Archaeology

Brian Fagan is a leading archaeological writer and internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He studied archaeology and anthropology at Pembroke College and Cambridge University. He then spent seven years in sub-Saharan Africa working in museums, monument conservation, and excavating early farming sites in Zambia and East Africa. He was a pioneer of multidisciplinary African history in the 1960s. From 1967 to 2003, he was professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he specialized in lecturing and writing about archaeology to wide audiences. He is now Emeritus Professor of Anthropology.   Brian Fagan has written six best-selling textbooks (all published by Prentice Hall): Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory; In the Beginning, Archaeology: A Brief Introduction; World Prehistory; Ancient Civilizations (with Chris Scarre); and this volume–which are used around the world. His general books include The Rape of the Nile, a classic history of Egyptology; The Adventure of Archaeology Time Detectives; Ancient North America; The Little Ice Age; Before California: An Archaeologist Looks at Our Earliest Inhabitants; and The Long Summer. He was also General Editor of the Oxford Companion to Archaeology. In addition, he has published several scholarly monographs on African archaeology and numerous specialized articles in national and international journals. An expert on multimedia teaching, he has received the Society for American Archaeology's first Public Education Award for his indefatigable efforts on behalf of archaeology and education.   Brian Fagan's other interests include bicycling, sailing, kayaking, and good food. He is married and lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and daughter, four cats (who supervise his writing), and last but not least, a minimum of four rabbits.

IN THIS SECTION: 1.) BRIEF 2.) COMPREHENSIVE BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS: Chapter 1: Fossils, Cities, and Civilizations: The Birth of a Science Chapter 2: Introducing Archaeology and Prehistory Chapter 3: Culture and Context Chapter 4: Explaining the Past Chapter 5: Space and Time Chapter 6: They Sought It Here, They Sought It There: Finding Archaeological Sites Chapter 7: Excavation Chapter 8: Archaeological Classification and Ancient Technologies Chapter 9: The Present and the Past Chapter 10: Ancient Climate and Environment Chapter 11: Come Tell Me How You Lived Chapter 12: Settlement and Landscape Chapter 13: The Archaeology of People Chapter 14: Managing the Past Chapter 15: So You Want to Become an Archaeologist? COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS: Preface Author's Note About the Author Chapter 1: Fossils, Cities, and Civilizations: The Birth of a Science What Is Archaeology? Discovery Tutankhamun's Tomb, Egypt, 1922 The Beginnings of Archaeology The Three Ages and the Antiquity of Humankind The Discovery of the Ancient Civilizations The Ancient Egyptians The Assyrians and Sumerians Troy and Mycenae Early American Archaeology The "Moundbuilders" Maya Civilization Southwestern Archaeology and the Direct Historical Approach Diversity, Diffusion, and Human Progress "From Them to Us": Unilinear Evolution Diffusionism: How Did Civilization Spread? The Development of Modern Scientific Archaeology Scientific Excavation Archaeology and Ecology Scientific Methods "From Them to Us": Contemporary Archaeological Theory Ecological/Evolutionary Approaches Historical Materialist Approaches Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 2: Introducing Archaeology and Prehistory The Tourist, the Collector, and the Archaeologist Discovery An Anglo-Saxon Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo, England, 1939 Who Needs and Owns the Past? What Do Archaeologists Do? Anthropology, Archaeology, and History Archaeologists on the Job Many Sites, Many Archaeologists Why Does Archaeology Matter? Mysteries of the Past A Sideline: Pseudoarchaeology Archaeology and Human Diversity Archaeology as a Political Tool Archaeology and Economic Development The Irresistible Lure of the Past The Prehistory of Humankind According to Archaeologists Early Prehistory The Origins and Spread of Modern Humans The Origins of Food Production The Origins of States (Civilizations) European Expansion Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 3: Culture and Context Human Culture Discovery The Lords of Sican, Peru, A.D. 900-1100 Cultural Systems Culture Change The Goals of Archaeology Constructing Culture History Reconstructing Ancient Lifeways Explaining Cultural and Social Change Preserving the Archaeological Record The Archaeological Record Archaeological Sites Artifacts, Features, and Ecofacts Context Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 4: Explaining the Past Interpretation of Culture History Inevitable Variation Invention Diffusion Migration Noncultural Models Genetics and DNA Ecological/Environmental (Processual) Archaeology Systems and Cultural Ecology Multilinear Cultural Evolution Historical Materialist Approaches Cognitive-Processual Archaeology Archaeological Theory Today and Tomorrow: "Processual Plus" Discovery Chinese commander Zheng He visits East Africa in 1415, or does he? Multidisciplinary Perspectives Alternative Histories DNA Studies Ecology and Evolutionary Theory Understanding the Role of the Human Mind External and Internal Constraints A General Theoretical Framework? Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 5: Space and Time Space The Law of Association Assemblages and Subassemblages Time Linear and Cyclical Time Relative Chronology The Law of Superposition Artifacts and Relative Chronology Cross-Dating Absolute Chronology Historical Records and Objects of Known Age Tree-Ring Dating (Dendrochronology) Chrometric Chronology Radiocarbon Dating Obsidian Hydration Luminescence Dating Electronic Spin Resonance Uranium Series Dating Potassium-Argon Dating Fission Track Dating Discovery Eruption at Akrotiri, Greece, 1967 Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 6: They Sought It Here, They Sought It There: Finding Archaeological Sites The Process of Archaeological Research Discovery The Sepulcher of the Maya Lord Pacal, Palenque, Mexico, 1949 Design and Formulation Implementation Data Acquisition Processing and Analysis Interpretation Publication Stages of Archaeological Fieldwork Accidental Discovery Archaeological Survey Sampling and Archaeological Survey Remote Sensing Aerial Photography Aircraft and Satellite Imagery Recording Archaeological Sites Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Assessing Archaeological Sites Surface Collection Subsurface Detection Systems Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 7: Excavation Planned Excavation: Research Design Discovery The Princess of Khok Phanom Di, Thailand, 1984 Types of Excavation Site Testing The Process of Dissection Vertical Excavation Area, or Horizontal, Excavation Digging, Tools, and People Recording Stratigraphic Observation Excavation Problems Open Campsites and Villages Caves and Rockshelters Mound Sites Earthworks and Forts Shell Middens Ceremonial and Other Specialist Sites Burials and Cemeteries Reburial and Repatriation Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 8: Archaeological Classification and Ancient Technologies Back from the Field Classification and Taxonomy Discovery Exotic Islanders: Homo floresiensis Typology Archaeological Types The Concept of Types Attributes and Types of Types What Do Assemblages and Artifact Patternings Mean? Units of Ordering Components and Phases Larger Archaeological Units Ancient Technologies Stone Clay Metals and Metallurgy Bone, Wood, Basketry, and Textiles Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 9: The Present and the Past Discovery Ancient Pacific Navigation The Archaeological Record Again Site-Formation Processes Preservation Favorable Preservation Conditions Middle-Range Theory and the Archaeological Record The Living Past Ethnographic Analogy Living Archaeology (Ethnoarchaeology) The !Kung San Maya Metates Nunamiut Eskimos Tucson, Arizona: Modern Material Culture and Garbage Experimental Archaeology Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 10: Ancient Climate and Environment Discovery Moche Human Sacrifice and El Nino, Huaca de la Luna, Peru, Sixth to Seventh Century A.D. Short-Term and Long-Term Climatic Change Long-Term Climatic Change: The Great Ice Age Deep-Sea Cores and Ice Cores The Pleistocene Framework Pollen Analysis Short-Term Climatic Change: The Holocene Centuries-Long Changes: The Younger Dryas and the Black Sea Short-Term Climatic Change: El Nino The Moche Civilization Tree Rings: Studying Southwestern Drought Geoarchaeology Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 11: Come Tell Me How You Lived Evidence for Subsistence Ancient Diet Discovery The Gobekli Tepe Carvings, Turkey, 1994 Animal Bones Faunal Analysis (Zooarchaeology) Comparing Bone Assemblages Species Abundance and Cultural Change Game Animals Domesticated Animals Ancient Butchery Plant Remains Birds, Fish, and Mollusks Rock Art Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 12: Settlement and Landscape Settlement Patterns Households Communities Discovery Households at Marki, Cyprus, c. 2200 B.C. Distribution of Communities Geographic Information Systems and Roman Wroxeter, England Population The Archaeology of Landscapes Sacred Landscapes: Mirrors of the Intangible Maeshowe and the Stones of Stenness Summary Questions for Discussion Chapter 13: The Archaeology of People Studying the Deceased: Bioarchaeology Sex and Age Malnutrition, Stress, and Work-Related Injuries Violence Discovery The Ice Man of the Alps, c. 2400 B.C. Strontium and Peoples' Lives Individuals Groups Social Ranking Ethnicity and Social Inequality Gender The Engendered Past Wider Society: Prestate and State Societies Interaction: Trade and Exchange Types of Trade Studyin