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Archaeology & You

Reading About Archaeology

The Adventure of Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1989. A general introduction to archaeological methods, techniques, history, and findings by an experienced archaeologist who is the author of many popular books on archaeological topics.

American Archaeology Past and Future. David J. Meltzer, Don D. Fowler, and Jeremy A. Sabloff, editors, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1986. A collection of articles by leading archaeologists on various aspects of the discipline.

America's Ancient Cities. Gene S. Stuart, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1988. Excavations and laboratory analysis reveal new information about pre-Columbian settlements, from ancient villages of Alaska to urban capitals of Mesoamerica.

Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent. Brian M. Fagan, Thames and Hudson, New York, 1991. A well-illustrated introduction to North American archaeology.

The Archaeology of North America. Dean R. Snow, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 1989. Introduction to prehistoric archaeological sites and ancient cultures of North America, for ages ten and up.

Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn, Thames and Hudson, New York, 1991. A wide-ranging introduction to archaeology with examples from around the world.

Atlas of Ancient America. Michael Coe, Dean Snow, and Elizabeth Benson, Facts on File Publications, New York, 1986. Provides summaries of major archaeological sites, time periods, and areas of the Americas.

Digging to the Past: Excavations in Ancient Lands. W. John Hackwell, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1986. An introduction to modern archaeological methods, techniques, and data told through the story of an archaeological investigation in the Middle East, for elementary school readers.

Discovering Our Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology. Wendy Ashmore and Robert J. Sharer, Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View, California, 1988. A summary of the basic principles, methods, techniques, and issues in contemporary scientific archaeology.

Diving to the Past: Recovering Ancient Wrecks. W. John Hackwell, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1988. An introduction to marine archaeology for elementary school readers.

Ethics and Values in Archaeology. Ernestene Green, editor, Free Press, New York, 1984. A series of articles by noted archaeologists on a variety of contemporary issues.

Fantastic Archaeology. Stephen Williams, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1991. Chronicles the fantastic, nonscientific solutions to ancient mysteries proposed by so-called archaeologists with more imagination than scientific expertise.

Footsteps: Nine Archaeological Journeys of Romance and Discovery. Bruce Norman, Salem House, Topsfield, Massachusetts, 1988. A companion to the series on public television about historical archaeological discoveries and the development of early archaeological methods and techniques.

The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America. Brian M. Fagan, Thames and Hudson, New York, 1987. The story of the first Americans and the archaeological search for them. The book provides a history of how interpretations have changed since the European discovery of America.

Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization. Roger G. Kennedy, Free Press, New York, 1994. The author, a historian and Director of the National Park Service, summarizes early historical interpretations of ancient Indian mounds in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys and provides a contemporary interpretation of those sites and their value.

A History of American Archaeology. Gordon Randolph Willey and Jeremy A. Sabloff, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1980. A detailed history of the intellectual development of archaeology as a profession in America.

I Can Be an Archaeologist. Robert B. Pickering, Children's Press, Chicago, 1987. A short introduction to the science by an archaeologist and physical anthropologist, for beginning readers.

In Pursuit of the Past: Decoding the Archaeological Record. Lewis R. Binford, Thames and Hudson, New York, 1983. A description of how archaeological data are interpreted using modern theories, methods, and techniques by an archaeologist who led in the development of new approaches during the 1960s.

In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life. James Deetz, Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, 1977. Archaeological method revealed through examples from historical archaeological projects and sites.

Martin's Hundred. Ivor Noel Hume, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1982. A firsthand account of one of the most important excavations in American historical archaeology: the discovery of a lost plantation and the most extensive evidence available of English colonial life in early 17th-century Virginia.

Mound Builders of Ancient America: The Archeology of a Myth. Robert Silverberg, Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio, 1968. A detailed yet very readable history of the discovery and changing interpretations of the ancient Indian mounds of the Midwest, Southeast, and Mississippi River Valley.

Mysteries of Mankind. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1992. An introduction to the scientific solutions of puzzles posed by famous ancient ruins.

The New Archaeology and the Ancient Maya. Jeremy A. Sabloff, Scientific American Library, distributed by W. H. Freeman, New York, 1990. A beautifully illustrated description of how recent advances in archaeological method and theory have led to the modern interpretation of the ancient Maya civilization.

Out of the Past. David L. Webster, Susan Toby Evans, and Williams T. Sanders, Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View, California, 1993. Answers the question "What is archaeology?" using examples from Old and New World sites. Companion to an eight-hour video series.

The Practical Archaeologist: How We Know What We Know About the Past. Jane Mcintosh, Facts on File Publications, New York, 1986. A well-illustrated presentation about archaeological methods and techniques with short summaries of specific archaeological sites or topics mainly in Great Britain, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

Protecting the Past. George S. Smith and John E. Ehrenhard, editors, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 1991. Includes articles by 48 experts on protecting, preserving, and interpreting archaeological sites.

Secrets From the Past. Gene S. Stuart, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1979. An introduction to archaeology through the reconstruction of activities and events likely to have occurred at selected ancient sites.

Time Detectives: How Archaeologists Use Technology to Recapture the Past. Brian M. Fagan, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1995. Well-written summaries of a dozen modern archaeological investigations illustrating how contemporary archaeologists reconstruct what happened in the past.

The Young Scientist Book of Archaeology. Barbara Cook and Sturan Reid, EDC Publishing, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1987. A lively and colorfully illustrated introduction to archaeological methods for upper elementary and junior high school grades.

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Last Modified: Wednesday March 24 2004