Archaeology For Dummies (eBook)

Nancy Marie White is a registered professional archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Her research includes prehistoric and historic archaeological sites of all time periods in the eastern United States, as well as theoretical issues and public archaeology.

Introduction 1

Part I: Archaeology: Seeing Past People Today 7

Chapter 1: What Archaeology Is 9

Chapter 2: What Archaeology Isn't and Why That's Important 23

Chapter 3: So You Want to Do Archaeology? What Kind? 33

Chapter 4: How Archaeologists Think and Work 53

Part II: Archaeological Fieldwork: The Adventure Begins! 65

Chapter 5: Supplies and Equipment You Need 67

Chapter 6: Archaeological Survey: Finding Where to Dig 75

Chapter 7: The Archaeological Dig 95

Chapter 8: Laws, Ethics, and Safety in Field Archaeology 121

Part III: After the Dig: You've Only Just Begun 133

Chapter 9: Processing Excavated Materials in the Laboratory 135

Chapter 10: Studying and Analyzing What You've Excavated 151

Chapter 11: Reconstructing the Past: Piecing Together the Puzzles 171

Part IV: Archaeology Reconstructs the Whole Human Past 193

Chapter 12: Early Humans: Original Cave Guys & Gals 195

Chapter 13: The Last 10,000 Years: Climate Change and Early Food Production 211

Chapter 14: Ancient States 235

Chapter 15: Historic Archaeology: Reinterpreting the More Recent Past 259

Part V: Archaeology Is for Everyone 279

Chapter 16: The Uses of Archaeological Findings 281

Chapter 17: How You Can Explore Archaeology 297

Chapter 18: Controversies and Sensational Findings 307

Part VI: The Part of Tens 327

Chapter 19: Ten-Plus Archaeological Places to Visit in the U.S 329

Chapter 20: More Than Ten Archaeological Sites to Visit Outside the United States 335

Chapter 21: Ten Fun Archaeological Experiences 343

Appendix 347

Index 355