Alfred Percival Maudslay (1850-1931) was a British colonial administrator and archaeologist who is widely considered the founder of modern Mesoamerican archaeology. After graduating from Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1872 Maudslay made his first visit to Guatemala before becoming a colonial administrator working in Trinidad and Fiji. After retiring from colonial service in 1880 he returned to Guatemala and began exploring and excavating major Mayan sites including Chichen Itza, Copan, Palanque and Quirigua. Maudsley pioneered scientific exploration and recording of these monuments, using techniques which later became standard. First published in 1899, this volume documents Maudslay's last expedition to Guatemala with his wife Anne Cary Maudslay, and contains detailed descriptions and plans of the archaeological sites he had excavated during his previous expeditions. An appendix contains the first excavation reports of Quirigua and Tikal (1883) and Copan (1886), previously published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society.

Hermann Vollrat Hilprecht (1859 1925) was a leading German-American archaeologist and Assyriologist. He emigrated to America in 1886 and was appointed Professor of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania. He was Director of the fourth American archaeological expedition to Nippur between 1898 and 1900, and served as editor of the publications resulting from the expeditions until his retirement in 1911. This book, first published in 1904 as part of the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania publications series, contains accounts of earlier nineteenth-century archaeological excavations in Assyria. Hilprecht describes the earliest British and French excavations in Nineveh and other major sites together with the early American expeditions, and assesses the significance of their findings and their place in the history of Assyriology. This generously illustrated volume provides a valuable account of the archaeological beginnings of Assyriology.

This book was first published in 1955. This work deals with the human remains (of the first millennium BC) from the late Sir Henry Wellcome's excavation at Jebel Moya in the Sudan between 1911 and 1914, and it is the anthropological complement of Mr Frank Addison's two volumes on the archaeology of the site, which appeared in 1949. While its primary object is to determine the physical types represented by the ancient Jebel Moyans and their links with other African peoples, this book formed a comprehensive guide to method in physical anthropology. Formulae for predicting the capacity of the crania by Trevor and Bawa are given, and statures are reconstructed from the regression equations for limb bones of Trotter and Gleser. The authors also explore the racial affinities of the inhabitants of Jebel Moya, known as Generalized Distance Statistic.

This 1982 collection of eight original anthropological essays provides an exciting synthesis of theory and practice in one of the key issues of contemporary cultural evolutionary thought. The contributors ask why complex, highly stratified societies emerged at several locations in the New World at the same point in prehistory. Focusing primarily on the initial centers of civilization in Mesoamerica and the Andean region, they consider the sociopolitical, environmental and ideological factors in state formation. The essays discuss the prehistoric conditions and processes that simulated the development of the first state-level societies in Mesoamerica and Peru, and explore the difficulties archaeologists must face in their direct analysis of physical remains. In general, the contributors recognize a growing need for better archaeological solutions to the question of state origin and for more sensitivity to the problems as well as to the possibilities of ethnographic analogy.

Ethics and Rock Art: Images and Power addresses the distinctive ways in which ethical considerations pertain to rock art research within the larger context of the archaeological ethical debate. Marks on stone, with their social and religious implications, give rise to distinctive ethical concerns within the scholarly enterprise as different perceptions between scholars and Native Americans are encountered in regard to worldviews, concepts of space, time, and in the interpretation of the imagery itself. This discourse addresses issues such as the conflicting paradigms of oral traditions and archaeological veracity, differing ideas about landscapes in which rock art occurs, the intrusion of "desired knowledge", and how the past may be robbed by changing interpretations and values on both sides. Case studies are presented in regard to shamanism and war-related imagery. Also addressed are issues surrounding questions of art, aesthetics, and appropriation of imagery by outsiders. Overall, this discourse attempts to clarify points of contention between Euro-American scholars and Native Americans so that we can better recognize the origins of differences and thus promote better mutual understanding in these endeavors.

First published in 1913, Scythians and Greeks is a monumental work, covering the archaeology, ethnology and history of the region between the Carpathians and the Caucasus. Written evidence on Scythia is mostly from Greek sources, but archaeological evidence provides another picture of these nomadic tribes who moved west in about the eighth century BCE, coming into contact with Greeks, Persians and Egyptians. The book is particularly valuable for its research and bibliography on Siberia and Southern Russia, then less well known to western scholars, from where there are many excavated burials containing magnificent jewellery. Sir Ellis Minns (1874 1953) discusses the pre-history and ethnography of the Scythians, and their shifting territories, and also how they were viewed by outsiders. There is a full exposition on Scythian art and the influence on it of Greek art from the Black Sea colonies, and the book contains hundreds of illustrations.

The book details for the first time all past archaeological work in Antarctica, relating to both its use for conservation and research purposes, drawing on published, unpublished and oral information. This work has addressed historic and current scientific bases, explorers' huts, whaling stations and sealing shelters. The ongoing and long-term research on the sealing shelters and sites in the South Shetland Islands features prominently. The archaeology enables new perspectives on the impact of global modernity and empire in the Antarctic, and challenges established dominant discourses on the 'heroic' nature of human interaction with the continent. The work on sealing sites gives voice to the experiences of the sealer as a subaltern group previously largely overlooked by historical sources. This book will appeal to students and researchers in archaeology, history, and heritage as well as readers interested in the human and historical aspects of Antarctica's past and present.

This volume explores how native peoples of the Southeastern United States cooperated to form large and permanent early villages, using the site of Crystal River on Florida's Gulf Coast as a case study. Crystal River was once among the most celebrated sites of the Woodland period (ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000), consisting of ten mounds and large numbers of diverse artifacts from the Hopewell culture. But a lack of research using contemporary methods at this site and nearby Roberts Island limited a full understanding of what these sites could tell scholars. Thomas Pluckhahn and Victor Thompson reanalyze previous excavations and conduct new field investigations to tell the whole story of Crystal River from its beginnings as a ceremonial center, through its growth into a large village, to its decline at the turn of the first millennium while Roberts Island and other nearby areas thrived. Comparing this community to similar sites on the Gulf Coast and in other areas of the world, Pluckhahn and Thompson argue that Crystal River is an example of an ""early village society."" They illustrate that these early villages present important evidence in a larger debate regarding the role of competition versus cooperation in the development of human societies.

In this book, Bleda During offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr During traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human developments, including the domestication of animals, metallurgy, fortified towns and long-distance trading networks. Situated at the junction between Europe and Asia, Asia Minor has often been perceived as a bridge for the movement of technologies and ideas. By contrast, this book argues that cultural developments followed a distinctive trajectory in Asia Minor from as early as 9,000 BC.

In this book, Bleda During offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr During traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human developments, including the domestication of animals, metallurgy, fortified towns and long-distance trading networks. Situated at the junction between Europe and Asia, Asia Minor has often been perceived as a bridge for the movement of technologies and ideas. By contrast, this book argues that cultural developments followed a distinctive trajectory in Asia Minor from as early as 9,000 BC.

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817 1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. His excavations provided important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia, particularly about the Assyrian civilisation, and his books - part travel writing, part specialised archaeological studies - are beautifully evocative. First published in 1853, this two-volume study follows the earlier Nineveh and its Remains (1849). It describes Layard's second expedition to the Near East, in 1845, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the great Assyrian capital Nineveh. In this richly illustrated book, Layard focuses on the description and interpretation of ruins, as he tells of the discovery of the lost palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (eighth century BCE) in northern Iraq. Volume 1 is an account of the excavations at Kouyunjik, and also describes a journey along the Khabur river in Syria, where Layard assesses the influence of Assyrian art on the region.

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817 1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. His excavations provided important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia, particularly about the Assyrian civilisation, and his books - part travel writing, part specialised archaeological studies - are beautifully evocative. First published in 1853, this two-volume study follows the earlier Nineveh and its Remains (1849). It describes Layard's second expedition to the Near East, in 1845, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the great Assyrian capital Nineveh. In this richly illustrated book, Layard focuses on the description and interpretation of ruins, as he tells of the discovery of the lost palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (eighth century BCE) in northern Iraq. Volume 2 describes the discoveries made in the ruins of Kouyunjik, and follows Layard as he travels to the south of Iraq in search of the ruins of the mysterious Babylon.

Sir Cyril Fox (1882-1967) was an archaeologist and later Director of the National Museum of Wales and President of the Museums Association. Having entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a mature student, his first year dissertation was judged to be more suitable as a PhD thesis, which resulted in him progressing straight to his PhD. His doctoral thesis, reissued here, transformed archaeological thought when it was first published in 1923. In it Fox pioneered the geographical approach to analysing ancient settlement patterns, linking the expansion of human settlement in the Cambridge area from the Neolithic era to the Anglo-Saxon period with favourable environmental conditions. His thesis emphasised the importance of treating archaeological finds as clues to past human settlement instead of being the main focus for archaeological analysis. This approach became the methodological framework for later environmental and landscape archaeology.

John Lloyd Stephens (1805 1852) was an American politician, explorer and writer who is renowned for his pioneering research into the ancient Maya civilisation of Central America. In 1839 Stephens was appointed a Special Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Central America (modern Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador). First published in 1841, this two-volume work is an account of his travels in 1839 and 1840, visiting and recording ancient Mayan sites. Stephens describes Cop n, Palenque and forty-two other ancient sites and includes over fifty illustrations drawn by his travelling companion Frederick Catherwood (1799 1854), a professional architect. Although earlier accounts of Mayan ruins had been published, Stephens' vivid descriptions and Catherwood's meticulous drawings were far more detailed and accurate than previous reports, and kindled Victorian interest in the ancient Maya civilisation. Volume 2 focuses on Palenque, Uxmal and other Mayan sites.

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was a prominent English Egyptologist who was Keeper of the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum between 1893 and 1924. Although better known for his contributions to Egyptology, Budge was also a scholar of the ancient Assyrian language, which he first learnt in 1874. This book, first published in 1880, contains cuneiform inscriptions from artefacts in the British Museum, relating to the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (reigned c.681-669 BCE). They recount Esarhaddon's royal titles, describe his military campaigns in modern Iran and Egypt, and list the monumental buildings in Babylon rebuilt during his reign. Budge provides transliterations and English translations, a vocabulary, and a list of texts consulted. This was the first scholarly study of Esarhaddon, and some of Budge's translations proved controversial. The interest it aroused resulted in increased academic study and translation of cuneiform artefacts.

Heinrich Schliemann (1822 1890) was a successful businessman and self-taught archaeologist who is best known for discovering the site of the ancient city of Troy. This work in English, 'translated by the author's sanction' in 1875, describes his excavations at the ancient mound of Hissarlik in Turkey, which revealed the remains of not just one but several substantial, superimposed ancient settlements, the earliest of which dates back to 4500 BCE. Schliemann himself was convinced that he had located Troy, and the spectacular golden treasure which he unearthed made his discovery famous around the world. However, the crudeness of his excavating techniques was criticised by contemporary archaeologists, and later work on the site has led to the conclusion that the treasure is in fact from a much earlier settlement than Homeric Troy. Schliemann's achievement was nevertheless extraordinary, and this first-hand account of his discoveries makes compelling reading.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857-1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. First published in 1886 for the Palestine Exploration Fund, this volume contains the results of the first survey of the Hauran region conducted by Schumacher in preparation for the construction of the Damascus-Haifa railway. Considered one of Schumacher's most important surveys, it describes the archaeological remains, geology and contemporary villages of this region in great detail. Accounts of this area by the British traveller Laurence Oliphant (1829-1888) and the scholar Guy Le Strange (1854-1933) are also included in this volume.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857 1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and soon assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. First published in 1890 for the Palestine Exploration Fund, this volume contains the results of Schumacher's survey of Northern 'Alj n in present-day Jordan. This region contains the cities of the ancient Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic cities which were centres of Greek and Roman culture. In this volume Schumacher describes the contemporary villages and ancient ruins in this area, and includes the results of the first surveys of the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara, Arbela and the disputed site of Capitolias.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857-1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and soon assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. This volume contains the results of the first detailed survey of the ancient city of Pella, conducted by Schumacher for the Palestine Exploration Fund, and published by the Fund in 1888. During the Roman era Pella was one of the cities of the Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic cities which were centres of Greek and Roman culture. Schumacher describes the site of Pella, its extant structures and its surrounding ruins as they appeared at the time of publication.

This work, first published in 1847, is an account by Constantin von Tischendorf (1815 74) of his journeying in the Middle East at the beginning of the 1840s. It is part travel log and part account of the Christian history of the area. After encounters with such men as Mehmet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha, he visits the library of the Patriarch of Alexandria. The German biblical scholar then travels to the monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai, where he makes the extraordinary discovery of a previously unknown fourth-century manuscript, one of the main witnesses to the Septuagint, before reaching the main goal of his long journey - Jerusalem. This lively narrative by a controversial scholar-explorer also entertains the reader with some of the more unexpected elements of his travels, such as an attack by robbers who are routed when he draws his sword.

Before the Spanish Conquest and well into the eighteenth century, Mesoamerican peoples believed that time and space were contained in earthly and heavenly receptacles that were visualized metaphorically. This circumscribed space contained the abodes of the dead. There, deities and ancestral spirits could be revived and the living could communicate with them. In Social Memory in Ancient and Colonial Mesoamerica, Amos Megged uncovers the missing links in Mesoamerican peoples quest for their collective past. Analyzing ancient repositories of knowledge, as well as social and religious practices, he uncovers the unique procedures and formulas by which social memory was communicated and how it operated in Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest. He also explores how cherished and revived practices evolved, how they were adapted to changing circumstances, and how they helped various ethnic groups cope with the tribulations of colonization and Christianization. Megged s volume also suggests how social and cultural historians, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists can rethink indigenous representations of the past while taking into account the deep transformations in Mexican society during the colonial era."

The decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs has enabled scholars to better understand Classic society, but many aspects of this civilization remain shrouded in mystery, particularly its economies and social structures. How did farmers, artisans, and rulers make a living in a tropical forest environment? In this study, Patricia McAnany tackles this question and presents the first comprehensive view of ancestral Maya economic practice. Bringing an archaeological approach to the topic, she demonstrates the vital role of ritual practice in indigenous ecologies, gendered labor, and the construction of colossal architecture. Examining Maya royalty as a kind of social speciation, McAnany also shows the fundamentality of social difference as well as the pervasiveness of artisan production and marketplaces in ancestral Maya societies. Her analysis of royal iconography and hieroglyphic texts provides evidence of a political economy dominated by tribute extraction, thus lifting the veil of opacity over the operation of palace economies. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book situates Maya economies within contemporary social, political, and economic theories of social practice, gender, actor-networks, inalienable goods, materiality, social difference, indigenous ecologies, and strategies of state finance.

Mesoamerica is one of several cradles of civilization in the world. In this book, Robert M. Rosenswig proposes that we understand Early Formative Mesoamerica as an archipelago of complex societies that interacted with one another over long distances and that were separated by less sedentary peoples. These early 'islands' of culture shared an Olmec artistic aesthetic, beginning approximately 1250 BCE (uncalibrated), that first defined Mesoamerica as a culture area. Rosenswig frames the Olmec world from the perspective of the Soconusco area on Pacifica Chiapas and Guatemala. The disagreements about Early Formative society that have raged over the past thirty years focus on the nature of inter-regional interaction between San Lorenzo and other Early Formative regions. He evaluates these debates from a fresh theoretical perspective and integrates new data into an assessment of Soconusco society before, during, and after the apogee of the San Lorenzo polity.

For two centuries, travellers were amazed at the massive buildings found along the rivers that flow from the mountainous interior of Borneo. They concentrated hundreds of people under one roof, in the middle of empty rainforests. There was no practical necessity for this arrangement, and it remains a mystery. In this book Peter Metcalf provides an answer by showing the historical context, using both oral histories and colonial records. The key factor was a pre-modern trading system that funneled rare and exotic jungle products to China via the ancient coastal city of Brunei. Meanwhile the elite manufactured goods traded upriver shaped the political and religious institutions of longhouse society. However, the apparent permanence of longhouses was an illusion. In historical terms, longhouse communities were both mobile and labile, and the patterns of ethnicity they created more closely resemble the contemporary world than any stereotype of 'tribal' societies.

First published in 1982, this volume summarises the proceedings of a conference which took place at the University of Oxford in September 1981. Held under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union and the International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science, the meeting reviewed the progress in the archaeoastronomy of the New World. American archaeoastronomy is growing healthily. Researchers from different disciplines, showing an interest in Native American astronomy, have been collaborating since the early 1970s. Research paths opened by astronomers, archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and ethnologists are converging. In this volume a number of these paths are explored and reviewed. The contents include a survey of progress in understanding Maya astronomy; astronomical and calendric practices of the Hopi and the Incas; and case studies of Bonampak (Mexico), Chaco Canyon, and Casa Rinconada.