A Brief History of Archaeology: Classical Times to the Twenty-First Century

Description

A Brief History of Archaeology details early digs and covers the development of archaeology as a multidisciplinary science, the modernization of meticulous excavation methods during the twentieth century, and the important discoveries that led to new ideas about the evolution of human societies. Spanning more than two thousand years of history, this short account of the discipline of archaeology tells of spectacular discoveries and the colorful lives of the archaeologists who made them, as well as of changing theories and current debates in the field. Early research at Stonehenge in Britain, burial mound excavations, and the exploration of Herculaneum and Pompeii culminate in the nineteenth-century debates over human antiquity and the theory of evolution. The book then moves on to the discovery of the world’s pre-industrial civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Central America; the excavations at Troy and Mycenae; the Royal Burials at Ur, Iraq; and the dramatic finding of the pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. The book concludes by considering recent sensational discoveries and exploring the debates over processual and post-processual theory that have intrigued archaeologists in the early twenty-first century. The third edition updates this respected introduction to one of the science’s most fascinating disciplines. A Brief History of Archaeology is a vivid narrative that will engage readers who are new to the discipline, drawing on the authors’ extensive experience in the field and classroom. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments Authors’ Note Major Events in the History of Archaeology from A.D. 1600 1 “The Backward-Looking Curiosity” Beginnings A Past “Five Days Elder Than Ourselves” British Antiquarians Scandinavian Antiquarians Antiquarian Societies Stone Tools and Scriptures Herculaneum and Pompeii Egypt and Mesopotamia Summary Guide to Further Reading 2 The Antiquity of Humankind Stratigraphic Geology Humans and Extinct Animals The Scientific Establishment Takes Notice From Skepticism to Acceptance Evolution and Natural Selection: Human Progress Darwin Publishes On the Origin of Species Reactions to the Theory Summary Guide to Further Reading 3 Pharaohs and Assyrians Napoleon in Egypt The Decipherment of Hieroglyphs Looters and Archaeologists Discovering the Assyrians Layard at Nimrud and Kuyunjik The Decipherment of Cuneiform Layard Excavates a Palace Summary Guide to Further Reading 4 Human Progress and the Three Ages The Enlightenment and Human Progress The Barrow Diggers The Native Americans The Three Ages Three Ages Proven The Swiss Lake Dwellings Cro-Magnon Inevitable Human Progress? Cultural Evolution and Human Progress Summary Guide to Further Reading 5 Early American Archaeology The Discovery of Ancient Maya Civilization The Moundbuilders of North America Science, the First Americans, and Moundbuilders The Beginnings of Southwestern Archaeology Summary Guide to Further Reading 6 Scriptures and Civilizations Underground Jerusalem The Flood Tablets The Sumerian Civilization Heinrich Schliemann: Troy and Mycenae The Beginnings of Scientific Excavation Flinders Petrie and the Small Object The Discovery of Minoan Civilization Summary Guide to Further Reading 7 The Birth of Culture History Lubbock’s Prehistoric Times Oscar Montelius and the First Culture History Stratigraphic Archaeology and Culture Change in the Americas Diffusionism Alfred Kidder and Pecos Mesoamerica and the Andes Summary Guide to Further Reading 8 Egypt, Iraq, and Beyond Tutankhamun: The Golden Pharaoh Leonard Woolley and Gertrude Bell: Carchemish and Ur Aurel Stein: Archaeology in Central Asia Early Archaeology in Africa Australia and New Zealand Summary Guide to Further Reading 9 Archaeology Coming of Age, 1920 to 1950 Field Archaeology and Aerial Photography Mortimer Wheeler and Scientific Excavation The Indus Valley Civilization Vere Gordon Childe: Prehistoric Revolutions The Search for Human Origins Australopithecus: The “Southern Ape” Louis and Mary Leakey Excavating a Ghost Ship: Sutton Hoo Summary Guide to Further Reading 10 Culture History and Beyond North American Archaeology: Tree Rings and Taxonomy Stratigraphy, Seriation, and Culture History Grahame Clark and the Birth of Ecological Archaeology Julian Steward and Cultural Ecology Settlement Archaeology in the Americas The Dead Sea Scrolls The Sepulcher of the Maya Lord Pacal Functional Archaeology Summary Guide to Further Reading 11 Radiocarbon Dating and World Prehistory W. W. Taylor’s A Study of Archaeology Multidisciplinary Research Radiocarbon Dating New Chapters in Human Evolution The Pazyryk Horsemen Tollund and the Bog People Olsen-Chubbock: A Paleo-Indian Bison Kill A Global Prehistory Grahame Clark’s World Prehistory Salvage Archaeology Summary Guide to Further Reading 12 The “New Archaeology”? Multilinear Evolution Processual Archaeology: Cultural Systems and Cultural Process A “New” Approach Middle-Range Theory and Ethnoarchaeology Reaction and Legacy Underwater Archaeology More Chapters in Human Evolution Major Archaeological Discoveries of the 1960s and 1970s Summary Guide to Further Reading 13 After Processualism Postprocessual Archaeology The Contributions of Postprocessual Archaeology Social Inequality and Ethnicity Social Inequality Ethnicity Gender Stakeholders and Stewardship Public Archaeology Community Archaeology Cognitive Archaeology High-tech Archaeology and Beyond Summary Guide to Further Reading 14 The Future Discoveries Archaeological Method and Theory Stakeholders and Community Archaeology Sustainability External Influences on Academic Archaeology Conservation and Public Outreach Summary Guide to Further Reading Glossary: Archaeological Sites and Cultural Terms References Index