Science: Archaeology Books

THE AGE OF STONEHENGE
by Colin Burgess. Illustrated with B&W drawings, maps, and photographs. Condition: NEW 2003 CastleBookS hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), reissue. Content: Reviewers: "Burgess brings to life the history of Britain and Ireland between 3000 and 1000 BC. This book was originally written in 1980. Colin Burgess subsequently left the field of the early prehistory of the British Isles for work in the Mediterranean on the Phoenicians and the Sea Peoples. The book has subsequently seen new editions in 2001 and 2003, which suggests that the material is both well presented and well researched. If it is any indication of his thoroughness one can only regret his early departure from English pre-history and his early retirement from the academic world in general. I was particularly impressed with the introduction of more recent information on the character of early settlement and subsequent culture change. Early books on the topic accredit population movements, invasions, and total replacement of one culture by another. Having taken some archaeology classes on European archaeology within the past 5 years, I had become aware of professional doubts on this topic. The tendency of past researchers to think in terms of nations, ethnic groups, etc., probably because we live with these social structures today, had produced a map covered with tribal names and arrows of migration that is now being discredited. As the author notes, it is more likely that culture and populations remained stable for centuries, in contact and exchanging cultural variables among them along shared borders. The archaeology of the British Isles bears little credence to anything like massive invasions. He does note the movements in the period of the Sea Peoples in the Mediterranean and suggests that during this time considerable movement of people may well have occurred in the British Isles as they did elsewhere. Among the specific data Burgess provides, I was most surprised by the apparent lack of artistic sense among craftsmen of the day-he noted that most of the artifacts found are very functional with little or no decoration. That pragmatism seems counter intuitive, since evolutionary studies seems to base the very concept of "modern" man on artistic criteria like the cave paintings of Spain and France, the Venus figurines and other artistic products: the difference between "modern humans" and "anatomically modern humans." I was also surprised by the apparent lack of a weaving/spinning tradition in the Isles until the 1st millennium. It seems so basic to the culture of other places, that it's late introduction here is surprising. This book is the most comprehensive overview of found objects and conclusive evidence that I have read to date. It is old, but that doesn't matter, since the material it covers is much older. Fascinating! A little difficult to get through at times, but factual, and therefore and invaluable resource. [1 copy available]
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AFTER THE PYRAMIDS: The Valley of the Kings and Beyond
by Aidan Dodson. B&W photos, era photos, drawings, floor plans, and charts illustrate. Excellent! Condition: NEW 2000 Rubicon Press (UK) Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: A chronological overview of the funerary monuments of Egypt, beginning with the last pyramids and ending with the tombs of the Ptolemaic Periods in the Nile Delta. The architecture and decoration of the tombs, along with their contents, are discussed in detail, including the results of more recent excavation in the Valley of the Kings. The discussion is accompanied by numerous photographs of the tombs, their artwork and plans of the funerary complexes which show the development of both architectural styles and religious beliefs. Bibliography and chronology of royal cemeteries. [1 copy available]
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ANCIENT EGYPT: Thebes and the Nile Valley in the Year 1200 B.C.E. (Traveller's Guide to the Ancient World)
by Charlotte Booth (multiple degrees in Egyptology). Wonderful B&W drawings, maps, and building "plans." Condition: NEW 2008 Metro Books small hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Imagine what it would be like to travel back in time and explore the ancient world: to see the ancient wonders when they were new; to see and speak to the people who built and used them. Written in the styule of a contemporary travel guide, this book focuses on the historic city of Thebes and the Nile Valley in the year 1200 BCE. It offers advice on everything from where to stay and what to see, to sampling the local lcuisine and shipping for souvenirs. It paints a vivid picture of life in ancient Egypt, and is packed with all the maps, illustrations, and fascinating insights that a tourist or traveler would expect to find in ay modern guidebook. Wonderful! [1 copy available]
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ANCIENT IRAQ (Book & CD) [DK Eyewitness]
by Philip Steele. Beautiful, as always, color photos, maps, drawings plus some B&W artifact photos. Condition: NEW 2007 DK Eyewitness soft cover (with sealed CD), second printing. Content: Be an eyewitness to Ancient Iraq. Go back in time to between 3500 to 500 BC, and visit the 'land between two rivers'. Discover the birthplace of writing and farming and where the first great cities, states and empires rose; home to the Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian civilizations. Get the picture using the clip-art CD with over 100 amazing images to download. Then use the giant pull-out wallchart to decorate your room. Great for projects or just for fun, this fact-packed guide and CD will show and tell you everything you need to know about this ancient land and civilization. "I am a big fan of these...They are brilliantly visual". "There isn't a child that would be able to resist picking that up" Everything you have come to expect and love of a DK book. Perfect for homeschooling. Giant wallchart. Grade 6 to Adult. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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CYCLES IN TIME: The Maya Calendar
by John Montgomery. Detailed B&W drawings and charts by the Author. Condition: NEW 2007 Editorial Laura Lee, Guatemala, soft cover, second printing given. Tiny edge wear. Content: Probably the ancient world's most complex system for keeping track of time, the Maya calendar comprises a positional notation system combined with cyclical epochs used to record myth and religion and keep track of history. Written by a professional scholar of Maya hieroglyphic writing and illustrator of Precolumbian art, this book offers step-by-step instruction on reading Maya dates and interpreting their significance. John Montgomery (1951-2005) was an epigrapher and illustrator whose travels in Central America first inspired his interest in the ancient Maya. [1 copy available]
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EXPLORING ANCIENT NATIVE AMERICA: An Archaeological Guide
by David Hurst Thomas. Wonderful B&W photos of artifacts and maps plus a color photo section. Condition: UNREAD 1994 Macmillan hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Yes, this book could be updated, but the major archeo sites are still there and much of the information is still relevant. This book is a lavishly illustrated guide to more than 400 of the most important Indian archaeological sites in the United States and Canada. Authoritative and insightful, this volume provides an overview of these prehistoric cultures and describes the evolution of the numerous Native American civilizations.Written by a leading expert, the book analyzes the astonishing remains left behind by these early cultures from the Pueblo dwellings of the Southwest and the buffalo jumps of the Great Plains to the coastal villages found in the Northwest. In addition, this reference combines the latest scientific data with accounts of tribal ways of life to offer a new perspective on Native American history, culture, and ritual.>p?State-by-state listings indicate where ruins, artifacts, and reconstructions of sites are located. Information on where to get "hands-on" archaeological experience and useful advice for visiting North American ruins completes this handsome and comprehensive sourcebook. "Exploring Ancient Native America" is the only guide to the most important precontact and historic sites in North America. The text and more than one hundred photographs, drawings, and maps bring these ancient advanced civilizations vividly to life. The book is intended for the general reader, written in a very plain direct style. Questions encouraged. [1 copy available]
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FIELD GUIDE TO MYSTERIOUS PLACES OF THE WEST
by Salvatore M. Trento. Loaded with B&W photos, maps, & drawings. Condition: UNREAD 1994 Pruett (Colorado) trade paperback, first printing. Content: Maverick archaeologist Sal Trento guides the curious explorer to hundreds of inexplicable sites, geological and archaeological, from the Taos "Hum" to the "Winter Solstice Sunrise Petroglyphs" of Los Angeles. Profusely illustrated with B&W photographs, maps, and historic drawings. Bibliography and index. I love this book. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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A FIELD GUIDE TO ROCK ART SYMBOLS OF THE GREATER SOUTHWEST
by Alex Patterson. B&W photos and detailed drawings of the petroglyphs. Condition: UNREAD c. 1998 Johnson Books Trade Paperback, 6th printing. Content: This is the first specifically designed key to the interpretation of American rock art. Interest in the subject has grown significantly among professional archaeologists and informed lay persons in recent years, but the purpose and meaning that the intriguing symbols had for their creators remain a mystery. Although the significance of the symbols will never be known for certain, educated guesses can be made. The "Field Guide" brings together 600 commentaries on specific symbols by over one hundred archaeologists, anthropologists, researchers, and Native American informants. Intended to be used in the field, as well as a reference, the book includes a pictorial key at the beginning and is organized by tentative meaning or by description. The reader can easily find the one or several of the 500 illustrations that most closely match the symbol in question. Patterson emphasizes the tentative nature of the interpretations and has included an index by neutral archaeological description as well as complete documentation of every excerpted comment. The range of the book is from the northern states of Mexico to Utah and from California to Colorado. Excellent!!! [1 copy left]
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ARCHAEOLOGY (Kingfisher Knowledge series)
by Trevor Barnes. Foreword by Tony Robinson. Wonderful color photos and drawings plus color maps and some B&W era photos. Excellent selection. Condition: NEW 2004 Kingfisher hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), first printing. Content: Reviewer: "This is the sort of book that excites students and encourages them to dig deeper, great for engaging classroom discussions about civilizations of the past. The photo layout is excellent and the graphics, maps and models are wonderfully informative. The easy-to-read text is adequate for general overviews but has not been carefully edited - some glaring typos (like the "3000 A.D." Mesopotamia on page 11) make me doubt the accuracy of the reporting. That said, this reasonably-priced book is still an excellent choice for elementary and middle school libraries, and casual and beginning researchers will find this book scintillating and inspiring." Combining high-interest topics with colorful, eye-catching graphics, these sweeping surveys in the Kingfisher Knowledge series are tailor-made for hooking middle-graders, casual browsers, and reluctant older readers. In Archaeology, Barnes talks up the excitement of hands-on study of the past in a whirlwind tour of renowned finds, from Catal Huyuk to Great Zimbabwe. Platt offers quick looks at communications media, from bee dances to DVDs, before closing with vague comments on the perils of censorship and advertising. In both volumes, text blocks and big color photos or reconstructed scenes occupy roughly equal space on topical spreads, which are grouped into chapters, each of which concludes with a terse chapter summary plus sparse assortments of book citations, URLs, and brief definitions of relevant careers. Includes web sites, book lists, and places to explore. Grades 4 - 6+. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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THE ARCHAEOLOGIST'S HANDBOOK: The Insider's Guide to Digging Up The Past
by Philip Ardagh. Foreword by Sandi Toksvig. B&W drawings by Kevin Maddison plus B&W photos & charts. Condition: NEW 2002 Faber & Faber (London) Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: This book takes a look at the role of archaeologists from the discovery of an artefact or archaeological site to the identification, dating, preservation, restoration and understanding of what has been found. This book looks at everything from the most basic archaaeological techniques to the latest technological advances used to assist the modern archaeologist. The book has a glossary of terms in the back and a section on the stories behind the most famous discoveries. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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ARCHAEOLOGY BY EXPERIMENT
by John Coles. B&W photos and drawings illustrate. Condition: Gently pre-read to about page 33 only, 1974 hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Experimental archaeology is a departure from the traditional approaches to the study of early man. Evidence from archaeological remains can be amplified and more vivid insights gained by reconstructing and testing models of ancient equipment. Stone axes and ploughs, forts and pyramids, boats and musical instruments, come within the scope of inquiry. The monuments of Easter Island and Stonehenge and the colonization of Polynesia can all be explored by experiment. The book falls into three sections. Food Production includes experiments on forest clearance and ploughing, sowing, harvesting and the storage of crops as well as the preparation and consumption of food. Heavy Industry deals with building and destruction of houses and earthworks, transport and erection of stones, and boats. Light Industry concerns craftsmanship in stone, bone, wood, hides, metals and pottery. If you watch the Discovery, National Geographic or History channels, you can see experimental archaeology at work. This is the classic work that encouraged such projects. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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A BASIC GUIDE TO ARCHAEOLOGY
by Jennifer Laing. Wonderful color photos plus B&W photos, era photos, maps, and grids. Condition: NEW 2004 Greenlight Publishing (UK), no printing given. Content: This book is intended to answer some of the many questions that people ask archaeologists such as "How do you know?" and "What is it?" The text has been presented in an easy-to-understand "question and answer" format. There are chapeters covering the history of archaeology and its founders, but the book also explains the current views and thinking of those presently employed within the field. The practical side of archaeology is also well-represented with topics being covered such as the finding of sites, how to date them, and excavation tecniques. Dealing with virtually every aspect of archaeology, this book will appeal to all those interested in the subject. Questions welcome. [2 copies available]
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THE BIBLE AS HISTORY (Second Revised Edition)
by Werner Keller. Translated from the German by William Neill. Revised & Postscript by Joachim Rehork. New material translated by B. H. Rasmussen. B&W drawings and maps illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1988 Bantam Books paperback, 9th printing. Light taning to page edges. Content: This book is still the standard by which all other Biblical archaeology works are measured, and is now thoroughly updated with the latest scientific and archaeological breakthroughs in biblical investigation. It contains: Revolutionary new evidence that confirms some of the most monumental and controversial events in the Bible-including the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra; Recently deciphered texts from the ancient world that offer an intriguing look back at the origin of the Ten Commandments; An entirely new chapter revealing the extraordinary techniques that may soon prove the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. The book will take you on a breathtaking journey to the heart of Holy Scripture as it pieces together one of the most stunning spiritual puzzles in the history of mankind. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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FRANS BLOM, MAYA EXPLORER
by Robert L. Brunhouse. Over 250 B&W photos and drawings illustrate. Condition: NEW (shrink-wrapped) 1976 Univ. of New Mexico Press hardcover & DJ (I can open it and put a mylar jacket on the DJ if you like), printing not available due to the shrink-wrap. Content: This book details the life of archaeologist Frans Blom; and provides detailed picture of the Middle American Research Institute in its early years. Frans Blom (Frants Ferdinand Blom, August 9, 1893 in Copenhagen - June 23, 1963 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico) was a Danish explorer and archaeologist. Blom was born in 1893 in Copenhagen, Denmark to a middle-class family of antique merchants. He was restless and started travelling eventually arriving in Mexico in 1919 where he found work in the oil industry as a paymaster. Travelling to remote locations in the Mexican jungle he became interested in the Maya ruins that he encountered where he was working. He started drawing and documenting these ruins. He was contracted by the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology which financed some of his expeditions. He met Sylvanus G. Morley who brought him to Harvard University in Boston and here he took a Masters degree in Archeology. He was employed at Tulane University in New Orleans and during his tenure here he undertook several expeditions to Mesoamerica. In 1923 his studies at Palenque documented a number of features neglected by earlier researchers. In 1924 Blom discovered the Maya archaeological site of Uaxactun in Guatemala. His explorations in around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec gave the first scholarly reports of a number of sites of the Olmec civilization. In 1926 he was made head of Tulane's newly established Department of Middle American Research. Excellent archaeological snapshot. [1 copy available]
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THE BROTHER OF JESUS: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family (Updated & Expanded Edition)
by Hershel Shanks & Ben Witherington III. Foreword by Andre Lemaire. B&W photos throughout with color photo section. Condition: NEW 2004 HarperSanFrancisco Trade Paperback, updated & expanded edition, first printing. Tiny edge wear. Content: Two biblical archaeologists stunned the world with news that a limestone ossuary with the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" had surfaced in Palestine and may have once contained the bones of James, the early church leader and brother of Jesus of Nazareth. While it may seem a startling claim for the unassuming and unadorned 20-inch box, numerous scholars who have examined the ossuary now vouch for its first-century origins, if not its theological significance. Jews employed ossuaries for a relatively brief historical period (approximately 20 B.C. to A.D. 70), which fits with the textual evidence of James's martyrdom around A.D. 62. This book is the first full-length treatment of the ossuary, and is written by a couple of big guns: Shanks is the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review (which first broke the story), and Witherington is a seminary professor and author of a score of books on the Bible. Their collaboration is a well-argued and truly fascinating study of the ossuary and its importance. The opening chapters tell of the box's discovery and authentication, while the later chapters discuss its potential relevance and describe what is at stake if the ossuary is genuine. Particularly interesting is the book's discussion of what the ossuary does for Jewish-Christian relations: James, the bishop of Jerusalem, was known for encouraging Christians to retain aspects of their Jewish heritage instead of jettisoning that heritage as Paul had. This engaging book invites readers to ponder the numerous questions and possibilities raised by the ossuary's discovery. The updated & expanded edition has new arguments for its authenticity. Questions welcome. [2 copies available]
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CELEBRATE THE SOLSTICE: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony
by Richard Heinberg. B&W drawings, charts, and site layouts illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 Quest Trade Paperback, second printing. Content: While technically not a book on archaeology, there is enough in this text to merit being in this category. Reviewer: "Heinberg has collected archeological evidence, myths and folklore of the Solstice from all over the globe and throughout human history. His stories and examples resolve into a beautiful and compelling picture. Cultures the world over -- from ancient China to the megalith builders 5,000 years ago in Ireland who predate the pyramids -- from the Maori to the Maya -- marked the solstices and equinoxes as tremendously important temporal and seasonal thresholds with deep spiritual and practical meaning. Today, our modern, urban lives are in so many ways insulated and disconnected from the turn of the seasons and their importance in the cosmic dance. Are the solstices and equinoxes still relevant? Heinberg argues that they can be, and not just for neopagans or those of one brand of faith or another. I cannot evaluate his research, but his writing drew me in. With few lapses into over-poeticizing, and only a small measure of new-age, environmental hectoring, he gives us simple ways to renew the solstices as life-affirming celebrations to help reconnect us with the earth." Questions welcome. [1 copy left]
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CELTIC ORNAMENT IN THE BRITISH ISLES
by E. T. Leeds. Wonderful color artifacts inside covers with detailed B&W drawings & photos of artifacts throughout. Condition: NEW 2002 Dover Trade Paperback, reissue of 1933 book. Content: This well-documented study, focusing on less familiar or less accessible relics from the pagan past, traces the history and evolution of pre-Christian ornamentation from the earliest beginnings to a.d. 700. Great value to students of design and archaeology and anyone interested in Celtic ornamentation. Unabridged republication of classic 1933 edition. 65 halftones and black-and-white illustrations. Examples of Celtic ornament - from its earliest beginnings to A.D. 700 - are described and discussed. Detailed, carefully researched chapters cover early British numismatic art, the Celts as delineators of human and animal figures, Roman influence in the crafting of embossed bronze brooches, and much more. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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CHARIOTS OF THE GODS?
by Erich Von Daniken. B&W photo section, maps, diagrams illustrate. Condition: UNREAD (but not perfect) Bantam paperback 44th printing. Binder's glue string down spine with tiny edgewear. Light tanning to white cover edges with tanning to clean & tight interior pages. Content: Did astronauts visit the Earth 40,000 years ago? That was the big question posed by this book, which was one of the most influential books of it's decade - and still is according to sales figures. I do, however, feel "odd" in placing this book in the "archaeology" section. Covers the stone faces on Easter Island, the Nazca lines and other "mysteries" of the world. Movie edition. [1 copy available]
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CIVILIZATION BEFORE GREECE AND ROME
by H.W.F. Saggs. B&W photo section plus B&W drawings, charts, and maps throughout. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 1990 Yale Univ. Press hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), 7th printing. Light edge wear to DJ top edge. No problem, just either pre-read or perused on the shelf. Content: For many centuries it was accepted that civilization began with the Greeks and Romans. During the last two hundred years, however, archaeological discoveries in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Crete, Syria, Anatolia, Iran, and the Indus Valley have revealed that rich cultures existed in these regions some two thousand years before the Greco-Roman era. In this fascinating work, H.W.F Saggs presents a wide-ranging survey of the more notable achievements of these societies, showing how much the ancient peoples of the Near and Middle East have influenced the patterns of our daily lives. Saggs discussesthe the invention of writing, tracing it from the earliest pictograms (designed for account-keeping) to the Phoenician alphabet, the source of the Greek and all European alphabets. He investigates the curricula, teaching methods, and values of the schools from which scribes graduated. Analyzing the provisions of some of the law codes, he illustrates the operation of international law and the international trade that it made possible. Saggs highlights the creative ways that these ancient peoples used their natural resources, describing the vast works in stone created by the Egyptians, the development of technology in bronze and iron, and the introduction of useful plants into regions outside their natural habitat. In chapters on mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, he offers interesting explanations about how modern calculations of time derive from the ancient world, how the Egyptians practiced scientific surgery, and how the Babylonians used algebra. The book concludes with a discussion of ancient religion, showing its evolution from the most primitive forms toward monotheism. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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DESERT QUEEN: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
by Janet Wallach. B&W maps and era photos throughout. Condition: Gently pre-read to page 72 (and abandoned), 2000 Anchor Books Trade Paperback, fourth printing. Light edge wear but the bottom back corner shows shelf wear last few pages. Interior clean & tight. Content: Turning away from the priviledged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. Fascinating bio. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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DESERT QUEEN: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
by Janet Wallach. B&W maps and era photos throughout. Condition: Good only, 1999 Anchor Trade Paperback, 5th printing. Shelf wear to cover plus moderate tanning to page edges. Not crisp. Content: Turning away from the priviledged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. Fascinating bio. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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DISCOVERY OF ATLANTIS: The Startling Case for the Island of Cyprus
by Robert Sarmast. B&W maps, art reproduction, photos. Color sonar section. Condition: NEW 2006 First Source trade paperback, expanded edition, second printing. Content: Read the book that launched a legendary Atlantis expedition and caused a news sensation around the world (also featured in the Sci-Fi Channel documentary: "Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Secrets," hosted by Natalie Morales). A second expedition may soon witness the filming of the colossal ruins of this once-mighty empire and change history forever. [1 copy available]
$ 5.00 + $ 3.40 media shipping.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INVASIONS AND CONQUESTS: From Ancient Times to the Present
by Paul K. Davis. B&W maps, art reproduction, photos. Condition: UNREAD 1998 Norton large soft cover, first printing. Light edge wear. Content: A single-volume encyclopedia that attempts to squeeze a lot of history into a few pages. The book is organized into seven broad eras ranging from the ancient world to the 20th century; within each time period, invasions and conquests are presented in alphabetical order. An introduction lists and numbers the events included and locates them on a vague outline map that does not delineate political boundaries. Articles are two-to-five pages in length. There are 35 black-and-white reproductions of illustrations, portraits, and photographs. Although the scope of the work is extensive, it is limited by the author's definitions of "conquest" and "invasion." Conquest is defined as "the occupation and long-term domination of one country by another." Invasion is described as "one country invading another," thus eliminating all civil wars and most revolutions. Many entries are vague; there are not enough specific dates and facts, and the battles or incidents are not placed within their larger historical context. The organization might lead to confusion in finding specific events. This volume might be useful for quick ready reference and the extensive bibliography will facilitate further research. Does not include our invasion of Iraq. [1 copy available]
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EXCAVATION OF THE DONNER-REED WAGONS:
Historic Archaeology Along the Hastings Cutoff
by Bruce R. Hawkins & David B. Madsen. B&W photos, maps, diagrams illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 University of Utah Press Trade Paperback, first thus. Content: The Donner-Reed party of emigrants to California bogged down in the mud of the Great Salt Lake Desert. This book gives a full account of the detailed archaeological examination of the Donner-Reed remains in western Utah. The results were significantly different from expectations. Not only was a wide variety of artifacts recovered, but evidence of subsequent exploring parties, such as that led by Stansbury around the Great Salt Lake in 1849-50, was also identified. The history of the Donner party is also detailed here. Great book! [1 copy available]
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A FAVORED PLACE: San Juan River Wetlands, Central Veracruz, A.D. 500 to the Present
by Alfred H. Siemens. B&W photos, charts, drawings, and maps illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1998 UT Press (Austin) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Content: The wetlands of the San Juan Basin in Central Veracruz, Mexico, were a favored place for their ancient inhabitants. Around the fifth century A.D., Prehispanic people built an extensive network of canals and raised fields along the margins of lakes and rivers that allowed for almost year-round intensive agriculture. Alfred Siemens' discovery of the remaining traces of this ancient agricultural system in the 1970s led him to uncover fifteen centuries of land-use history in the region. This book contains a full record of his findings. Siemens' research contributes to knowledge in several fields. It adds a significant environmental dimension to our understanding of the Mesoamerican-European encounter in the sixteenth and succeeding centuries. And it offers a model of an ancient agricultural system that could still be used to aid in the subsistence of marginalized rural people in many tropical lowland areas. Amplified with original air oblique photography, maps, and tables, and enriched with data from both archaeology and colonial archives, this book is an authoritative historical geography of a wetland landscape. Or, in the author's more modest words, "In unbuttoned moments, it seems to me that what I have here is a biography of a swamp." [1 copy available]
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FINDING ATLANTIS: A True Story of Genius, Madness, and an Extraordinary Quest for a Lost World
by David King B&W photos, maps, diagrams illustrate. Condition: NEW 2005 Harmony Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Center stage in this history of a history book is the rollicking, fantastical figure of Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702). After reading Rudbeck's monumental Atlantica (1679), historian King unpacks its plausible but reckless chains of reasoning and reassembles the mass into a marvelous account of the Swedish scholar's obsessions. Rudbeck was a professor of medicine at Uppsala University, and his restless mind seems to have seldom been idle. Rudbeck switched from physiology, in which he made his name as discoverer of the lymphatic system, to the study of the Viking sagas, just then coming to scholarly light. Connecting the sagas with the gods of Norse and Greek mythology, and with Plato's lost continent of Atlantis, Rudbeck proposed an astounding theory: Atlantis was located in Sweden! Odd though the idea was, King explains that Rudbeck's protomodern research methods in archaeology and etymology gained acceptance for his theory. Restoring this colorful eccentric to life, King reveals his talent for narrative flow and portraiture in a biography that will thoroughly inveigle history readers. [1 copy available]
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FINDING THE WALLS OF TROY: Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik
by Susan Heuck Allen. B&W and color photo section with B&W photos and drawings throughout. Condition: Gently pre-read to page 17 and abandoned, 1999 Univ. California Press hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. "Repaired" tear top DJ edge. Interior clean & tight. Content: Received wisdom has it that Heinrich Schliemann, a German businessman turned archaeologist, discovered the remains of ancient Troy at Hisarlik in modern Turkey in 1868. That tradition, according to Allen (visiting scholar and guest lecturer in the classics department at Brown University and visiting lecturer at Smith College), arises from Schliemann's self-promotional writings. "But there is another claim to be staked," she writes, "both to some of Schliemann's treasures and to the honor of actually having found the site of Troy. That claim belongs to the man who owned half the land on which Troy eventually was found, the man who informed and educated Heinrich Schliemann about the site and persuaded him to dig there." That man was Frank Calvert, an Englishman who served for 34 years as a U.S. consular agent at the Dardanelles, all the while steeping himself in Trojan archaeology. Allen describes the contributions of Schliemann and Calvert to the Troy work and brings the story of archaeological activity at the site up to the present, illustrating the tale with many maps, photographs and drawings. Calvert's role has been obscured, she says, because--in contrast to Schliemann--he was "a self-effacing, private person," and "only the occasional letter offers details of his unpublished achievements, the manuscripts for which rarely have been found." [1 copy available]
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THE FOLDS OF PARNASSOS: Land and Ethnicity in Ancient Phokis
by Jeremy McInerney. B&W maps and photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2000 Univ. of Texas Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: Independent city-states (poleis) such as Athens have been viewed traditionally as the most advanced stage of state formation in ancient Greece. By contrast, this pioneering book argues that for some Greeks the ethnos, a regionally based ethnic group, and the koinon, or regional confederation, were equally valid units of social and political life and that these ethnic identities were astonishingly durable. McInerney sets his study in Phokis, a region in central Greece dominated by Mount Parnassos that shared a border with the panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi. He explores how ecological conditions, land use, and external factors such as invasion contributed to the formation of a Phokian territory. Then, drawing on numerous interdisciplinary sources, he traces the history of the region from the Archaic age down to the Roman period. McInerney shows how shared myths, hero cults, and military alliances created an ethnic identity that held the region together over centuries, despite repeated invasions. He concludes that the Phokian koinon survived because it was founded ultimately on the tenacity of the smaller communities of Greece. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.75 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE FRAGRANT PAST: Perfumes of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
by Giuseppe Donato and Monique Seefried. Beautiful color photos, drawings, and map. Condition: NEW 1989 Emory University Museum of Art & Archaeology exhibition soft cover, no edition nor printing. Content: This is a museum exhibition book on ancient perfumes. Chapters: Experimental Archaeology; Cleopatra's Cosmetic Workshop; Ancient Ingredients; Perfume and Spice Routes in the Ancient World; Perfume in Daily Roman Life; Bibliography. Fascinating. [1 copy available]
$ 10.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping. International shipping available.

FROM BLACK LAND TO FIFTH SUN: The Science of Sacred Sites
by Brian Fagan. B&W drawings, maps, and photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1998 Helix hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. DJ shows edge wear. Content: The unearthing of cave paintings, stone circles, burial mounds, charnel houses, pyramids and the like poses fundamental questions about the relationships between extinct cultures and their perceived worlds. Archaeologist Fagan (The Rape of the Nile) attempts, with the aid of techniques like Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and Computer Automated Design mapping, to bridge the gap between the tangible and intangible, between the material and the spiritual lives of ancient peoples. Advocating the emerging science of the "archaeology of the mind," he suggests that he and his kind are like "Ahabs pursuing our great white whale" since "our limitations of thought, of understandings, of imagination" will prevent us from ever fully reconstructing from the available evidence the worldviews of long-defunct cultures. Nevertheless, his pilgrimageAfrom Lascaux to Zimbabwe; Jericho to Stonehenge; Knossos to the Pyramids of Giza; Chillicothe, Ohio, to Teothihuacan, MexicoAtakes us on an often gripping first-person tour of the world's past, and his excitement in surveying these areas for himself is almost palpable. But the real focus here is on the scienceAfrom debunking conjectures about Stonehenge to reanimating the ?atalh?y?k Goddess cultAand its invaluable contribution to painstaking reconstructions of the time frames and available materials of various eras. While the detail can be a little numbing, the seeming accuracy is refreshing, given the controversy that surrounds many of the more famous sites. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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GAMBLER WAY: Indian Gaming in Mythology, History and Archaeology in North America
by Kathryn Gabriel. B&W drawings and photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 1996 Johnson Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny, tiny edgewear cover corners. Content: Everything old is new again, it seems. The gambling that during the past decade has blossomed on Indian land across America is not, as many assume, a new ruination heaped upon noble savages by a corrupt capitalist culture. Far from it. Rather, gambling is like tobacco -- deeply rooted in the religious and spiritual beliefs of Native North Americans. In this fascinating study, Gabriel not only relays some of the many myths connected with Indian gaming but examines the symbolic importance to Indians of gambling as a way of keeping the cosmic order from descending into chaos. In addition, she scrutinizes the way in which gambling formerly had economic importance for Indians, as a method of wealth redistribution. Amply researched and fluidly written, this is an exemplary and intriguing work of anthropology. Excellent read. Questions encouraged. [1 copy available]
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GANDHARA: The Memory of Afghanistan
by Berenice Geoffroy-Schneiter. Full-page color photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2001 Assouline Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first thus, first printing. Content: Gandhara was a historic region in the northwest of ancient India, currently Pakistan and Afghanistan, best known for its Greco-Buddhist school of sculpture. In its interpretation of Buddhist legends, the Gandhara school incorporated many motifs and techniques from classical Roman art while remaining Indian at its core. It depicted Buddha in human form for the first time, blending Hellenistic and Indian influences, often with features resembling the Greek god Apollo. Today, despite an international outcry, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban religious army has instituted a policy of demolishingall Gandhara statues, calling them "un-Islamic." Exquisitely illustrated, this book pays tribute to an art under siege, documenting its importance in world and religious history. [1 copy left.]
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GLIMPSES OF THE ANCIENT SOUTHWEST
by David E. Stuart. B&W photos and maps plus original drawings by Scott Andrae. Condition: NEW 1985 Ancient City Press Trade Paperback, 4th printing. Content: This is an excellent overview of the architectural heritage of the prehistoric Native Americans, usually referred to as "Anasazi" in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. Why he left out the ruins in Utah, I have no idea. The essays are entertaining, yet still enlightening, and are beneficial for both the newcomer to Ancient Americas and the long-time fan. Excellent photos and maps! [1 copy available]
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THE GNOSTIC DISCOVERIES: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi Library
Marvin Meyer. B&W photos throughout. Condition: NEW 2005 HarperSanFrancisco hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: The archaeological find of the twentieth century was the astounding discovery by an Egyptian peasant in December 1945 of a large storage jar filled with ancient papyrus manuscripts. Painstakingly restored and translated, these fragments came to be known collectively as the Nag Hammadi library. Through them we glimpse a fascinating alternative perspective on Jesus and many of his earliest followers, including the influence of Gnosticism on their beliefs. "Gnosticism," a term alluding to special mystical knowledge, designates a series of religious movements that have existed since ancient times. This philosophy permeated Judaism, Greco-Roman religion, and what now appear to be different varieties of Christianity. Some of these alternative views, including Jesus’s relationship to Mary Magdalene, have revolutionized biblical scholarship and were recently sensationalized by Dan Brown in his bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. The struggle to publish these ancient manuscripts has at times seemed like an ancient story of Egyptian magic -- filled with curses and drama. Included in these discoveries are several gospels of Jesus’s life that never made it into the modern Christian Bible as well as a treasury of lost, esoteric wisdom that portrays a side of Christianity suppressed by the institutionalized church. Meyer provides an overview of all the texts and their contents, grouping the codices by their respective genres, schools of thought, or attributed author, and discussing their meaning and significance for us today. He also provides an appendix that for the first time offers a quick survey of all the texts of the Nag Hammadi library and the Berlin Gnostic Codex, summarizing the contents of each of the texts and offering select quotations to illustrate their character and style. The Gnostic Discoveries is the best available guide to the history and significance of the find at Nag Hammadi -- an amazing archaeological link to the founding of the largest religion in the world. [1 copy available]
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THE GOLD OF THE GODS
by Erich Von Daniken. Translated by Michael Heron. Illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs. Condition: Pre-read 1974 Bantam paperback edition, first printing. Spine crease with tanning to interior. Content: Von Daniken explores the vast mysterious underworld of Ecuador - caves filled with gold and and writings in solid gold that go back in time to the Great Flood to bolster his theory of a prehistoric earthly "era of the gods." Why this is considered as "archaeology" escapes me, but . . . . it is interesting. [1 copy available]
$ 1.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

THE HIDDEN MAYA
by Martin Brennan. Excellent B&W renderings from Maya Codex, art work, tomb artifacts, etc. Condition: UNREAD 1999 Bear & Company (Santa Fe) soft cover, first printing/light edge wear with a few small rubbings to black borders front cover (weak color on the cover). Content: The use of hand signs in art and sculpture is prevalent in many spiritual traditions, but the Maya were especially prolific in their use of handsigns or manographs in the glyphs decorating their artifacts. In "The Hidden Maya," author Martin Brennan reveals that these manographs are the keys to the very core of Maya thought. Brennan explains how hand gestures played an intrinsic role in the development of writing, and how, with a variety of dialects in the Maya lands of Central America, a commonly understood sign language developed into a complex artistic language with both mundane and esoteric meanings. Indeed, contrary to scholarly opinion it would appear that the North American Plains Indians borrowed their sophisticated sign language system from the south -- a realization that drew Brennan to the Maya in the first place. This detailed, well-illustrated journey into the hidden realms of the Maya is also testament to the intrinsic role of hand/finger manipulation in the evolution of the human brain and the development of civilization. While some of the data may (or may not) be somewhat dated, this is still an excellent resource, IMHO. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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IN SEARCH OF THE OLD ONES: Exploring the Anasazi World of the Southwest
by David Roberts. B&W photo section. Condition: NEW 1998 Touchstone Trade Paperback, second printing. Light tanning to page edges. Short remainder mark bottom edges. Content: Six hundred years ago, the Anasazi, said to be the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and other Pueblo peoples, left their homes in the region known as the Four Corners, where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona converge, and disappeared. They had inhabited the area for perhaps 5000 or more years. They left behind pots, weavings, tools, monuments, human remains and, above all, their astounding cliff "palaces," containing apartments of as many as 20 rooms each. Many of these are still viable but so fragile that, in the national park lands where most are located, they are closed to the public. Roberts has spent 20 years exploring the region, and he recounts the history of the discoveries, the appalling thefts of artifacts, the cave paintings and his own transcendent experiences in stumbling upon some vestige of this lost civilization. His awe at the region's beauty, with its sheer cliffs, canyons and mesas, and at the testaments to an unknown culture will be contagious for readers. Questions welcome. [3 copies available]
$ 5.89 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

IN SEARCH OF THE IMMORTALS: Discovering the World's Mummy Cultures
by Howard Reid. Two wonderful color photo sections. Condition: UNREAD 1999 Headline Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Light tanning to page edges. Content: Reid, a documentary filmmaker and anthropologist living in England, sets out for exotic regions and vivifies ancient mummy-making cultures, artfully blending living and dead voices. He cites ancient scribes like Herodotus, Tacitus and the Babylonian author of the Gilgamesh epic, alongside accounts of and by the living descendents of mummy makers. Primarily, he seeks to understand "the paths that [these cultures] may have intended to tread beyond life" by examining "the bodies themselves, their attire and tomb accoutrements." Reid visits with the Maku in the Amazon to unravel the mystery of the Chinchorros of Peru, whose mummifying culture predates Egypt's. At a winter camp in southwest Siberia, he learns about the burial rites of the Kazakh nomads' warlord ancestors. He investigates the bog bodies of northern Europe; the peoples who established the Silk Route in China, whose mummies show evidence of an ancient European influence in the East; and the Guanches of the Canary Islands, who shared unexpected cultural links with the Egyptians. This intellectual adventure story focuses as much on life as on death; indeed, the way a culture regards death, the author implies, says much about how it regards life. The most interesting, IMHO, is the discussion of the "Celtic" mummies of China's Taklamakan Desert. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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IN SEARCH OF THE TROJAN WAR
by Michael Wood. 112 B&W photos, floor plans, & maps with 34 full color photos. Condition: Gently pre-read (it was my book) 1987 Plume large soft cover, first printing. Light crease front cover fore edge (poor shelving). Content: Written to complement a BBC-TV series scheduled to begin on PBS this month, Wood's book is essentially an investigation of the historical reality, if any, behind the legend of Troy and the Trojan War. Though not a professional archaeologist, Wood shows a fine grasp of the various problems presented by the Homeric epics, and writes well about sometimes complicated archaeological, linguistic, and historical matters. At times his presentation is a bit repetitious, but those interested in the attempts of individuals such as Schliemann, Dorpfeld, Blegen, and Evans to explore sites thought to be those connected by Homer with the Trojan War will find a lively and sometimes speculative account based on current scholarship. While much has been written on the Trojan War since this book was published, it is worth the read for the history of Troy's archaeology and Homer's epic. Showing now on either the History Channel or Discovery is an excellent program using a computer simulation of the battles of the Trojan War. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 3.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE JOURNEY FROM EDEN: The Peopling of Our World
by .Brian M. Fagan. Four B&W photo sections plus B&W drawings and photos througout. DJ cover art by Giovanni Caselli. Condition: NEW 1990 Thames & Hudson hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Content: Let me say that IMHO Fagan is the most original archaeologist working today. Fagan begins this account of the emergence of "anatomically modern" humans with the genetic evidence for a common human ancestor, nicknamed "Eve," living in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. He then explores the evidence for two theories of human dispersal. The "Noah's Ark" school finds a single origin in sub-Saharan Africa for Homo sapiens sapiens, who subsequently colonized the other continents, while the "Candelabra" school argues that Homo erectus evolved independently into Homo sapiens in Asia and possibly Europe. Some of this material appears in Michael E. Brown's The Search for Eve ( LJ 2/1/90), but Fagan's book is far more concise, authoritative, and articulate. Readers with some background in paleontology will find this book very rewarding. [1 copy available]
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THE KEYS OF EGYPT: The Obsession to Decipher Egyptian Hieroglyphs
by .Lesley and Roy Adkins. B&W photo section. Condition: NEW 2000 HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Jean-François Champollion's biography is neatly interwoven with Napoleonic history and the functions of Egyptian hieroglyphs in The Keys of Egypt. A gifted bookseller's son born in Revolutionary France, Champollion was to become "gripped by energetic enthusiasm" for Egypt. By the age of 12, he was studying several ancient languages, and, amid a "wave of Egyptomania," he would beat rivals to discover the key to deciphering hieroglyphs. If this was a race, it was a marathon. The breakthrough came after "20 years of obsessive hard work," not through the quick-fix solution often thought to have been provided by the Rosetta stone. The Keys of Egypt details Champollion's life and work, which were hampered by politics, poverty, and an almost hypochondriacal series of health problems. Its sources include letters and journals, the authors having undertaken researches in major libraries and museums. Chapters on Champollion's travels in Italy and Egypt include a good smattering of excerpts from his writings. Although no bibliography is given, there is a helpful passage on various levels of further reading. Highly instructive and fast-paced, The Keys of Egypt is perhaps less dramatic than it might be in portraying troubled times and groundbreaking discovery. It is, however, a clearly expressed and wide-ranging book explaining the complexity of hieroglyphic interpretation and revealing the man whose achievements "meant the discovery of a whole new civilization." [2 copies available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

KOURION: The Search For A Lost Roman City
by David Soren & Jamie James. B&W and color photos plus detailed B&W drawings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1988 Anchor Trade Paperback, BMOC edition. Edge wear with smudges on top and fore edges. Interior clean & tight. Content: Kourion was an ancient city having Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian periods. This book details the digs at the ancient city which unearthed what is most likely the earliest Christian city. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 10.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A DRUID PRINCE: How the Discovery of Lindow Man Revealed the Secrets of a Lost Civilization
by Anne Ross and Don Robins. B&W maps and photo section. Condition: NEW 1991 Touchstone Trade Paperback, first pritning. Content: The discovery of a 2000-year-old man's body in a peat bog in Lindow Moss, near Manchester, England on August 1, 1984 brought the authors together to study his remains, specifically his last meal. Ross is a Celtic specialist and archaeologist; Robins a chemist specializing in archaeological work. Their collaboration has resulted in this engrossing archaeological study which unfolds like a well-told detective story. With clarity and scientific skill, they reconstruct the ritual sacrifice of this 30-year-old man they deduce to have been a Celtic aristocrat. Probably a Druid priest, the man was sacrificed to the gods in A.D. 60 in the wake of a series of disasters, including the advance of Roman armies bent on crushing the Druids. The appendixes provide an overview of the Druids--their institutions, beliefs, and archaeological remains. An engrossing work. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.59 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

LOST CITIES OF CHINA, CENTRAL ASIA & INDIA
by David Hatcher Childress. Wonderful B&W maps and photos throughout. Condition: PLEASE READ! UNREAD, but not perfect, 1998 Adventures Unlimited fat Trade Paperback (408+ pages), revised edition. Problem: Another book had been stuck to the front cover fore edge and has left a series of "bald" spots on that area. Interior perfect. Content: Like a real life 'Indiana Jones', maverick archaeologist David Childress takes the reader on an incredible adventure across some of the world's oldest and most remote countries in search of lost cities and ancient mysteries. Discover ancient cities in the Gobi Desert; hear fantastic tales of lost continents, vanished civilisations and secret societies bent on ruling the world. Visit forgotten monasteries in forbidding snow-capped mountains with strange tunnels to mysterious subterranean cities! A unique combination of far out exploration and practical travel advice; it will astound and delight the experienced traveller or the armchair voyager. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 6.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

LOST GODS OF ALBION: The Chalk Hill-Figures of Britain
by Paul Newman (NO, not that one). B&W photos, maps, & drawings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 2000 Sutton (UK) hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylr jacket), first printing. Light tanning to white DJ edges but NO tanning to interior pages. Content: First published in 1987, this is a new edition, completely rewritten and freshly illustrated and incorporates radical new interpretations arising from the latest discoveries and researches. The flowing outlines of the Uffington White Horse, the phallic symbolism of the Cerne Giant, the austere Long Man of Wilmington and many other chalk hill-figures form some of Britain's best-known landmarks. As a uniquely British phenomenon, the thirty or so figures cut into the turf of southern England have excited antiquarians, archaeologists and the general pubic for generations. However, their origins are enigmatic. Newman shows how hill-figures reveal Britain's darkest past: Druid massacres, conjectured human sacrifice and strange phallic and pagan rites that in a miler form survive even today. Fascinating! [1 copy available]
$ 9.39 + $ 3.29 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE MAN IN THE ICE: The Discovery of a 5,000-Year-Old Body Reveals the Secrets of the Stone Age
by Knorad Spindler. Four color photo sections. Condition: This book is a rarity. UNREAD, but not perfect, 1996 Harmony Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing. Problem: This is an unread ex-library book - with library markings. Interior clean, tight, unread. Content: In 1991 the Alpine glacier ice had already given up five bodies before a sixth was discovered by passing hikers. The previous five had been in the ice from 10 to 57 years. The sixth had been held suspended in the very spot where he died, for 5,000 years.The excitement of this momentous discovery quickly degenerated into farce as nations began squabbling over jurisdiction. Was the man found in Italian or Austrian territory? Konrad Spindler, the first archaeologist to examine the body and intimately involved in its study ever since, reports this bureaucratic wrangling as scrupulously as he does every other detail of the find in this thorough and absorbing book. He begins at the beginning, with the hikers who spotted the emerging head and shoulders and goes on to mention every other person who arrived at the site, tourists as well as officials and recovery experts. Although this at first seems puzzlingly excessive, it's important. Recovery, made difficult by the weather and the reluctance of the glacier, was suspenseful, interrupted, and involved a certain amount of hacking and other disturbance. But the glacier preserved the iceman (and yes, Spindler explains exactly how) so perfectly that tourist photos and recollections of the scene are important to reconstructing his final hours. The picture that emerges is so clear and intriguing, it's amazing that -in fiction - so far only a children's novel has been inspired. The iceman was clearly a mountaineer accustomed to spending prolonged periods far from home (his carefully sewn garments were crudely mended and his teeth were worn from a steady diet of dried meat). Spindler describes his clothing - from water-shedding grass cloak to leather loin cloth and grass-stuffed shoes - in every detail, from the first steps of construction through each sign of wear, explaining why pelts would be cut just so and how sinews are dried and frayed for superior thread. Among the man's possessions were a birch bark container that once held a live ember for the man's camp fire. Modern science could detect traces of previous embers, indicating, through the wood used, the various terrains the man had crossed. Also found were fire making supplies, a belt pouch containing tools, a dagger, a net Spindler speculates was used for snaring birds and, most interesting, an unfinished bow stave, and, in his arrow quiver, two broken arrows and a number of unbroken, unfinished arrows. From this last, and from the iceman's broken ribs, scientists deduce he had, no more than two months previous to his death, encountered a violent event which probably involved other humans and may have caused him to flee into the mountains at a dangerous time of year, exhaustion and bad weather contributing to his death. Spindler's final section (save for his disapproving comments on other, more sensational reactions to the find) concerns life in the Neolithic Age and where the iceman fit in. This includes a lot if interesting tidbits, such as the fact, determined from pollen research, that agricultural grazing began on the high slopes rather than the valleys, as well as technical data more detailed than the average reader is looking for. All in all, a fascinating book, if not scintillating with wit and adventurous suppositions. Spindler will leave that to the fictionalizers. [1 copy available]
$ 3.99 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

MARKHAM IN PERU: The Travels of Clements R. Markham, 1852 - 1853
by Charles R. Markham. Edited by Peter Blanchard. B&W maps and illustrations from Markham's journal. Condition: NEW 1991 University of Texas Press Trade Paperback, first edition, first printing. Tiny edge wear. Content: Clements Markham had his own ideas about what his life's work should be. In 1852, Marhkam left his father's choice, the British Navy, and set out for Peru to study the ruins of the Inca empire. His ten-month sojourn in Peru produced this journal, one of the few surviving accounts of Peru at mid-nineteenth century, and launched Markham on a career that led ultimately to the presidency of the Royal Geographical Society. His journal captures Peru in transition from the colonial past to the modern ear. He was one of the first English travelers to visit Cuzco and he also witnessed the waning of slavery on the great cotton and sugar plantations as modern machinery and Chinese coolie labor were introduced. He visited with all classes of society, from the Indian peasants, who still lived much as their Inca ancestors had done, to the Spanish-descended elites, whose Europeanized lifestyle was underwritten by fortunes made in the guano industry. Fascinating! Questions welcome. [2 copies available]
$ 19.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

MASTODON HUNTERS TO MOUND BUILDERS: North American Archaeology
(SIGNED COPY)
by Peter & Belia Nichols (of Austin). B&W maps and illustrations by Linda Battles-Herron and Beth Newman. Condition: INSCRIBED on Title Page by the authors and illustrator Linda Battles-Herron. UNREAD 1992 Eakin Press hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ), first editoin. Content: Covers the archaeology of North America (and northern Mexico) from the first Americans to the Anasazi to the Mound Builders. Excellent into to archaeology for kids. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

MAYA ARCHAEOLOGIST
by J. Eric S. Thompson. Foreword by Norman Hammond. B&W era photo section plus B&W drawings throughout. Condition: NEW 1971 Univ of Oklahoma Press Trade Paperback edition (c. 2000+), 5th printing. Bookstore price marked out top corner loose end page. Content: This is an autobiographical account of explorations in Mayan ruins by J. Eric Thompson, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Maya Indians of Mexico and Central America. Based on his expeditions from 1926 to 1936 - when conditions in the Maya area were very close to those in the years of the Conquest - this book is an intensely personal account of the investigation of the "stone cities," such as Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Copán, Tikal, and Quirigua, as well as lively portraits of the archaeologists who probed this civilization Excellent. [1 copy available]
$ 12.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping. International shipping available.

THE MAYA WORLD (Revised Edition)
by Elizabeth P. Benson. 60+ B&W photos and drawings. Condition: UNREAD 1977 Crowell Trade Paperback, revised edition. Very light edge wear. Content: Yes, this is an older book and some of the information may be dated, BUT the importance of this book lies in the illustrations, IMHO. Wonderful B&W recreations, detailed Codes drawings, and artifact photos. Excellent. [1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

MEGALITHIC TOMBS AND LONG BARROWS IN BRITAIN
by Frances Lynch. B&W photos, drawings, and maps illustrate. Condition: NEW 2004 Shire soft cover, reprint. B&W photos, drawings, and maps illustrate. Content: This book covers all the great tombs of the first farmers in Britain, both the earthen mounds and the huge stone chambers. The dramatic stone monuments of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and the Cotswolds and the less awe-inspiring earth and timber megalithic tombs and long barrows of southern and north-eastern England are described and illustrated with plans and photographs. [1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

MINOTAUR: Sir Arthur Evans and the Archaeology of the Minoan Myth
by Joseph Alexander MacGillivray. B&W drawings and two B&W era photo sections. Condition: NEW 2000 Hill & Wang hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. DJ shows light edge wear top edge. Content: On the most obvious level, this splendid, multilayered book is a biography of Sir Arthur Evans, the archeologist most responsible for the excavation of the palace at Knossos on Crete, the center of Minoan civilization in the second millennium B.C. Evans's life and work provide a fascinating example of the private and professional lives of those Victorians whose superb education, nonconformist brilliance, determination and diligence resulted in major discoveries that continue, even today, to define dialogue concerning the origins of civilization in Western Europe. But this book by MacGillivray (an archeologist who has worked on Crete) is much more than a biography of the right man at the right place at the right time. It was in the late 19th century that archeology moved from being essentially an international treasure hunt financed by wealthy individuals (as was the case with Schliemann and Troy) to a scholarly discipline with well-defined expectations for the conduct of an excavation, preservation of finds and publication about ancient sites. Evans was among a number of prominent archeologists who recognized the need for change and helped to make it possibleDbut only, it seems, grudgingly. The book's appeal, however, should reach far beyond readers interested specifically in Minoan civilization or in the process of archeological discovery. This richly detailed and engrossing account also illuminates the social, intellectual and military/political history of the give-and-take among the great European powers and the Ottoman Empire. It will also appeal to readers of travel literature as Evans and those around him were always on the move and insatiable sightseers. . [1 copy available]
$ 18.89 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE MUMMIES OF URUMCHI
by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. Wonderful color photo section of mummies and their clothing. B&W photos, as well. Detailed B&W maps throughout. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, c. 2000 Pan Trade Paperback, third printing. Tiny tag removal mark front cover with light tanning to page edges. Content: In 1994, a most astonishing discovery was made in Western China. Incredibly well-preserved mummies dating back 2000 years were unearthed in this remote region?mummies with large, colorful wardrobes, mummies that were distinctively Caucasian. The mystery of what six-foot-tall, fair-haired people were doing in China at the time took Barber, an expert on ancient textiles at Occidental College in L.A., to the desert city of Urumchi in 1995, where archeologists at the site hoped that her expertise might help them understand what these unlikely people were doing there. She had excellent material to work with: the mummies were in such remarkable condition that they still had full heads of hair and beards, and their skin was only slightly weathered. Most had been buried with plenty of brightly colored clothes to wear (one man was buried with 10 hats, each a different style), which gave Barber a treasure-trove of textiles with which to work. Barber structures her tale as a mystery, revealing information piecemeal until she presents her conclusions about the origin of the mummies. In the process, she treats readers to a lively story about the ebb and flow of ancient cultures, a story largely deduced from the development of weaving, dyeing, embroidery and fashion. Barber's hypothesis about how Caucasian mummies wound up in Urumchi, which has something to do with the Silk Road, is so clear and logical that readers will be satisfied that all relevant possibilities have been thoroughly examined. The only thing lacking is information on how to pronounce Urumchi. 16 pages of color photos. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 10.00 + $ 3.19 media shipping. International shipping available.

The MUMMY: Funereal Rites and Customs In Ancient Egypt (Facsimile of 1893 Original)
by E. A. Wallis Budge. A wealthh of detailed B&W drawings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1995 Senate Trade Paperback, reprint. Light tanning to page edges. Tiny edge wear. Content: A note about the Author: Budge was the expert on Ancient Egypt before Egypt had its own published experts. Everything he did is documented and detailed. This book was originally published in 1893 as The Mummy: Chapters on Egyptian Funeral Archaeology. This fascinating volume will interest anyone wishing to understand not only the process of mummification but also the cultural background of ritual upon which an entire civilization was built. Excellent. [1 copy available]
$ 8.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE MUMMY CONGRESS: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead
by Heather Pringle. Color photos section. Condition: NEW 2001 Theia (Hyperion) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Pringle's mummy experts are livelier than a crypt full of stacked corpses. This is high praise given how successfully the author animates the dead in this delightfully macabre piece of mortuary globe-trotting. The trip begins at the World Congress on Mummy Studies, held last in arid Arica, Chile. Arica's climate makes it the ideal place to bring your mummy as eccentric scholars do, by the busload. From South America, Pringle, a frequent contributor to magazines like Discover and Islands, departs for the global ateliers of this weird profession, from the makeshift morgue of Art Aufderheide in Egypt, where plastic bags full of brittle corpses are piled by the dozens; to the Peruvian mountaintops, where an American adventurer's discovery of a beautiful Inca girl named "Juanita," an ancient and flawless sacrifice to the gods, ignites a media frenzy; to the subterranean caverns beneath Red Square, where a team of mausoleumists tended to Lenin's lifelike remains, and freelanced their skills out to fellow communists wanting to see their own dead leaders under glass. Pringle's gifts as a writer and a journalist are evident on every page. In brisk, vivid prose she delivers the secrets of the mummy trade: mummies as medicine; the self-preservation techniques of Japanese monks; and the Vatican's modern-day practitioners of the temple priest's art. Pringle's mummies and the men and women who love them make for fascinating and lively reading; this book is sure to have, as they say, a very long shelf life. [1 copy available]
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THE MUMMY'S TALE: The Scientific and Medical Investigation of Natsef-Amun, Priest in the Temple at Karnak
edited by Dr. A.R. David and Dr. E. Tapp. B&W photos and maps throughout. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1993 St. Martin's hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. The book was bought new (by me) and never read, but it had been perused on the shelf. Content: This interesting, well-documented monograph recounts a 1989 investigation of the 3000-year-old mummy of a Karnak temple priest at Thebes. Working in collaboration with pathologist Tapp, David--a British Egyptologist who is the director of the Manchester Egyptian Mummy Research Project--suggests that instead of dying from disease as earlier studies had implied, the priest may have suffered a violent death from an insect sting or strangulation, especially in view of his elevated stature in a socially and politically turbulent Egypt under Rameses XI. Following concise summaries of Egyptian history and detailed descriptions of the mummification process prescribed by religious funerary beliefs, each of the 14 members of the Manchester Project's interdisciplinary team offers data derived from his or her own specialty--including radiology, histiopathology (tissue examination), endoscopy and dental exams. Facial reconstruction based on the clues left by such remains as skulls, jaws and teeth is so lifelike, the artist claims, that the priest's friends would have recognized him in it. Other scentists involved: P.C.D. Brears; Ian Isherwood; C. W. Hart; Judith Miller; Catherine Asher-McDade; K. Wildsmith; T. Haigh; T.A. Flaherty; and R.A.H. Neave. [1 copy available]
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KOKOPELLI ON STONE BOOKPLATES
art by sdmix. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get at a big store. 4.0" H x 3.0" W. We can personalize your bookplate (the font is Hobo BT) - just email us the name. Any questions, click here to email us. Content: Kokopelli is most likely the most famous of all the ancient American petroglyphs. Here he is depicted playing his flute on "sandstone." "Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with a huge phallus and feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music." (Wikipedia)
$ 4.00 + $ 2.85 first class shipping. International shipping available.

MACHU PICCHU BOOKPLATES
art from a photo rendering. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get at anywhere else. 4.0" H x 3.0" W. We can personalize your bookplate (the font is ZurichCalligraphic) - just email us the name. Any questions, click here to email us. Content: This beautiful rendering from a photo is used on our front page and depicts what was most likely the beauty of Machu Picchu.
$ 4.00 + $ 2.85 first class shipping. International shipping available.

MAYA CALENDAR BOOKPLATES (T'ZOLKIN BOOKPLATES)
art by Airi Pung. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get at anywhere else. 4.0" H x 3.0" W. We can personalize your bookplate (the font is CrossiantD) - just email us the name. Any questions, click here to email us. Content: This is a rendering of the Maya Calendar (T'zolkin) from ancient carvings with time divisions.
$ 4.00 + $ 2.85 first class shipping. International shipping available.