Uncovering the Past: A History of Archaeology

by William Steibing and William H. Stiebing Jr.

Book Overview

When one hears the words "archaeology" or "archaeologist," often what comes to mind is an image of a romantic figure: Indiana Jones exploring exotic places in search of treasure and adventure. Indeed, novels, movies, and many popular accounts of archaeological discoveries have made this concept widespread. Tales of abandoned cities, ruined temples, primeval monuments, or mysterious ancient tombs tend to kindle the urge for adventure, exploration,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195089219
• ISBN13: 9780195089219
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An excellent starting point.

Finally! A readable, fun archaeology book!As a university student of anthropology and archaeology with of course certain peculiar specializations and interests all my own, I often found myself lacking in a truly readable account of archaeology and its history in the general sense, though various lectures had tried to assemble such a survey (without success). 'Uncovering the Past' provides this account admirably, covers achaeological development over the entire globe, including western Europe, the ancient Near East, Egyptology, Aegean archaeology, the Far East, Africa and the Americas and Mesoamerica.If you're interested in archaeology at all, whether at the academic level or purely for your own personal entertainment, I think this book provides an excellent starting point without all of the tedium that arises when one attempts to see the 'big picture' or acquire some sense of the general historical foundations of the field by treading through endless detailed site publications from various time periods or even summary accounts of any geographical region.To put it another way: sit down and spend an afternoon reading it cover to cover, you'll enjoy it!

A perfect overview and starting point!

This book was understandable since it lacked scientific jargon. It was still in depth and expository without containing too many confusing statements that so many other archeological books heavily rely upon. The text was arranged in an organized way and covered a very wide topic area. This book was interesting from beginning to end and the various pictures added the pugnancy of the book's texts tremendously. My ONLY criticism of this book is the mention of biblical topics somewhat frequently and the over use of the word 'antiquites'! Yet, it gave a flavor of different ancient worlds and explained archeology quite nicely. Overall it was a very good read.