the question further in order to determine whether this earlier and more westerly starting point might now be developed as a more robust foundation for Celtic studies. As well as having this specific aim, a more general purpose of Celtic from the West is to bring to an English-language readership some of the rapidly unfolding and too often neglected evidence of the pre-Roman peoples and languages of the western Iberian Peninsula. Celtic from the West is an outgrowth of a multidisciplinary conference held at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth in December 2008. In addition to 11 chapters, the book includes 45 distribution maps and a further 80 illustrations. The conference and collaborative volume mark the launch of a multi-year research initiative undertaken by the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies [CAWCS]: Ancient Britain and the Atlantic Zone [ABrAZo]. Contributors: (Archaeology) Barry Cunliffe; Raimund Karl; Amilcar Guerra; (Genetics) Brian McEvoy & Daniel Bradley; Stephen Oppenheimer; Ellen Rrvik; (Language & Literature) Graham Isaac; David Parsons; John T. Koch; Philip Freeman; Dagmar S. Wodtko.

Cipher


Leigh MacCallum - 2010
    Their efforts at deciphering the code are disrupted by a category 5 hurricane, a vengeful ex-wife and the interference of more than one Maya god. Even with the help of an aged nagual (shaman), his son and granddaughter, the group is hard-pressed to overcome these disruptions in time to fulfill an earth-changing destiny. With a bevy of malevolent and benevolent gods, spirit guides, history, and just a bit of grisly murder and mayhem, Cipher places our heroes in jeopardy and mind- and body-taxing situations again and again, all leading up to a catastrophic climax that gives new meaning to the literal translation of Chicxulub as "Tail of the Devil."

Women's Lives in Biblical Times


Jennie R. Ebeling - 2010
    From this Ebeling creates a detailed, accessible description of the lives of women living in the central highland villages of Iron Age I (ca. 1200-1000 BCE) Israel.The book opens with an introduction that provides a brief historical survey of Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) Israel, a discussion of the problems involved in using the Hebrew Bible as a source, a rationale for the project and a brief narrative of one woman's life in ancient Israel to put the events described in the book into context. It continues with seven thematic chapters that chronicle her life, focusing on the specific events, customs, crafts, technologies and other activities in which an Israelite female would have participated on a daily basis.

Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus


Leen Ritmeyer - 2010
    These artistic restorations and photographs will transport you back 2,000 years. Marvel at the remains and walk through the streets of the city in the time of Jesus with detailed drawings. The result of years of study and research, this book combines text, photographs, and reconstructions to present the archaeology of Jerusalem, whose remains survive even today. Full-color, richly illustrated, with maps and archaeological drawings. See the Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the blind; the Bethesda Pools where Jesus healed the man paralyzed for thirty-eight years; and the Palatial Mansion where Jesus was interrogated by the Sanhedrin while Peter waited in the courtyard. Possible routes for the "Via Dolorosa" and two sites identified as Golgotha are also shown.

How to Read Greek Vases


Joan R. Mertens - 2010
    The Museum is famed for its Greek vases. Joan R. Mertens, Curator in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan, has chosen thirty-five notable examples. They reveal the variety and vitality of the refined forms and masterfully rendered scenes that characterize these works. And they demonstrate the interrelation of function, shape, technique, and subject matter that is key to understanding the rich language of Greek vases. The introduction provides valuable background information, and the entries delve into the features of each vase, incorporating brilliant color illustrations, including many arresting details. Greek vases served specific utilitarian functions, and they also afforded outstanding artists, some of whom signed their work, a medium for depicting both the details of daily existence and aspects of their gods, goddesses, and heroes. We see the garments, implements, athletic competitions, and marriage and funerary rituals of Greeks who lived from the seventh through the fourth century B.C. We see their mythological figures and stories, for instance, the goddess Athena with her helmet, spear, and shield, and the great hero Herakles, from his first exploit as a baby to his elevation as an immortal at the end of his earthly life. The exceptional group of works assembled in this volume conveys the extent to which the culture of ancient Greece is still apparent today. Urns and jars inspired by Greek models are a staple in all types of public and private spaces. The meander patterns, palmettes, and other florals that adorn ancient vases recur in all kinds of modern objects. And the concept of the hero, or superman, first formulated and given visual form in ancient Greece is integral to Western culture. How to Read Greek Vases is sure to inspire closer scrutiny of these remarkable works of art, which have survived for over two millennia to offer viewers an enlightening look into the ancient heritage of the Western world.

The Darwinian Tourist: Viewing the World Through Evolutionary Eyes


Christopher Wills - 2010
    Others, like his experience of being hammered by a severe earthquake off the island of Yap while sixty feet down in the ocean, filming manta rays, stand far outside the ordinary. With his own stunning color photographs of the wildlife he discovered on his travels, Wills not only takes us to these far-off places but, more important, draws out the evolutionary stories behind the wildlife and shows how our understanding of the living world can be deepened by a Darwinian perspective. In addition, the book offers an extensive and unusual view of human evolution, examining the entire sweep of our evolutionary story as it has taken place throughout the Old World. The reader comes away with a renewed sense of wonder about the world's astounding diversity, along with a new appreciation of the long evolutionary history that has led to the wonders of the present-day. When we lose a species or an ecosystem, Wills shows us, we also lose many millions of years of history.Published to coincide with the International Year for Biodiversity, The Darwinian Tourist is packed with globe-trotting exploits, brilliant color photography, and eye-opening insights into the evolution of humanity and the natural world.

Bloodline: The Celtic Kings of Roman Britain


Miles Russell - 2010
    This detailed and comprehensive book offers fresh research and analysis of the British provincial kings during the Roman occupation. The author's extensive knowledge and expertise in this field provides a high level of academic authority. Building on the discoveries made in Roman Sussex, this book develops the theme that southern Britain was not so much conquered by Rome, as liberated. Looking at new archaeological evidence, new readings of the primary historical sources and a new examination of the writings of 'British' sources (such as Geoffrey of Monmouth), Bloodline: Celtic Kings in Roman Britain provides a wholly alternative theory as to the creation of Roman Britain, its treaties, invasion and assimilation into empire, and the role of friendly client kings from the time of Julius Caesar (55-54 BC) to the reign of the emperor Hadrian

Remarkable Places


Parragon Books - 2010
    It is divided into three sections.The first - Natural Wonders - pays tribute to the great natural landscape features that stand as monuments to the powerful geological and climatic forces that shape the face of our planet. Canyons, waterfalls, spectacular rock formations, coral reefs, crater lakes, geysers, glaciers, volcanoes - all find their place here.The second - Civilizations - focuses on the major cultures that have risen and fallen across the millenia and which have left behind great abandoned buildings as magnificent reminders of their days of glory.The final section - Sacred Stone - uncovers special places where human hands have crafted the natural rock into awe-inspiring monuments or shrines that stand as enduring expressions of spiritual aspiration.

The Jeffersons at Shadwell


Susan Kern - 2010
    Located in present-day Albemarle County, Virginia, Shadwell was at the time considered "the frontier." However, Kern demonstrates that Shadwell was no crude log cabin; it was, in fact, a well-appointed gentry house full of fashionable goods, located at the center of a substantial plantation.Kern’s scholarship offers new views of the family’s role in settling Virginia as well as new perspectives on Thomas Jefferson himself. By examining a variety of sources, including account books, diaries, and letters, Kern re-creates in rich detail the daily lives of the Jeffersons at Shadwell—from Jane Jefferson’s cultivation of a learned and cultured household to Peter Jefferson’s extensive business network and oversight of a thriving plantation.Shadwell was Thomas Jefferson’s patrimony, but Kern asserts that his real legacy there came from his parents, who cultivated the strong social connections that would later open doors for their children. At Shadwell, Jefferson learned the importance of fostering relationships with slaves, laborers, and powerful office holders, as well as the hierarchical structure of large plantations, which he later applied at Monticello. The story of Shadwell affects how we interpret much of what we know about Thomas Jefferson today, and Kern’s fascinating book is sure to become the standard work on Jefferson's early years.

To the Islands: An Archaeologist's Relentless Quest to Find the Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of the Hebrides


Steven Mithen - 2010
    A personal memoir of archaeologist Steven Mithen's 25-year quest to uncover the world of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in the Western Isles - and an elegiac defense of archaeology as a lifelong passion.

In Defense Of Things


Bjørnar Julius Olsen - 2010
    It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them-qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.

Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico


Kathleen Berrin - 2010
    This sweeping project brings together the most recent scholarship, along with a diverse selection of more than 100 monuments, sculptures, adornments, masks, and vessels, many of which have never traveled beyond Mexico’s borders, that paint a rich portrait of life in the most important Olmec centers, including San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of the culture, distinctive variations in the art of different city sites, and the chronology and reach of the society during its apex.Centering on the concept of discovery, this wide-ranging volume presents a fresh look at Olmec civilization, recapturing the excitement that greeted the unearthing of the first colossal stone head in 1862.

The World of Achaemenid Persia: History, Art and Society in Iran and the Ancient Near East


John E. Curtis - 2010
    It is time for a major new appraisal of the glorious civilization founded by Cyrus the Great and continued by his successors, the Great Kings Darius I, Xerxes and Artaxerxes I. This volume offers precisely that: a sustained and comprehensive overview of the field of Achaemenid studies by leading scholars and experts. It discusses all aspects of Achaemenid history and archaeology between 550 BCE and 330 BCE, and embraces the whole vast territory of the Persian Empire from North Africa to India and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. Topics covered include aspects of Achaemenid religion, administration, material culture, ethnicity, gender and the survival of Achaemenid traditions. The publication of the book is an event: it represents a watershed not only in better appreciation and understanding of the rich and complex cultural heritage established by Cyrus, but also of the lasting significance of the Achaemenid kings and the impact that their remarkable civilization has had on wider Persian and Middle Eastern history.

Mine Towns: Buildings for Workers in Michigan's Copper Country


Alison K. Hoagland - 2010
    In order to lure workers to such a remote location—and work long hours in dangerous conditions—companies offered not just competitive wages but also helped provide the very infrastructure of town life in the form of affordable housing, schools, health-care facilities, and churches. The first working-class history of domestic life in Copper Country company towns during the boom years of 1890 to 1918, Alison K. Hoagland’s Mine Towns investigates how the architecture of a company town revealed the paternal relationship that existed between company managers and workers—a relationship that both parties turned to their own advantage. The story of Joseph and Antonia Putrich, immigrants from Croatia, punctuates and illustrates the realities of life in a booming company town. While company managers provided housing as a way to develop and control a stable workforce, workers often rejected this domestic ideal and used homes as an economic resource, taking in boarders to help generate further income. Focusing on how the exchange between company managers and a largely immigrant workforce took the form of negotiation rather than a top-down system, Hoagland examines surviving buildings and uses Copper Country’s built environment to map this remarkable connection between a company and its workers at the height of Michigan’s largest land rush.

The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean


Eric H. Cline - 2010
    The period also witnessed a violent conflict in Asia Minor between warring peoples in the region, a conflict commonly believed to be the historical basis for Homer's Trojan War. The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean provides a detailed survey of these fascinating aspects of the period, and many others, in sixty-six newly commissioned articles.Divided into four sections, the handbook begins with Background and Definitions, which contains articles establishing the discipline in its historical, geographical, and chronological settings and in its relation to other disciplines. The second section, Chronology and Geography, contains articles examining the Bronze Age Aegean by chronological period (Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age). Each of the periods are further subdivided geographically, so that individual articles are concerned with Mainland Greece during the Early Bronze Age, Crete during the Early Bronze Age, the Cycladic Islands during the Early Bronze Age, and the same for the Middle Bronze Age, followed by the Late Bronze Age. The third section, Thematic and Specific Topics, includes articles examining thematic topics that cannot be done justice in a strictly chronological/geographical treatment, including religion, state and society, trade, warfare, pottery, writing, and burial customs, as well as specific events, such as the eruption of Santorini and the Trojan War. The fourth section, Specific Sites and Areas, contains articles examining the most important regions and sites in the Bronze Age Aegean, including Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Knossos, Kommos, Rhodes, the northern Aegean, and the Uluburun shipwreck, as well as adjacent areas such as the Levant, Egypt, and the western Mediterranean.Containing new work by an international team of experts, The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean represents the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date single-volume survey of the field. It will be indispensable for scholars and advanced students alike.

Cultural Cleansing in Iraq: Why Museums Were Looted, Libraries Burned and Academics Murdered


Raymond William Baker - 2010
    The authors argue instead that the invasion aimed to dismantle the Iraqi state to remake it as a client regime. Post-invasion chaos created conditions under which the cultural foundations of the state could be undermined. The authors painstakingly document the consequences of the occupiers' willful inaction and worse, which led to the ravaging of one of the world's oldest recorded cultures. Targeted assassination of over 400 academics, kidnapping and the forced flight of thousands of doctors, lawyers, artists and other intellectuals add up to cultural cleansing.This important work lays to rest claims that the invasion aimed to free an educated population to develop its own culture of democracy.

Major Transitions In Evolution


NOT A BOOK - 2010
    

The Holy Land Revealed


Jodi Magness - 2010
    With a rich history stretching back over 3,000 years, this area is a sacred land for three major faiths and the setting for defining events in religious history, including the life, ministry, and death of Jesus; the construction and destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples; the composition of the Old and New Testaments, and parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the dramatic siege of Masada; and the journey of the prophet Muhammad to Jerusalem. The Holy Land Revealed is packed with detailed analyses of architectural wonders that provide a physical context for stories from this region. It's a three-dimensional impression that recreates this long-lost world, adding richer layers to stories and events you may be familiar with and providing powerful introductions to those that might be new to you.

Clifford's Tower


Jonathan Clark - 2010
    At first, there was a timber tower here, where one of the most notorious events in the history of the castle took place in 1190, when the Jews of York, who had taken refuge in the Tower, died in tragic circumstances. The stone tower was built soon afterwards and was used as a treasury and royal exchequer. In the 17th century, a fire destroyed the interior of the tower and the building was reduced to a shell. Many of the rest of the castle buildings were swept away in the 18th and 19th centuries. This guidebook contains a tour of the tower and the other remains of York castle, together with a history of the site, illustrated with new reconstruction drawings, photographs, plans and historical images. - See more at: http://www.english-heritageshop.org.u...

The Anthropology Graduate's Guide: From Student to a Career


Carol J. Ellick - 2010
    Applied anthropologists Carol Ellick and Joe Watkins present a set of practical steps that will assist you through the transition from your career as a student into a career in a wide range of professions that an anthropology degree can be used. The stories, scenarios, and activities presented in this book are intended to assist you in learning how to plan for the next five years, write your letter of introduction, construct your resume, and best present the knowledge, skills, and abilities learned in class to prospective employers. Ellick and Watkins’ step-by-step approach helps you create a portfolio that you will use time and time again as you build your career.

Archaeologies of Colonialism: Consumption, Entanglement, and Violence in Ancient Mediterranean France


Michael Dietler - 2010
    Analyzing archaeological data and ancient texts, Michael Dietler explores these colonial encounters over six centuries, focusing on material culture, urban landscapes, economic practices, and forms of violence. He shows how selective consumption linked native societies and colonists and created transformative relationships for each. Archaeologies of Colonialism also examines the role these ancient encounters played in the formation of modern European identity, colonial ideology, and practices, enumerating the problems for archaeologists attempting to re-examine these past societies.

After Modernity: Archaeological Approaches to the Contemporary Past


Rodney Harrison - 2010
    The principal focus is the archaeology of developed, de-industrialized societies during the second half of the twentieth century and thebeginning of the twenty-first. This period encompasses the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the 'internet age', a period which sits firmly within what we would recognize to be a period of 'lived and living memory'. Rodney Harrison and John Schofield explore how archaeology can inform thestudy of this time period and the study of our own society through detailed case studies and an in-depth summary of the existing literature. After Modernity draws together cross-disciplinary perspectives on contemporary material culture studies, and develops a new agenda for the study of themateriality of late modern societies.

Religion in the Emergence of Civilization: Çatalhöyük as a Case Study


Ian HodderCarolyn Nakamura - 2010
    Involving an eminent group of natural scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and theologians, this volume examines Çatalhöyük as a case study. A nine-thousand-year old town in central Turkey, Çatalhöyük was first excavated in the 1960s and has since become integral to understanding the symbolic and ritual worlds of the early farmers and village-dwellers in the Middle East. It is thus an ideal location for exploring theories about the role of religion in early settled life. This book provides a unique overview of current debates concerning religion and its historical variations. Through exploration of themes including the integration of the spiritual and the material, the role of belief in religion, the cognitive bases for religion, and religion’s social roles, this book situates the results from Çatalhöyük within a broader understanding of the Neolithic in the Middle East.*Uses the spectacular world-renowned site Çatalhöyük as a case study*Deals with fundamental questions about the role of religion in human development*Results from a unique collaboration of eminent scholars from anthropology, religious studies and philosophy at an archaeological dig

Whitby Abbey - Guidebook


Steven Brindle - 2010
    Originally founded in the seventh century and ruled by the renowned Abbess Hild, the first monastery here was the setting for one of the defining episodes in the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon church - the synod of Whitby. After the Norman Conquest, a new religious community was established on the site, which eventually grew into one of the great abbeys of Yorkshire. Later, after the Suppression of the Monasteries, the abbot's house was converted into a grand private residence. Drawing on the latest archaeological investigations, this new, richly illustrated guidebook provides a full tour and history of the abbey and headland.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine


Catherine Hezser - 2010
    Ranging from subjects such as clothing and domestic architecture to food and meals, labour and trade, and leisure time activities, the volume covers all the major themes in an encompassing yet easily accessible way. Individual chapters introduce the reader to the current state of research on particular aspects of ancient Jewish everyday life - research which has been greatly enriched by critical methodological approaches to rabbinic texts, and by the growing interest of archaeologists in investigating the lives of ordinary people. Detailed bibliographies inspire further engagement by enabling readers to pursue their own lines of enquiry.The Handbook will prove to be an invaluable reference work and tool for all students and scholars of ancient Judaism, rabbinic literature, Roman provincial history and culture, and of ancient Christianity.

Critical Historical Archaeology


Mark P. Leone - 2010
    This volume is partly his autobiographical reflection on a thirty five year career, part a collection of Leone’s classic writings on Annapolis, Williamsburg, Shakertown, St. Mary’s, and other key sites, and part a synthesis of his current thinking on how historical archaeology can engage the cultural and political issues of our time. Critical Historical Archaeology is an important summary of the work and thinking of one of our most thoughtful, influential archaeologists.

The Historical Archaeology of Military Sites: Method and Topic


Clarence R. Geier - 2010
    While once preoccupied with great battles and the generals who commanded the armies and employed the tactics, military history has begun to emphasize the importance of the “common man” for interpreting events. As a result, military historians have begun to see military forces and the people serving in them from different perspectives. The Historical Archaeology of Military Sites has encouraged efforts to understand armies as human communities and to address the lives of those who composed them. Tying a group of combatants to the successes and failures of their military commanders leads to a failure to understand such groups as distinct social units and, in some instances, self-supporting societies: structured around a defined social and political hierarchy; regulated by law; needing to be supplied and nurtured; and often at odds with the human community whose lands they occupied, be they those of friend or foe.The Historical Archaeology of Military Sites will afford students, professionals dealing with military sites, and the interested public examples of the latest techniques and proven field methods to aid understanding and conservation of these vital pieces of the world’s heritage.

Ritual, Belief and the Dead in Early Modern Britain and Ireland


Sarah Tarlow - 2010
    From the theological discussion of bodily resurrection to the folkloric use of body parts as remedies, and from the judicial punishment of the corpse to the ceremonial interment of the social elite, this book discusses how seemingly incompatible beliefs about the dead body existed in parallel through this tumultuous period. This study, which is the first to incorporate archaeological evidence of early modern death and burial from across Britain and Ireland, addresses new questions about the materiality of death: what the dead body means, and how its physical substance could be attributed with sentience and even agency. It provides a sophisticated original interpretive framework for the growing quantities of archaeological and historical evidence about mortuary beliefs and practices in early modernity.

In Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects (Archaeology in Society)


Bjørnar Olsen - 2010
    It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them—qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.

Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age


Christopher A. Rollston - 2010
    Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel focuses on this epigraphic evidence in order to broaden our understanding of the techniques and roles of writing, education, and literacy during this biblical period. T... Full description

How Chiefs Became Kings: Divine Kingship and the Rise of Archaic States in Ancient Hawai'i


Patrick Vinton Kirch - 2010
    Kirch takes as his focus the Hawaiian archipelago, commonly regarded as the archetype of a complex chiefdom. Integrating anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, traditional history, and theory, and drawing on significant contributions from his own four decades of research, Kirch argues that Hawaiian polities had become states before the time of Captain Cook’s voyage (1778-1779). The status of most archaic states is inferred from the archaeological record. But Kirch shows that because Hawaii’s kingdoms were established relatively recently, they could be observed and recorded by Cook and other European voyagers. Substantive and provocative, this book makes a major contribution to the literature of precontact Hawaii and illuminates Hawaii’s importance in the global theory and literature about divine kingship, archaic states, and sociopolitical evolution.

The Archaeology of American Capitalism


Christopher N. Matthews - 2010
    This book will take historical archaeology in exciting new directions of inquiry."--Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America "Does a very good job making sense of an exceptionally complex scholarship on capitalism that is routinely invoked in historical archaeology. As an introduction to the basic theoretical points in Marxian perspectives on capitalism and the archaeological scholarship that either intentionally or unwittingly borrows from such concepts, this book is a sound primer for undergraduate and graduate students alike."--Paul R. Mullins, author of Race and Affluence Christopher Matthews offers a fresh look at the historic material culture and social meaning of capitalism in this wide-ranging and compelling study. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the colonial period to the modern era and covering sites from New England to California, The Archaeology of American Capitalismis the first comparative treatment in historical archaeology to comprehensively illustrate the development and evolution of capitalism in the United States.Accessible to even the beginning student and organized chronologically, this volume focuses on the material construction of individuals as commodities, the orientation of social life to the market, and grassroots resistance to capitalist culture. Perhaps most intriguing, Matthews identifies the discipline of archaeology as an artifact of capitalism and offers a thoughtful investigation into the ways in which the transformative effects of capitalism determine not only much of the archaeological record, but the pursuit of archaeology itself.

Everyday Writing in the Graeco-Roman East


Roger S. Bagnall - 2010
    Reinterpreting the silences and blanks of the historical record, leading papyrologist Roger S. Bagnall convincingly argues that ordinary people—from Britain to Egypt to Afghanistan—used writing in their daily lives far more extensively than has been recognized. Marshalling new and little-known evidence, including remarkable graffiti recently discovered in Smyrna, Bagnall presents a fascinating analysis of writing in different segments of society. His book offers a new picture of literacy in the ancient world in which Aramaic rivals Greek and Latin as a great international language, and in which many other local languages develop means of written expression alongside these metropolitan tongues.

Hieroglyph Detective: How to Decode the Sacred Language of the Ancient Egyptians


Nigel Strudwick - 2010
    In Hieroglyph Detective, renowned Egyptologist Nigel Strudwick offers a historical background for the symbols as he takes the reader on a visual tour of museums around the world and provides step-by-step instructions on how to decipher inscriptions from ancient Egyptian tombs and temples. This hands-on field guide contains everything one needs to uncover age-old mysteries like a true detective!

Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization


Paul Kriwaczek - 2010
    He chronicles the rise and fall of dynastic power during this period; he examines its numerous material, social and cultural innovations and inventions: The wheel, civil, engineering, building bricks, the centralized state, the division of labour, organised religion, sculpture, education, mathematics, law and monumental building.At the heart of Kriwaczek's magisterial account, though, is the glory of Babylon - 'gateway to the gods' - which rose to glorious prominence under the Amorite king Hammurabi, who unified Babylonia between 1800 and 1750 BC. While Babylonian power would rise and fall over the ensuing centuries, it retained its importance as a cultural, religious and political centre until its fall to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC.

Paleonutrition


Mark Q. Sutton - 2010
    As a field of study, it addresses prehistoric diets in order to determine the biological and cultural implications for individuals as well as for entire populations, placing archaeological interpretations into an anthropological context. Throughout history, and long before written records, human culture has been constantly in flux. The study of paleonutrition provides valuable insights into shifts and changes in human history, whatever their causes.This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on the topic. Intended for students and professionals, it describes the nature of paleonutrition studies, reviews the history of paleonutrition research, discusses methodological issues in the reconstruction of prehistoric diets, presents theoretical frameworks frequently used in paleonutrition research, and showcases examples in which paleonutritional analyses have been successfully conducted on prehistoric individuals, groups, and populations. It offers an integrative approach to understanding state-of-the-art anthropological dietary, health, and nutritional assessments. The most recent and innovative methods used to reconstruct prehistoric diets are discussed, along with the major ways in which paleonutrition data are recovered, analyzed, and interpreted.Paleonutrition includes five contemporary case studies that provide useful models of how to conduct paleonutrition research. Topics range from ancient diets in medieval Nubia to children’s health in the prehistoric American Southwest to honey use by an ethnographic group of East African foragers. As well as providing interesting examples of applying paleonutrition techniques, these case studies illustrate the mutually beneficial linkages between ethnography and archaeology.

Out of Many, One People: The Historical Archaeology of Colonial Jamaica


James A. DelleAmy L. Rubenstein-Gottschamer - 2010
    From the island's economic and military importance to the colonial empires it has hosted and the multitude of ways in which diverse people from varied parts of the world have coexisted in and reacted against systems of inequality, Jamaica has long been a major focus of archaeological studies of the colonial period. This volume assembles for the first time the results of nearly three decades of historical archaeology in Jamaica. Scholars present research on maritime and terrestrial archaeological sites, addressing issues such as: the early Spanish period at Seville la Nueva; the development of the first major British settlement at Port Royal; the complexities of the sugar and coffee plantation system, and the conditions prior to, and following, the abolition of slavery in Jamaica. The everyday life of African Jamaican people is examined by focusing on the development of Jamaica's internal marketing system, consumer behavior among enslaved people, iron-working and ceramic-making traditions, and the development of a sovereign Maroon society at Nanny Town. Out of Many, One People paints a complex and fascinating picture of life in colonial Jamaica, and demonstrates how archaeology has contributed to heritage preservation on the island.

Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea


Daniel Finamore - 2010
    Most scholarly interpretations of Maya art and culture have emphasized that this ancient civilization was oriented toward inland centers and preoccupied with the blood of royal lineage and ritual sacrifice. Drawing on recent archaeological discoveries and developments in deciphering Maya glyphs, this groundbreaking volume presents a revisionist reading that shifts the emphasis of interpretation to the mythic power of the sea as the basis of a larger, deeper cultural narrative and history for the Maya.Surrounded by the sea in all directions, the Maya viewed water as a source of both life and danger. Through the artworks presented—including acknowledged masterpieces and many never before exhibited in the United States—readers will gain a new appreciation for water’s influence on Maya cosmology, its role in their interpretation of the supernatural, as well as its impact on Maya cross-cultural contacts, trading practices, and power dynamics. Essays by prominent scholars provide an interdisciplinary context for understanding Maya art as well as new interpretations of traditional iconography and symbolism.Accompanying a monumental exhibition comprising almost 100 artworks ranging from carved stone monuments to delicate jade sculptures, this compelling, richly illustrated publication will fundamentally transform the interpretation of Maya art.

Beneath the Ivory Tower: The Archaeology of Academia


Russell K. Skowronek - 2010
    Waldbauer, National Park Service"The chapters in this volume demonstrate the integration of teaching, learning, research, and service in the efforts to preserve and interpret heritage for the benefit of all those who identify with the academy."--Michael S. Nassaney, Western Michigan UniversityAs a discipline, archaeology often provides amazing insights into the past. But it can also illuminate the present, especially when investigations are undertaken to better examine the history of institutions such as colleges and universities.In Beneath the Ivory Tower, contributors offer a series of case studies to reveal the ways archaeology can offer a more objective view of changes and transformations that have taken place on America's college campuses. From the tennis courts of William and Mary to the "iconic paths, lawns, and well-ordered brick buildings" of Harvard, this volume will change the ways readers look at their alma maters--and at archaeology. Also included are studies of Michigan State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Washington & Lee, Santa Clara, California, and Stanford.

North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X


Eva B. Andersson Strand - 2010
    The 50 papers from the conference presented here show the vibrance of the study of archaeological textiles today. Examples studied come from the Bronze Age, Neolithic, the Iron Age, Roman, Viking, the Middle Ages and post-Medieval, and from a wide range of countries including Norway, Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. Modern techniques of analysis and examination are also discussed.

Field Man: Life as a Desert Archaeologist


Julian D. Hayden - 2010
    This is the personal story of a blue-collar scholar who bucked the conventional thinking on the antiquity of man in the New World, who brought a formidable pragmatism and “hand sense” to the identification of stone tools, and who is remembered as the leading authority on the prehistory of the Sierra Pinacate in northwestern Mexico. But Field Man is also an evocative recollection of a bygone time and place, a time when archaeological trips to the Southwest were “expeditions,” when a man might run a Civilian Conservation Corps crew by day and study the artifacts of ancient peoples by night, when one could honeymoon by a still-full Gila River, and when a Model T pickup needed extra transmissions to tackle the back roads of Arizona. To say that Julian Hayden led an eventful life would be an understatement. He accompanied his father, a Harvard-trained archaeologist, on influential excavations, became a crew chief in his own right, taught himself silversmithing, married a “city girl,” helped build the Yuma Air Field, worked as a civilian safety officer, and was a friend and mentor to countless students. He also crossed paths with leading figures in other fields. Barry Goldwater and even Frank Lloyd Wright turn up in this wide-ranging narrative of a “desert rat” who was at once a throwback and—as he only half-jokingly suggests—ahead of his time.Field Man is the product of years of interviews with Hayden conducted by his colleagues and friends Bill Broyles and Diane Boyer. It is introduced by noted southwestern anthropologist J. Jefferson Reid, and contains an epilogue by Steve Hayden, one of Julian’s sons.

The Human Archaeology of Space: Lunar, Planetary and Interstellar Relics of Exploration


P.J. Capelotti - 2010
    The book is divided into three parts covering distinct but interconnected issues of lunar, planetary, and interstellar archaeology. In Parts I and II, individual chapters cover each space mission and provide technical notes, and, in some cases, images of the artifacts. Part III explores the archaeology of mobile artifacts in the solar system and the wider galaxy, looking particularly at the problems encountered in attempting a traditional archaeological field survey of artifacts that may remain in motion indefinitely.

The Ancient World: a Complete Guide to History's Great Civilizations from Egypt to the Roman Republic


John Haywood - 2010
    Provides a fascinating overview of the ancient civilizations of the world, the first social structures in which culture and religion were born.

Trees in Anglo-Saxon England: Literature, Lore and Landscape


Della Hooke - 2010
    But they are also powerful icons in many pre-Christian religions, with a degree of tree symbolism found in Christian scripture too. This wide-ranging book explores both the "real", historical and archaeological evidence of trees and woodland, and as they are depicted in Anglo-Saxon literature and legend. Place-name and charter references cast light upon the distribution of particular tree species (mapped here in detail for the first time) and also reflect upon regional character in a period that was fundamental for the evolution of the present landscape. Della Hooke is Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

Everyday Life in Ancient Greece


Nigel Rodgers - 2010
    People and Places, Art, Architecture, Theatre, Gods and Myths, Culture

City of the Ram-Man: The Story of Ancient Mendes


Donald B. Redford - 2010
    Excavation by Redford and his colleagues over the past two decades has cast a flood of light on this strange center of worship and political power located in the Nile Delta. A sweeping chronological account filled with photographs, drawings, and informative sidebars, City of the Ram-Man is the first history of Mendes written for general readers.Founded in the remote prehistoric past, inhabited continuously for 5,000 years, and abandoned only in the first-century BC, Mendes is a microcosm of ancient Egyptian history. City of the Ram-Man tells the city's full story--from its founding, through its development of a great society and its brief period as the capital of Egypt, up to its final decline. Central to the story is millennia of worship dedicated to the lascivious ram-god. The book describes the discoveries of the great temple of the ram and the Mansion of the Rams, where the embalmed bodies of the avatars of the god were buried. It also discusses ancient Greek reports that these ram-gods occasionally ritually fornicated with women.Vividly written and informed throughout by Redford's intimate knowledge of the remains of Mendes, City of the Ram-Man is a unique account of a long-lost monument of Egyptian history, religion, and culture.

Ramesses III: The Life and Times of Egypt's Last Hero


Eric H. Cline - 2010
    He fended off attacks by the "Sea Peoples" and others who threatened the state, he built the great temple of Medinet Habu, and he left wonderfully complete documents describing contemporary social structure and the economy. Amazingly, we even have an account from a contemporary judicial document that describes events leading to Ramesses III's assassination. This edited collection presents a detailed and informative look at the life, career, and world of one of Egypt's most important pharaohs, providing insight both on his reign and its aftermath and on the study of the political and cultural history of ancient Egypt. This collection offers the best new scholarship on Ramesses III, with contributions from Christopher J. Eyre; Ogden Goelet, Jr.; Peter W. Haider; Carolyn R. Higginbotham; Kenneth A. Kitchen; Bojana Mojsov; Steven R. Snape; Emily Teeter; and James M. Weinstein, as well as from David O'Connor and Eric H. Cline. It will be of interest to those with an informed amateur's interest in Egyptology as well as to scholars of Egyptian and biblical archaeology.