Best of
Archaeology

2018

Roman Ice


Dave Bartell - 2018
     Darwin Lacroix wants to rewrite the story of the past. The archaeologist knows that a $10 million discovery of diamonds in Iceland is just a fraction of Emperor Nero’s fortune. He’s read the ancient scrolls buried beneath Mt. Vesuvius, and he’s about to prove that Nero lined the lava tubes with impossible amounts of gold. But when a powerful cartel seizes control of the hunt, Darwin’s quest becomes a race against time to reveal the mother lode first. With a volcanologist and an unsavory diamond expert on board, the academic’s search for riches meets lethal obstacles at every turn. Deep underground, the choices Darwin makes could determine who in his party makes it out alive. Roman Ice is a thrilling suspense novel in the tradition of Sahara, The Lost World, and Treasure Island. If you like alternate history, archaeological adventures, and complex characters, then you’ll love Dave Bartell’s action-packed tale. Buy Roman Ice today to unearth the impossible.

The Mystery of Julia Episcopa


John I. Rigoli - 2018
    Her enemies are those she once called 'brother'. Hidden beneath her blue cloak are secrets men will kill for - forgeries that prove the newly self-appointed bishops are not followers of the way, but pretenders who have seized power and will stop at nothing to shape this new religion to their own ends. Now, Julia - a woman who had once walked with Mary Magdalene and taught alongside Paul must preserve the legacy of the apostles in the face of terrifying danger.Two thousand years later, classical archaeologists Valentina Vella and Erika Simone are tasked with advising the newly-elected Pope on the historical legacy of women in the early Christian period. The women stumble across an ancient parchment buried deep in the Vatican archives, a document that has clearly been altered. They find themselves on the trail of a woman who may have been the first woman Bishop in the Catholic faith. To reveal Julia's legacy will put them in the cross-hairs of a venomous Vatican battle for power and supremacy; to stay silent would make them complicit in an ancient heresy and would betray the teachings that Julia sacrificed her life to defend.'The Mystery of Julia Episcopa' weaves seamlessly between modern day Rome and the politics of the Catholic church, and the times and life of a 1st century Roman noblewoman who rose to be a dominant force in the early Christian movement."An inventive--and highlybelievable--biblical revisionist tale." - Kirkus Reviews"...well written, intriguing and inspiring...The Mystery of Julia Episcopa is a great beginning to a promising conspiracy series." - ReadersFavorite (5 star review)"...an unexpectedly moving mystery." - AudioBookReviewer (ABR Reviewer's Choice Award Winner)

The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places


Neil Oliver - 2018
    From north to south, east to west it cradles astonishing beauty. The human story here is a million years old, and counting. But the tolerant, easygoing peace we enjoy has been hard won. We have made and known the best and worst of times. We have been hero and villain and all else in between, and we have learned some lessons.The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places is Neil’s very personal account of what makes these islands so special, told through the places that have witnessed the unfolding of our history. Beginning with footprints made in the sand by humankind’s earliest ancestors, he takes us via Romans and Vikings, the flowering of religion, through civil war, industrial revolution and two world wars. From windswept headlands to battlefields, ancient trees to magnificent cathedrals, each of his destinations is a place where, somehow, the spirit of the past seems to linger. Beautifully written, his book is majestic, awe-inspiring, a kaleidoscopic history of a place with a story like no other.

Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia


Billy Griffiths - 2018
    Equipped with a historian’s inquiring mind, he embarks on a journey through time, seeking to understand the extraordinary deep history of the Australian continent.Deep Time Dreaming is the passionate product of that journey. In this original, important book, Griffiths investigates a twin revolution: the reassertion of Aboriginal identity in the second half of the twentieth century, and the simultaneous uncovering of the traces of ancient Australia by pioneering archaeologists.Deep Time Dreaming is about a slow shift in national consciousness. It explores what it means to live in a place of great antiquity, with its complex questions of ownership and identity. It brings to life the deep time dreaming that has changed the way many Australians relate to their continent and its enduring, dynamic human history.When John Mulvaney began his fieldwork in January 1956, it was widely believed that the first Australians had arrived on this continent only a few thousand years earlier. In the decades since, Australian history has been pushed back into the dizzying expanse of deep time. The human presence here has been revealed to be more ancient than that of Europe, and the Australian landscape, far from being terra nullius, is now recognised to be cultural as much as natural, imprinted with stories and law and shaped by the hands and firesticks of thousands of generations of Indigenous men and women. The New World has become the Old …

Ancient Civilizations of North America


Edwin Barnhart - 2018
    Now - with the technological advances of modern archaeology and a new perspective on world history - we are finally able to piece together their compelling true stories. In Ancient Civilizations of North America, Professor Edwin Barnhart, Director of the Maya Exploration Center, will open your eyes to a fascinating world you never knew existed - even though you've been living right next to it, or even on top of it, for as long as you've been on the continent.The peoples of ancient North America were exceptionally knowledgeable about their environment, but their intellectual and artistic curiosity went much beyond the immediate need for food and safety. Beginning thousands of years ago, and without benefit of written language, native peoples became mathematicians, construction and soil engineers, astronomers, urban planners, and more. They developed thriving cities, extensive trade routes, canals to bring water to the desert, and earthworks we still marvel over today.In 24 exciting lectures, you'll learn about the vibrant cities of Poverty Point, the first city in North America, built about 3,500 years ago, and Cahokia, the largest city of ancient North America. You'll explore the many ways in which the Chacoan environment provided cultural and religious focus for peoples of the southwest. And you'll learn about the Iroquoian source of some of our most basic "American" values.

Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization


Amanda H. Podany - 2018
    That was indeed what life was like in the earliest settlements, but by 5,000 years ago, life in some places had become much more sophisticated than we might think. Impressive achievements - like stepped temples that towered like mountains, elaborate palaces (some with bathrooms and plumbing), and complex houses - were also a part of life for people who lived in cities that arose thousands of years ago, particularly in the fertile region that emerged along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.Welcome to Mesopotamia, the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia's cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago. In this 24-lecture course taught by Professor Podany, you'll fill in the blanks of your historical understanding as you witness a whole new world opening before your eyes.Riveting stories about kings and priestesses as well as ordinary people from all walks of life transport you back in time, giving you invaluable insights into the history of a landmark region that has long been known as the cradle of civilization.

ESV Archaeology Study Bible


Anonymous - 2018
    2,000+ study notes, 400+ full-color photographs, 200+ maps and diagrams, 15 articles, 4 timelines, and more. The ESV Archaeology Study Bible roots the biblical text in its historical and cultural context, offering readers a framework for better understanding the people, places, and events recorded in Scripture.With editorial oversight from Dr. John Currid (PhD, University of Chicago) and Dr. David Chapman (PhD, University of Cambridge), as well as contributions from a team of field-trained archaeologists, the ESV Archaeology Study Bible assembles a range of modern scholarship--pairing the biblical text with over 2,000 study notes, 400 full-color photographs, 200 maps and diagrams, 200 sidebars, 14 articles, and 4 timelines.These features bring life to the ancient texts, helping readers situate them in their historical context while recognizing the truth that the eternal God became flesh entered human history at a specific time and in a specific place.2,000+ study notes 400+ full-color photographs 200+ maps and diagrams 200+ informational sidebars 14 articles, such as Introduction to the ESV Archaeology Study Bible, "The Dead Sea Scrolls," "Archaeology as an Academic Discipline," "Expository Preaching and Archaeology, and "Daily Life in the Judea-Palestine in New Testament Times" 4 timelines Black-letter text 6 x 9 9-point type (Bible text) 8-point type (Study notes) 2,624 pages Double-column, paragraph format Cross references Footnotes Presentation page

Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt


Chris Naunton - 2018
    Despite the many sensational discoveries in the last century, such as the tomb of Tutankhamun, the tombs of some of the most famous individuals in the ancient world—Imhotep, Nefertiti, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra—have not yet been found.Archeologist Chris Naunton examines the famous pharaohs, their achievements, the bling they might have been buried with, the circumstances in which they were buried, and why those circumstances may have prevented archeologists from finding these tombs.In Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt, Naunton sheds light on the lives of these ancient Egyptians and makes an exciting case for the potential discovery of these lost tombs.

The Sumerians: A History From Beginning to End (Mesopotamia History Book 1)


Hourly History - 2018
     The Sumerians settled in the area known as Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, around five thousand years ago. They produced many fundamental changes to the way in which human societies developed—these were the first city-builders, the first people to use wheeled vehicles, the first methodical astronomers, and the first people to develop a sophisticated written language. The Sumerians also produced art, music, and literature as well as created some of the first professional soldiers the world had ever seen. But for all that we know about the Sumerians, one central mystery remains: We have no idea where the Sumerians came from when they suddenly arrived in Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. Many people have put forward answers ranging from the plausible to the esoteric to the (literally) out of this world, but none of the solutions suggested to date appears to provide a complete or final answer. Inside you will read about... ✓ The Black Heads Arrive ✓ The Conquest of Sumer ✓ Sumerian Society and Religion ✓ Technology and Writing ✓ Music and Art ✓ Mysteries of the Sumerians And much more! When looking at how Homo sapiens have developed from primitive tribes of hunter-gatherers to today’s urban dwellers, the Sumerians represent one of the biggest and most dramatic single periods of change ever achieved by the human race. This is the story of the advanced, ingenious, and mysterious Sumerians.

Living in the Past (Choc Lit)


Jane Lovering - 2018
    But encouraged by her best friend Tabitha, that’s exactly where she finds herself. Professor Duncan McDonald is the site director and his earnest pursuit of digging up the past makes him appear distant and unreachable. But when a woman on the site goes missing, it seems that his own past might be coming back to haunt him once again. As they dig deeper, Duncan and Grace get more than they bargained for – and come to realise that the past is much closer than either of them ever imagined …

Know How We Got Our Bible


Ryan M. Reeves - 2018
    In Know How We Got Our Bible, scholars Ryan Reeves and Charles Hill trace the history of the Bible from its beginnings to the present day, highlighting key figures and demonstrating overall the reliability of Scripture.Reeves and Hill begin with the writing of the Bible's books (including authorship and dating), move into the formation of the Old and New Testaments (including early transmission and the development of the canon), and conclude with several chapters on Bible translation from the Latin Vulgate to the ongoing work of translation around the world today.Written simply and focused on the overarching story of how the Bible came to us today, Know How We Got Our Bible is an excellent introduction for formal students and lay learners alike. Each chapter includes reflection questions and recommended readings for further learning.

Afraid to Fall


Sutton Bishop - 2018
    Needing a break from both her personal and professional life, forensic anthropologist Ariana Antony makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to join a research expedition in Guatemala’s Petén jungle. Haunted by guilt, Dr. Luca Fierro is still healing from a tragic accident. His life revolves around research, teaching, and triathlons. Until…Ari and Luca first meet. Their attraction is explosive. It is also off-limits.Can Ari lower her defenses and let Luca in? Can Luca heal his deep wounds and explore new territory with Ari?What begins as a scientific adventure turns into a life-and-death struggle for survival, forcing them to explore and confront their demons and desires.*** For Mature Audiences Only ***

Temple of the Snake


Nick Thacker - 2018
     A shadowy organization that will kill anyone to find it. A woman who will do whatever it takes to get there first. Josephine Bennett — Jo to everyone but her family and closest friends — is Harvey Bennett's (of the Harvey Bennett Mysteries series) youngest cousin. An archeologist with an attitude, she wants to find what G.E. Kinkaid's diary is pointing to. "A cross between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft." Kinkaid's diary chronicles his incredible expedition into the Temple of the Snake, deep in a cave in Arizona. ...A temple that has Egyptian hieroglyphics and artifacts that could change the history of not only the United States... but of the entire human race. The journal is the key to finding the cave and the temple, but Axel LaFitte and a shadowy organization are willing to kill to get into the temple first. Why? No one knows. Follow Jo's quest to find the temple, figure out what's inside that is worth killing for and stay alive! If you love Raiders of the Lost Ark and National Treasure, you're going to LOVE Jo Bennett!

Building Anglo-Saxon England


John Blair - 2018
    John Blair, one of the world's leading experts on this transformative era in England's early history, explains the origins of towns, manor houses, and castles in a completely new way, and sheds new light on the important functions of buildings and settlements in shaping people's lives during the age of the Venerable Bede and King Alfred.Building Anglo-Saxon England demonstrates how hundreds of recent excavations enable us to grasp for the first time how regionally diverse the built environment of the Anglo-Saxons truly was. Blair identifies a zone of eastern England with access to the North Sea whose economy, prosperity, and timber buildings had more in common with the Low Countries and Scandinavia than the rest of England. The origins of villages and their field systems emerge with a new clarity, as does the royal administrative organization of the kingdom of Mercia, which dominated central England for two centuries.Featuring a wealth of color illustrations throughout, Building Anglo-Saxon England explores how the natural landscape was modified to accommodate human activity, and how many settlements--secular and religious--were laid out with geometrical precision by specialist surveyors. The book also shows how the Anglo-Saxon love of elegant and intricate decoration is reflected in the construction of the living environment, which in some ways was more sophisticated than it would become after the Norman Conquest.

Borrego Moon: A Love on the Faultline Novel


Kat Drennan - 2018
    Will the desert give her a second chance? Seven years after her sister went missing, Lily must do what she swore she never would: Return to the Borrego Moon. Despite the looming specter of bad news, now is the perfect time to get away from her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend who won't take no for an answer and her mother's delusional insistence her sister is alive. Perfect, that is, until she learns the forensic archeologist assigned to recover the remains is the man who destroyed her heart; her family getaway has been ruined by vandals; and someone is watching who wants her gone. Borrego Moon, a Second Chance Romance, is the first in Kat Drennan’s Love on the Faultline series, set in the Anza Borrego Dessert.

God's Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts


Brent Nongbri - 2018
    While biblical scholars have expended much effort in their study of the texts contained within the earliest Christian manuscripts, there has been a surprising lack of interest in thinking about these books as material objects with individual, unique histories. We have too often ignored the ways that the antiquities market obscures our knowledge of the origins of these manuscripts. Through painstaking archival research and detailed studies of the most important collections of early Christian manuscripts, Nongbri vividly shows that the earliest Christian books are more than just carriers of texts or samples of handwriting. They are three-dimensional archaeological artifacts with fascinating stories to tell, if we’re willing to listen.

Etched in Stone: Archeological Discoveries that Prove the Bible


Lisette Bassett-Brody - 2018
     Christians are under attack like never before. “The Bible is just a fairytale.” “There is no physical evidence to support for any of it!” This is the kind of fire today’s Christians come under all the time. Where is the physical proof? Isn’t there anything out there that objectively corroborates the stories of the Bible? Christianity is certainly based on faith, but haven’t you ever thought how wonderful it would be to have something tangible to back up your faith? That is what Etched in Stone: Archeological Discoveries that Prove the Bible is all about. Etched in Stone showcases 70 archeological discoveries that prove the Bible is historically accurate and that Christianity is much more than just blind faith. Complete with full-color photographs, maps, and a glossary, there is hard evidence to equip you to make a case to your friends and neighbors that the events in the Bible really happened. Now you can have something tangible to show that • The Israelites in Egypt really did have to make bricks without straw • Jericho really was destroyed when the walls all fell down • King David really did exist • Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t just a made-up king • The Philistines really were the Israelites’ foes • Pontius Pilate really was the Roman prefect in Israel at the time of Jesus • And much more. Etched in Stone offers the reader a clear, concise summary of the biblical events surrounding each artifact. The maps at the back show where in the world the artifact was discovered. You will begin to realize that the stories of the Bible are neither fictional nor allegorical. Instead, they are historical and factual events which occurred in real time and in real places. It gives you something to point to that displays a portion of the physical evidence that God, in His wisdom, chose to leave behind.

Impossible Truths: Amazing Evidence of Extraterrestrial Contact


Erich von Däniken - 2018
    • Assess for yourself the stunning visual evidence presented in some 200 photographs. • Examine previously unpublished testimony from expert informants. • Discover new research undertaken by von Däniken after the opening up of previously inaccessible regions, such as the jungle city “Buritaca 200” in Colombia.

The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations


Richard Salomon - 2018
    In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas in the second century CE. Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about twenty years ago, almost nothing was known about its literature. The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.

The First Farmers of Europe: An Evolutionary Perspective


Stephen Shennan - 2018
    In this book, Stephen Shennan presents the latest research on the spread of farming by archaeologists, geneticists and other archaeological scientists. He shows that it resulted from a population expansion from present-day Turkey. Using ideas from the disciplines of human behavioural ecology and cultural evolution, he explains how this process took place. The expansion was not the result of 'population pressure' but of the opportunities for increased fertility by colonising new regions that farming offered. The knowledge and resources for the farming 'niche' were passed on from parents to their children. However, Shennan demonstrates that the demographic patterns associated with the spread of farming resulted in population booms and busts, not continuous expansion.

A Study of Southwestern Archaeology


Stephen H Lekson - 2018
    Instead, he advocates an entirely new approach—one that separates archaeological thought in the Southwest from its anthropological home and moves to more historical ways of thinking.      Focusing on the enigmatic monumental center at Chaco Canyon, the book provides a historical analysis of how Southwest archaeology confined itself, how it can break out of those confines, and how it can proceed into the future. Lekson suggests that much of what we believe about the ancient Southwest should be radically revised. Looking past old preconceptions brings a different Chaco Canyon into view: more than an eleventh-century Pueblo ritual center, Chaco was a political capital with nobles and commoners, a regional economy, and deep connections to Mesoamerica. By getting the history right, a very different science of the ancient Southwest becomes possible and archaeology can be reinvented as a very different discipline.Notes https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/wp-con...

Lost Ancient Technology Of Egypt: Volume 2


Brien Foerster - 2018
    What we know of the dynastic people largely comes to us from Greek writings and the relatively modern archaeological field called Egyptology. What these academics have largely either ignored and or recognized is that the dynastic Egyptians did not have the capability to quarry, transport or efficiently shape hard stones like basalt, granite and diorite. This tells us that the massive obelisks, stone boxes, pyramid interiors and other megalithic works had to precede the dynastic people and also had to have been made using very advanced high technology, in some cases superior to what we have in the 21st century. This book comes from 6 yearly visits to Egypt, from the Aswan quarry in the south to the Nile Delta in the north chronicling the massive and complex mysterious works of a master civilization that history has forgotten, and historians ignore. The stone shows us the advanced tool marks left behind, the precision surfaces and vast distances that these monuments, some weighing several hundred tons were moved from the quarries. You will also see extensive evidence that whoever these great builders were, they were hit by one or more massive cataclysmic events that likely wiped them off the pages of history. Yet their great constructions remain for us to study and wonder about.

I am Ashurbanipal: King of the World, King of Assyria


Gareth Brereton - 2018
    He ruled from his massive capital at Nineveh, in present-day Iraq, where temples and palaces adorned with brilliantly carved sculptures dominated the citadel mound, and an elaborate system of canals brought water to his pleasure gardens and game parks. Ashurbanipal, proud of his scholarship, assembled the greatest library in existence during his reign. Guided by this knowledge, he defined the course of the empire and asserted his claim to be "King of the World".Beautifully illustrated, this book will feature images of objects excavated from all corners of the empire and will highlight the British Museum’s unrivalled collection of Assyrian reliefs, which bring to life the tumultuous story of Ashurbanipal’s reign: his conquest of Egypt, the crushing defeat of his rebellious brother, and his ruthless campaign against the Elamite rulers of southwest Iran.Published to accompany a once-in-a-generation exhibition at the British Museum, I am Ashurbanipal gives a fascinating account of the Assyrian Empire told through the story of its last great ruler, and will highlight the importance of preserving Iraq’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.

Pocket Museum: Ancient Egypt


Campbell Price - 2018
    Pocket Museum: Ancient Egypt answers these questions by examining a wide range of significant objects, beginning in around 4000 BCE from all spheres of Ancient Egyptian life. The compelling and informative text discusses some of the best- known masterpieces of Egyptian art—including the iconic mummy mask of Tutankhamun and the beautiful painted plaster bust of Nefertiti—and contextualizes them in relation to lesser-known works.Pocket Museum: Ancient Egypt provides a captivating overview of 5,000 years of civilization on the banks of the Nile, but it is also a fascinating history of collecting and methods of interpretation. How have the fashions of certain periods and collectors affected the ways in which Ancient Egypt is represented in museums and presented to the public, and what can these objects tell us about the people who made and commissioned them?

Before Yellowstone: Native American Archaeology in the National Park


Douglas H. MacDonald - 2018
    Yet more than a century of archaeological research shows that the wild landscape has a long history of human presence. In fact, Native American people have hunted bison and bighorn sheep, fished for cutthroat trout, and gathered bitterroot and camas bulbs here for at least 11,000 years, and twenty-six tribes claim cultural association with Yellowstone today.In Before Yellowstone, Douglas MacDonald tells the story of these early people as revealed by archaeological research into nearly 2,000 sites--many of which he helped survey and excavate. He describes and explains the significance of archaeological areas such as the easy-to-visit Obsidian Cliff, where hunters obtained volcanic rock to make tools and for trade, and Yellowstone Lake, a traditional place for gathering edible plants. MacDonald helps readers understand the archaeological methods used and the limits of archaeological knowledge. From Clovis points associated with mammoth hunting to stone circles marking the sites of tipi lodges, Before Yellowstone brings to life a fascinating story of human engagement with this stunning landscape.

Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land


Rebecca Robinson - 2018
    On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump shrank the monument by 85 percent. A land rich in human history and unsurpassed in natural beauty, Bears Ears is at the heart of a national debate over the future of public lands. Through the stories of twenty individuals, and informed by interviews with more than seventy people, Voices from Bears Ears captures the passions of those who fought to protect Bears Ears and those who opposed the monument as a federal “land grab” that threatened to rob them of their economic future. It gives voice to those who have felt silenced, ignored, or disrespected. It shares stories of those who celebrate a growing movement by Indigenous peoples to protect ancestral lands and culture, and those who speak devotedly about their Mormon heritage. What unites these individuals is a reverence for a homeland that defines their cultural and spiritual identity, and therein lies hope for finding common ground. Journalist Rebecca Robinson provides context and perspective for understanding the ongoing debate and humanizes the abstract issues at the center of the debate. Interwoven with these stories are photographs of the interviewees and the land they consider sacred by photographer Stephen E. Strom. Through word and image, Robinson and Strom allow us to both hear and see the people whose lives are intertwined with this special place.

Desert


Jack Dolan - 2018
    A doomsday weapon was lost under its shifting sands, buried, but never destroyed. A brazen attempt to assassinate a British archaeologist in Cairo sends former Military Intelligence Officer Roan Mercer and his team of private security contractors on a mission to track down the would-be killers. It soon becomes clear to Mercer that the attack is no random crime, but merely one part of a much more nefarious plot involving an old diary, a fanatical warlord, and a plot to launch the world into an all-consuming war. And behind it all, a shadowy organisation whose only interest is securing wealth and power at all costs. Desert is the first Roan Mercer adventure.

Tutankamun: Treasures Of The Golden Pharaoh, the Centennial Celebration


Zahi Hawass - 2018
    

The Human Face of God: In the Holy Veil of Manoppello


Paul Badde - 2018
    

Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games


Andrew Reinhard - 2018
    Video games also serve as archaeological sites in the traditional sense as a place, in which evidence of past activity is preserved and has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology, and which represents a part of the archaeological record. This book serves as a general introduction to "archaeogaming"; it describes the intersection of archaeology and video games and applies archaeological method and theory into understanding game-spaces as both site and artifact.

Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past


Jeb J. Card - 2018
    This fantastical image has little to do with day-to-day science, yet it is deeply connected to why people are fascinated by the ancient past. By exploring the development of archaeology, this book helps us understand what archaeology is and why it matters.In Spooky Archaeology author Jeb J. Card follows a trail of clues left by adventurers and professional archaeologists that guides the reader through haunted museums, mysterious hieroglyphic inscriptions, fragments of a lost continent that never existed, and deep into an investigation of magic and murder. Card unveils how and why archaeology continues to mystify and why there is an ongoing fascination with exotic artifacts and eerie practices.

Etched in Stone: Archeological Discoveries that Prove the Bible


Lisette Bassett-Brody - 2018
    Etched in Stone showcases more than 60 archeological discoveries that prove the Bible is historically accurate and that Christianity is much more than just blind faith. Now you can have something tangible to show that the Israelites really did have to make bricks without straw, there really was a city called Nazareth, Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t just a made-up king, Pontius Pilate did rule at the time of Christ, and much more.  Etched in Stone offers the reader a clear, concise summary of the biblical events surrounding each artifact. Maps at the back show where in the world the artifact was discovered letting you know the stories of the Bible are neither fictional nor allegorical.

Daily Life in Late Antiquity


Kristina Sessa - 2018
    Each of the six topical chapters highlight historical 'everyday' people, spaces, and objects, whose lives operate as windows into the late ancient economy, social relations, military service, religious systems, cultural habits, and the material environment. However, it is nevertheless grounded in late ancient primary sources - many of which are available in accessible English translations - and the most recent, cutting-edge scholarship by specialists in fields such as archaeology, social history, religious studies, and environmental history. From Manichean rituals to military service, gladiatorial combat to garbage collection, patrician households to peasant families, Daily Life in Late Antiquity introduces readers to the world of late antiquity from the bottom up.

The Architecture of Power: Great Palaces of the Ancient World


Steven L. Tuck - 2018
    A symbol of authority and prosperity. The center of a complex nexus of social and cultural forces. A palace is all of these and more. Palaces are mirrors of the societies that created them and the rulers that occupied them.

Our Human Story


Louise Humphrey - 2018
    Our Human Story is a guide to our fossil relatives, from what may be the earliest hominins such as Sahelanthropus, dating back six to seven million years, through to our own species, Homo sapiens.Over the past 25 years there has been an explosion of species’ names in the story of human evolution, due both to new discoveries and to a growing understanding of the diversity that existed in the past.Drawing on this new information, as well as their own considerable expertise and practical experience, Louise Humphrey and Chris Stringer explain in clear and accessible language what each of the key species represents, and how it contributes to our knowledge of human evolution.

In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City


Yosef Garfinkel - 2018
    But no certain archaeological finds from the period of his reign or of the kingdom he ruled over have ever been uncovered—until now.In this groundbreaking account, the excavators of Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David fought Goliath, reveal how seven years of exhaustive investigation have uncovered a city dating to the time of David— the late eleventh and early tenth century BCE—surrounded by massive fortifications with impressive gates and a clear urban plan, as well as an abundance of finds that tell us much about the inhabitants. Discussing the link between the Bible, archaeology, and history In the Footsteps of King David explains the significance of these discoveries and how they shed new light on David’s kingdom. The topic is at the center of a controversy that has raged for decades, but these findings successfully challenge scholars disputing the historicity of the Bible and the chronology of the events recounted in it.

Ancient Wonders - Then Now


Lonely Planet Kids - 2018
    In this interactive and fact-filled tour, kids will discover all about each man-made marvel, what it looks like today, and its influence on modern life.Then, by opening the gatefolds and lifting flaps, they'll find out how these wonders were built, what they once looked like, and their role in ancient society. Kids will experience gladiatorial combat in Rome, a Chinese army built from clay, Cleopatra's sunken underwater palace, and lots more.Historical sites featured:Angkor WatMachu PicchuThe Roman BathsThe ParthenonThe ColosseumStonehengePetraThe Great Pyramid of GizaThe Terracotta ArmyCleopatra's PalaceChichen ItzaEaster IslandAbout Lonely Planet Kids: Come explore! Let's start an adventure. Lonely Planet Kids excites and educates children about the amazing world around them. Combining astonishing facts, quirky humour and eye-catching imagery, we ignite their curiosity and encourage them to discover more about our planet. Every book draws on our huge team of global experts to help share our continual fascination with what makes the world such a diverse and magnificent place - inspiring children at home and in school.

A Shadow Away


Joan K. Lacy - 2018
    The statue disappears before he can verify his findings, and Andrew must rely on private detective Alex Cort to recover the prized artifact.The two men find themselves caught up in a dangerous race against a corrupt colleague and a ruthless art thief who will stop at nothing to claim the statue for themselves.As each new clue leads them up the Amazon River and deeper into the jungle, they soon discover things are not quite what they appear. When all seems lost, the mystical powers of a beautiful woman guide them out of danger and ultimately to the ruins of an ancient city, where Andrew must right the wrongs he committed in a past life and Alex discovers a secret of his own.Fans of magical realism authors like Madeleine L’Engle's A Wrinkle in Time; Lisa Tuttle's The Silver Bough; or Sonya Deanna Terry's Epiphany, will love the world of Alex Cort's first adventure. If you're a fan of A Wrinkle in Time, Indiana Jones, and a quest like the Lord of the Rings, the race to the finish will have you clamoring for more.*Meet The Characters here: http://joanklacy.com/alex-cort-advent...

Traces of War: The Archaeology of the First World War


Birger Stichelbaut - 2018
    After the war, the population returned, faced with the enormous challenge of rebuilding the region and making it inhabitable again. All traces of the war were wiped out, leaving only what was left in the ground - what is now the archaeological soil archive. Throughout the Westhoek, 30 centimetres beneath the ground and invisible to the naked eye, the archaeological remains of the war lie dormant. This book, the first of its kind, is a compendium of the findings of ten years of First World War archaeology in Belgium. Clearly written, it looks at many spectacular finds resulting from excavations at more than 150 sites in the front-line region, and also delves into the unexpected role of the landscape as the last witness of the war. These material remains from military camps, hospitals and trenches illustrate day-to-day life at the front, while also looking at the personal fates of several of the fallen soldiers - and many horses. The text is supported by a wealth of visual data, including photographs of excavated artefacts, maps, aerial photographs and other archive material.

Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations (Classics of Indian Buddhism)


Salomon Richard - 2018
    In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas in the second century CE. Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about twenty years ago, almost nothing was known about its literature. The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.

Archaeology at the Site of the Museum of the American Revolution: A Tale of Two Taverns and the Growth of Philadelphia


Rebecca Yamin - 2018
    The excavation that began in the summer of 2014 yielded treasures in the trash: unearthed privy pits provided remarkable finds from a mid-eighteenth-century tavern to relics from a button factory dating to the early twentieth century. These artifacts are described and analyzed by urban archaeologist Rebecca Yamin in Archaeology at the Site of the Museum of the American Revolution.Yamin, lead archaeologist on the dig, catalogues items—including earthenware plates and jugs, wig curlers, clay pipes, and liquor bottles—to tell the stories of their owners and their roles in Philadelphia history. As she uncovers the history of the people as well as their houses, taverns, and buildings that were once on the site, she explains  that by looking at these remains, we see the story of the growth of Philadelphia from its colonial beginnings to the Second World War.Archaeology at the Site of the Museum of the American Revolution is a perfect keepsake for armchair archaeologists, introductory students, and history buffs.

Beyond The Black Sea: The Mysterious Paracas Of Peru


Brien Foerster - 2018
    In the driest part of the country which receives less than half an inch of rain per year they were enormously successful at agriculture and fishing and were very advanced as regards textile production, had the potters wheel and constructed ships of totora reed with cotton cloth sails. The most intriguing characteristic of these Paracas people was that they had elongated heads, and through my research I can state that the earliest of them, especially their nobility were born with elongated skulls; cranial deformation of their infants being performed later due to genetic mixing with normal local Homo sapiens sapiens. They also had genetically red hair, and thus were most likely light skinned and may have had green or blue eyes; thus, they were not Native Americans. Recent and extensive DNA testing shows us that they very well could have migrated from the Black Sea area as much as 3000 years ago, and sought refuge from invasion and oppression. Academia has either ignored or suppressed this information, and that is why I present it to you here.

The Caddos and Their Ancestors: Archaeology and the Native People of Northwest Louisiana


Jeffrey S Girard - 2018
    Girard traces native human habitation in northwest Louisiana from the end of the last Ice Age, through the formation of the Caddo culture in the tenth century BCE, to the early nineteenth century. Employing the results of recent scientific investigations, The Caddos and Their Ancestors depicts a distinct and dynamic population spanning from precolonial times to the dawn of the modern era.Girard grounds his research in the material evidence that defined Caddo culture long before the appearance of Europeans in the late seventeenth century. Reliance solely on documented observations by explorers and missionaries--which often reflect a Native American population with a static past--propagates an incomplete account of history. By using specific archaeological techniques, Girard reveals how the Caddos altered their lives to cope with ever-changing physical and social environments across thousands of years. This illuminating approach contextualizes the remnants of houses, mounds, burials, tools, ornaments, and food found at Native American sites in northwest Louisiana. Through ample descriptions and illustrations of these archaeological finds, Girard deepens understanding of the social organization, technology, settlement, art, and worldviews of this resilient society.This long-overdue examination of an often-overlooked cultural force provides a thorough yet concise history of the 14,000 years the Caddo people and their predecessors survived and thrived in what is now Louisiana.

Rock, Bone, and Ruin: An Optimist's Guide to the Historical Sciences


Adrian Currie - 2018
    How has this been possible, given that the evidence they have to work with offers mere traces of the past? In Rock, Bone, and Ruin, Adrian Currie explains that these scientists are "methodological omnivores," with a variety of strategies and techniques at their disposal, and that this gives us every reason to be optimistic about their capacity to uncover truths about prehistory. Creative and opportunistic paleontologists, for example, discovered and described a new species of prehistoric duck-billed platypus from a single fossilized tooth. Examining the complex reasoning processes of historical science, Currie also considers philosophical and scientific reflection on the relationship between past and present, the nature of evidence, contingency, and scientific progress.Currie draws on varied examples from across the historical sciences, from Mayan ritual sacrifice to giant Mesozoic fleas to Mars's mysterious watery past, to develop an account of the nature of, and resources available to, historical science. He presents two major case studies: the emerging explanation of sauropod size, and the "snowball earth" hypothesis that accounts for signs of glaciation in Neoproterozoic tropics. He develops the Ripple Model of Evidence to analyze "unlucky circumstances" in scientific investigation; examines and refutes arguments for pessimism about the capacity of the historical sciences, defending the role of analogy and arguing that simulations have an experiment-like function. Currie argues for a creative, open-ended approach, "empirically grounded" speculation.

The Goths


David Gwynn - 2018
    Ostrogothic and Visigothic kings ruled over Italy and Spain, dominating early medieval Europe. Yet after the last Gothic kingdom fell more than a thousand years ago, the Goths disappeared as an independent people. Over the centuries that followed, as traces of Gothic civilization vanished, its people came to be remembered as both barbaric destroyers and heroic champions of liberty. In this engaging history, David M. Gwynn brings together the interwoven stories of the original Goths and the diverse Gothic heritage, a heritage that continues to shape our modern world. From the ancient migrations to contemporary Goth culture, through debates over democratic freedom and European nationalism, and drawing on writers from Shakespeare to Bram Stoker, Gwynn explores the ever-widening gulf between the Goths of history and the popular imagination. Historians, students of architecture and literature, and general readers alike will learn something new about this great lost civilization.

Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts


Jonathan S. Greer - 2018
    With expertise in various subdisciplines of Old Testament backgrounds, the authors illuminate the cultural, social, and historical contexts of the world behind the Old Testament. They introduce readers to a wide range of background materials, covering history, geography, archaeology, and ancient Near Eastern textual and iconographic studies.Meant to be used alongside traditional literature-based canonical surveys, this one-stop introduction to Old Testament backgrounds fills a gap in typical introduction to the Bible courses. It contains over 100 illustrations, including photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, and tables, which will facilitate its use in the classroom.

Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon


Cheryl Finley - 2018
    First published by British abolitionists in 1788, it exposed this widespread commercial practice for what it really was--shocking, immoral, barbaric, unimaginable. Printed as handbills and broadsides, the image Cheryl Finley has termed the slave ship icon was easily reproduced, and by the end of the eighteenth century it was circulating by the tens of thousands around the Atlantic rim. Committed to Memory provides the first in-depth look at how this artifact of the fight against slavery became an enduring symbol of black resistance, identity, and remembrance.Finley traces how the slave ship icon became a powerful tool in the hands of British and American abolitionists, and how its radical potential was rediscovered in the twentieth century by black artists, activists, writers, filmmakers, and curators. Finley offers provocative new insights into the works of Amiri Baraka, Romare Bearden, Betye Saar, and many others. She demonstrates how the icon was transformed into poetry, literature, visual art, sculpture, performance, and film--and became a medium through which diasporic Africans have reasserted their common identity and memorialized their ancestors.Beautifully illustrated, Committed to Memory features works from around the world, taking readers from the United States and England to West Africa and the Caribbean. It shows how contemporary black artists and their allies have used this iconic eighteenth-century engraving to reflect on the trauma of slavery and come to terms with its legacy.

The Cygnus Key: The Denisovan Legacy, Göbekli Tepe, and the Birth of Egypt


Andrew Collins - 2018
    Remarkably, the three main pyramids at Giza in Egypt, including the Great Pyramid, align with the same three stars. But where did this ancient veneration of Cygnus come from? Showing that Cygnus was once seen as a portal to the sky-world, Andrew Collins reveals how, at both sites, the attention toward this star group is linked with sound acoustics and the use of musical intervals “discovered” thousands of years later by the Greek mathematician Pythagoras. Collins traces these ideas as well as early advances in human technology and cosmology back to the Altai-Baikal region of Russian Siberia, where the cult of the swan flourished as much as 20,000 years ago. He shows how these concepts, including a complex numeric system based on long-term eclipse cycles, are derived from an extinct human population known as the Denisovans. Not only were they of exceptional size--the ancient giants of myth--but archaeological discoveries show that this previously unrecognized human population achieved an advanced level of culture, including the use of high-speed drilling techniques and the creation of musical instruments. The author explains how the stars of Cygnus coincided with the turning point of the heavens at the moment the Denisovan legacy was handed to the first human societies in southern Siberia 45,000 years ago, catalyzing beliefs in swan ancestry and an understanding of Cygnus as the source of cosmic creation. It also led to powerful ideas involving the Milky Way’s Dark Rift, viewed as the Path of Souls and the sky-road shamans travel to reach the sky-world. He explores how their sound technology and ancient cosmologies were carried into the West, flowering first at Göbekli Tepe and then later in Egypt’s Nile Valley. Collins shows how the ancient belief in Cygnus as the source of creation can also be found in many other cultures around the world, further confirming the role played by the Denisovan legacy in the genesis of human civilization.

Archaeology, Geo-Science, and the Holocaust: Finding Rhodes and Vilna


Richard A. Freund - 2018
    This Holocaust site where more than 100,000 people perished is usually remembered for the terrible devastation that happened there. In the midst of this devastation, the discovery of an escape tunnel reminds us of the determination and tenacity of the people in the camp, and the hope they continued to carry. Archaeology, Geo-Science, and the Holocaust tells the story of this escape from the Ponar camp--from survivor records to the search for evidence to confirm the story. Most of the Jews at Ponar came from the nearby city of Vilna, which Napoleon called "the Jerusalem of the North" for the rich Jewish culture that flourished there. This book introduces readers to life in this "other Jerusalem," tells of the awful destruction of the Holocaust, and describes the dramatic escape and what the remaining archaeological evidence tells us about this other Jerusalem and those who lived there. Archaeology, Geo-Science, and the Holocaust focuses on the people who built the other Jerusalem, why they came, how they built a successful city, and how they persevered in the face of brutality. Freund tells a powerful story of hope and what we can learn from the archaeological evidence left behind.

Ten Thousand Years of Inequality: The Archaeology of Wealth Differences


Timothy A. Kohler - 2018
    The authors are archaeologists who have adapted the Gini index, a statistical measure of wealth distribution often used by economists to measure contemporary inequality, and applied it to house-size distributions over time and around the world. Clear descriptions of methods and assumptions serve as a model for other archaeologists and historians who want to document past patterns of wealth disparity. The chapters cover a variety of ancient cases, including early hunter-­gatherers, farmer villages, and agrarian states and empires. The final chapter synthesizes and compares the results. Among the new and notable outcomes, the authors report a systematic difference between higher levels of inequality in ancient Old World societies and lower levels in their New World counterparts. For the first time, archaeology allows humanity’s deep past to provide an account of the early manifestations of wealth inequality around the world. Contributors Nicholas Ames Alleen Betzenhauser Amy Bogaard Samuel Bowles Meredith S. Chesson Abhijit Dandekar Timothy J. Dennehy Robert D. Drennan Laura J. Ellyson Deniz Enverova Ronald K. Faulseit Gary M. Feinman Mattia Fochesato Thomas A. Foor Vishwas D. Gogte Timothy A. Kohler Ian Kuijt Chapurukha M. Kusimba Mary-Margaret Murphy Linda M. Nicholas Rahul C. Oka Matthew Pailes Christian E. Peterson Anna Marie Prentiss Michael E. Smith Elizabeth C. Stone Amy Styring Jade Whitlam

The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha‘ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk (The Driftless Connecticut Series)


Nick Bellantoni - 2018
    The moving stories of two Indigenous men and their repatriations

Warfare in Bronze Age Society


Christian Horn - 2018
    The Bronze Age represents the global emergence of a militarized society with a martial culture, materialized in a package of new efficient weapons that remained in use for millennia to come. Warfare became institutionalized and professionalized during the Bronze Age, and a new class of warriors made their appearance. Evidence for this development is reflected in the ostentatious display of weapons in burials and hoards, and in iconography, from rock art to palace frescoes. These new manifestations of martial culture constructed the warrior as a 'Hero' and warfare as 'Heroic'. The case studies, written by an international team of scholars, discuss these and other new aspects of Bronze Age warfare. Moreover, the essays show that warriors also facilitated mobility and innovation as new weapons would have quickly spread from the Mediterranean to northern Europe.

The Archaic Southwest: Foragers in an Arid Land


Bradley J. Vierra - 2018
    In recent years, however, the amount of data on the Archaic period has grown exponentially due to the magnitude of cultural resource management projects in this region. The Archaic Southwest: Foragers in an Arid Land is the first volume to synthesize this new data. The book begins with a history of the Archaic in the Four Corners region, followed by a compilation and interpretation of paleoenvironmental data gathered in the American Southwest. The next twelve chapters, each written by a regional expert, provide a variety of current research perspectives. The final two chapters present broad syntheses of the Southwest: the first addresses the initial spread of maize cultivation and the second considers present and future research directions. The reader will be astounded by the amount of research that has been conducted and how all this information can be woven together to form a long-term picture of hunter-gatherer life.

The Coming of the Mongols


David O. Morgan - 2018
    As this new volume in The Idea of Iran series suggests, sudden conquest from the east was preceded by events closer to home which laid the groundwork for the later Mongol success. In the mid-twelfth century the Seljuq empire rapidly unravelled, its vast provinces fragmenting into a patchwork of mostly short-lived principalities and kingdoms. In time, new powers emerged, such as the pagan Qara-Khitai in Central Asia; the Khwarazmshahs in Khwarazm, Khorosan and much of central Iran; and the Ghurids to the southeast. Yet all were blown away by the Mongols, who faced no resistance from a sufficiently muscular imperial competitor and whose influx was viewed by contemporaries as cataclysmic. Distinguished scholars including David O Morgan and the late C E Bosworth here discuss the dynasties that preceded the invasion – and aspects of their literature, poetry and science – as well as the conquerors themselves and their rule in Iran from 1219 to 1256.

Trail of Tears: A Captivating Guide to the Forced Removals of Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations


Captivating History - 2018
     Having helped settlers for hundreds of years, five Native American tribes found it increasingly more difficult to relate to and trust the country that had once acted as their allies. The native peoples had fought alongside the Americans to gain freedom from England, the nation that the colonists deemed oppressive and unfair. The native peoples acted as benefactors and teachers, helping the colonists to gain an advantage against an army that was far superior to the small forces that the colonists could muster. The new country owed a lot of its existence to the native peoples, yet the settlers, who were of European descent, did not see it that way. The following topics will be covered in this book: The Early Relationship The Growth of Manifest Destiny The Discovery of Gold and the Indian Removal Act Peaceful Protests and a Push for Recognition The People Versus the President The Militia Force Removal The Trail of Tears Stories of Pain, Loss, and Love Making a New Home And a Great Deal More You Don't Want to Miss Out On! Scroll to the top and download the book now to learn more about the Trail of Tears