Inspired by Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae and Troy, Sir Arthur John Evans (1851-1941), keeper of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum from 1884 to 1908, trustee of the British Museum and fellow of the Royal Society, used his inherited wealth to purchase land in Crete at Knossos. From 1900 he commenced excavations there in co-operation with the British School at Athens. Work continued for eight full seasons, uncovering a Bronze Age palace and bringing to light further architectural and artefactual remains of Minoan civilisation, including numerous texts in Linear A and Linear B. Evans' speculative reconstruction of the site in reinforced concrete remains controversial, and some of his interpretations are disputed, but his pioneering work is painstakingly detailed in this highly illustrated multi-volume work, published between 1921 and 1935, with an index volume appearing in 1936. Part 2 of Volume 4 first appeared in 1935.

Inspired by Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae and Troy, Sir Arthur John Evans (1851-1941), keeper of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum from 1884 to 1908, trustee of the British Museum and fellow of the Royal Society, used his inherited wealth to purchase land in Crete at Knossos. From 1900 he commenced excavations there in co-operation with the British School at Athens. Work continued for eight full seasons, uncovering a Bronze Age palace and bringing to light further architectural and artefactual remains of Minoan civilisation, including numerous texts in Linear A and Linear B. Evans' speculative reconstruction of the site in reinforced concrete remains controversial, and some of his interpretations are disputed, but his pioneering work is painstakingly detailed in this highly illustrated multi-volume work, published between 1921 and 1935, with an index volume appearing in 1936. Part 1 of Volume 4 first appeared in 1935.

Inspired by Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae and Troy, Sir Arthur John Evans (1851-1941), keeper of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum from 1884 to 1908, trustee of the British Museum and fellow of the Royal Society, used his inherited wealth to purchase land in Crete at Knossos. From 1900 he commenced excavations there in co-operation with the British School at Athens. Work continued for eight full seasons, uncovering a Bronze Age palace and bringing to light further architectural and artefactual remains of Minoan civilisation, including numerous texts in Linear A and Linear B. Evans' speculative reconstruction of the site in reinforced concrete remains controversial, and some of his interpretations are disputed, but his pioneering work is painstakingly detailed in this highly illustrated multi-volume work, published between 1921 and 1935, with an index volume appearing in 1936. Volume 1 (1921) opens with a sketch of Minoan civilisation and then surveys its early history.

The Archaeology and Ethnography of Central Africa provides the first detailed description of the prehistory of the Loango coast of west-central Africa over the course of more than 3,000 years. The archaeological data presented in this volume comes from a pivotal area through which, as linguistic and historical reconstructions have long indicated, Bantu-speaking peoples expanded before reaching eastern and southern Africa. Despite its historical importance, the prehistory of the Atlantic coastal regions of west-central Africa has until now remained almost unknown. James Denbow offers an imaginative approach to this subject, integrating the scientific side of fieldwork with the interplay of history, ethnography, politics, economics, and personalities. The resulting 'anthropology of archaeology' highlights the connections between past and present, change and modernity, in one of the most inaccessible and poorly known regions of west-central and southern Africa.

'Oliver is an evocative storyteller, vividly bringing his tales to life' BBC History From Genghis Khan's domination on earth to Armstrong's first steps on the moon, discover the 100 moments that defined humanity and shaped our world forever. Neil Oliver takes us on a whistle-stop tour around the world and through a million years to give us this unique and invaluable grasp of how human history pieces together. From the east to the west, north to south, these 100 moments act like stepping stones allowing us to make sense of how these pivotal events have shaped the world we know today. Including many moments readers will expect - from the advent of the printing press to the birth of the internet - there are also surprises, and with them, some remarkable, unforgettable stories that give a whole new insight on our past. From the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places, this is outstanding new history of how our world was made from 5000 BC to the present. ********************* Praise for Neil Oliver 'Neil Oliver writes beautifully - bringing the past to life and letting us see ourselves in a new light.' - Professor Alice Roberts 'Brilliantly demonstrates Neil's mastery of the broad sweep of British history and landscape.' - Dan Snow 'Highly-crafted...a vivid, pungent history.' - TLS 'Compelling' - Daily Mail

Beautifully illustrated throughout, this English translation of Desire Charnay's record of his travels among the ancient cities of Mexico and Central America was first published in 1887. Born in France, Charnay (1828 1915) travelled extensively through commissions from the French government and with private patronage. He made several visits to the region between 1857 and 1886, producing in his work both a journal of his adventures and an archaeological examination of past civilisations. Beginning in Mexico, Charnay notably examines the ancient city of Tula and also the history of Yucatan, discussing aspects of Toltec and Mayan culture. He explores the ruins of Chichen Itza, Kabah and Yaxchilan (which Charnay dubbed 'Lorillard Town' after a benefactor), among many other settlements. Surveying art, pyramid architecture, ancient customs and history based on extant sources, this account was a major contribution in its field and remains of interest to scholars of Latin American archaeology.

An anthropologist and archaeologist working for much of his life in the British Museum, Thomas Athol Joyce (1878-1942) succeeded in making American archaeology more accessible to non-specialists. Through careful analysis and presentation of the available evidence from South and Central America, he secured his reputation as an authority in this field, especially with regard to Mayan civilisation. Drawing on his wide reading of the published literature, he produced three pioneering and highly illustrated textbooks. The present work appeared in 1912 and confined itself to South America, beginning its coverage with Colombia in the north. Given the better preservation of the material culture, there is a particular focus on Peru and the Incas. The topics discussed range from burials, mummies and shrunken heads to nose ornaments, musical instruments, tattoos and weaving. Joyce's Mexican Archaeology (1914) and Central American and West Indian Archaeology (1916) are also reissued in this series.

Sir John Marshall (1876-1958) was a British archaeologist who was the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928. First published in 1960, as the fourth edition of a 1918 original, this book was written to provide a concise guide to the ruins of Taxila, excavation of which was led by Marshall. The introductory chapters give the topographical and historical background, and the main body of the work discusses the various groups of buildings and the material they were found to contain. Numerous illustrative figures, a glossary of technical terms and a bibliography are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Taxila and archaeology.

Study of the origin and development of civilization is of unequaled importance for understanding the cultural processes that create human societies. Is cultural evolution directional and regular across human societies and history, or is it opportunistic and capricious? Do apparent regularities come from the way inves tigators construct and manage knowledge, or are they the result of real constraints on and variations in the actual processes? Can such questions even be answered? We believe so, but not easily. By comparing evolutionary sequences from different world civilizations scholars can judge degrees of similarity and difference and then attempt explanation. Of course, we must be careful to assess the influence that societies of the ancient world had on one another (the issue of pristine versus non-pristine cultural devel opment: see discussion in Fried 1967; Price 1978). The Central Andes were the locus of the only societies to achieve pristine civilization in the southern hemi sphere and only in the Central Andes did non-literate (non-written language) civ ilization develop. It seems clear that Central Andean civilization was independent on any graph of archaic culture change. Scholars have often expressed appreciation of the research opportunities offered by the Central Andes as a testing ground for the study of cultural evolu tion (see, e. g. , Carneiro 1970; Ford and Willey 1949: 5; Kosok 1965: 1-14; Lanning 1967: 2-5).

Interrogating Human Origins encourages new critical engagements with the study of human origins, broadening the range of approaches to bring in postcolonial theories, and begin to explore the decolonisation of this complex topic. The collection of chapters presented in this volume creates spaces for expansion of critical and unexpected conversations about human origins research. Authors from a variety of disciplines and research backgrounds, many of whom have strayed beyond their usual disciplinary boundaries to offer their unique perspectives, all circle around the big questions of what it means to be and become human. Embracing and encouraging diversity is a recognition of the deep complexities of human existence in the past and the present, and it is vital to critical scholarship on this topic. This book constitutes a starting point for increased interrogation of the important and wide-ranging field of research into human origins. It will be of interest to scholars across multiple disciplines, and particularly to those seeking to understand our ancient past through a more diverse lens.

Born in Scotland, James Fergusson (1808 86) spent ten years as an indigo planter in India, the profits from which allowed him to embark upon a second career as an architectural historian. Although he had no formal training, he became one of the most respected researchers in the field, particularly in Indian architecture. He made numerous trips around India in order to study and document its cave temples, publishing his first book on the subject in 1845. In 1880, he returned to the subject, collaborating with the archaeologist James Burgess (1832 1916) as part of the Archaeological Survey of India. It was Fergusson who first categorized the temples, suggesting that they could be classified through reference to the religious order and function. Illustrated with more than 150 maps, plans and drawings, this work of impressive scope remains of relevance to students of Indian architecture and history.

Situated between the worlds of the Near East, Europe and Africa, the archaeology and culture of Cyprus are central to an understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world. This book treats the archaeology of Cyprus from the first-known human presence during the Late Epipalaeolithic (ca. 11,000 BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 1000 BC). A. Bernard Knapp examines the archaeological and documentary records of prehistoric Cyprus within their regional context, paying special attention to the Levant and the Aegean. The appendix (compiled by Sturt W. Manning) analyses all published radiocarbon dates from the island, providing for the first time a comprehensive chronological framework for all of Cypriot prehistory. Focusing on key themes such as identity, insularity and connectivity, and society, community and polity throughout, this book provides a remarkably up-to-date and integrated synthesis of human activity on the Mediterranean's third-largest island.

Originally published in 1954, this book was based on various periods of fieldwork undertaken in the region of the Horn of Africa between 1941 and 1946. Written by prominent archaeologist John Desmond Clark (1916-2002), the text presents a detailed analysis of the relationship between physical geography and stone age culture within the area. Numerous illustrative figures, maps, appendices and a bibliography are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in historical geography, anthropology and archaeology.

"The Earliest China" is the first archaeological book in China to translate in the dominant language of the world on the origin of Chinese ancient civilization in the Central Plains and the study of Xia dynastic culture. It shows readers all over the world the outstanding achievements in the study of the formation of early state in China and is the first English translation monograph on the birth history of the first dynasty of Hua-Xia nation from the perspective of archaeology. With the specific archaeological data on the basis of excavations and investigation conducted in recent years, this book focuses on the interpretation of the rise and development of the ancient civilization having initially appeared in the Central Plain of China and even in the Eastern Asia. The book contents include abundant manifestations of the first flourishing civilization especially at the Erlitou site along the Yi and Luo Rivers, characteristic of ultra-large capital city, palace buildings, elaborate bronze vessels, and stratified social organization. With the combination of previously literature, the original author attempts to further explain how the earliest China, a royal-powered, and large-scaled state, emerged four thousand years ago. In this book, the analysis on a comprehensive landscape of the ancient civilization prior to the Shang Dynasty leads the point of views, distinctively from the traditional historical perspectives. With a global perspective, he further compares with other significant civilizations in the world and also points out cultural communications between the early China and other external cultures in the Bronze Age. Therefore, this book, the Earliest China of English translated version, is so appropriate to be recommended to foreign scholars and sinologists, as well as everyone who has been attracted by China's charm overseas. With book contents, ideas, and thoughts that it contains, one can easily acknowledge the goals, methods, and reconstruction process of China's prehistory, so English readers will acknowledge so well about the Chinese Archaeology in the Bronze Age, which does vary in many aspects from that of European and American.

Ancient Central China provides an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological discoveries in the upper and middle Yangzi River region of China, including the Three Gorges Dam reservoir zone. It focuses on the Late Neolithic (late third millennium BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (late first millennium BC) and considers regional and interregional cultural relationships in light of anthropological models of landscape. Rowan K. Flad and Pochan Chen show that centers and peripheries of political, economic and ritual activities were not coincident, and that politically peripheral regions such as the Three Gorges were crucial hubs in interregional economic networks, particularly related to prehistoric salt production. The book provides detailed discussions of recent archaeological discoveries and data from the Chengdu Plain, Three Gorges and Hubei to illustrate how these various components of regional landscape were configured across Central China.

Ancient Central China provides an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological discoveries in the upper and middle Yangzi River region of China, including the Three Gorges Dam reservoir zone. It focuses on the Late Neolithic (late third millennium BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (late first millennium BC) and considers regional and interregional cultural relationships in light of anthropological models of landscape. Rowan K. Flad and Pochan Chen show that centers and peripheries of political, economic and ritual activities were not coincident, and that politically peripheral regions such as the Three Gorges were crucial hubs in interregional economic networks, particularly related to prehistoric salt production. The book provides detailed discussions of recent archaeological discoveries and data from the Chengdu Plain, Three Gorges and Hubei to illustrate how these various components of regional landscape were configured across Central China.

From AD 1550 to 1850, the Araucanian polity in southern Chile was a center of political resistance to the intruding Spanish empire. In this book, Tom D. Dillehay examines the resistance strategies of the Araucanians and how they used mound building and other sacred monuments to reorganize their political and culture life in order to unite against the Spanish. Drawing on anthropological research conducted over three decades, Dillehay focuses on the development of leadership, shamanism, ritual, and power relations. His study combines developments in social theory with the archaeological, ethnographic, and historical records. Both theoretically and empirically informed, this book is a fascinating account of the only indigenous ethnic group to successfully resist outsiders for more than three centuries and to flourish under these conditions.

In this innovative 2007 study, Sarah Tarlow shows how the archaeology of this period manifests a widespread and cross-cutting ethic of improvement. Theoretically informed and drawn from primary and secondary sources in a range of disciplines, the author considers agriculture and the rural environment, towns, and buildings such as working-class housing and institutions of reform. From bleach baths to window glass, rubbish pits to tea wares, the material culture of the period reflects a particular set of values and aspirations. Tarlow examines the philosophical and historical background to the notion of improvement and demonstrates how this concept is a useful lens through which to examine the material culture of later historical Britain.

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.

The Viking reputation is of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, repeatedly plundering the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the early Middle Ages. Yet Vikings were also traders, settlers, and farmers, with a complex artistic and linguistic culture, whose expansion overseas led them to cross the Atlantic for the first time in European history. Highlighting the latest archaeological evidence, Julian Richards reveals the whole Viking world: their history, society and culture, and their expansion overseas for trade, colonization, and plunder. We also look at the Viking identity, through their artistic expression, rune stones, their ships, and their religion. The Viking story is also brought up to date, by examining their legacy from the medieval Icelandic sagas to 19th Century nationalism, Wagner, and the Nazis. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The pre-Columbian city we call Tikal was abandoned by its Maya residents during the tenth century A.D. and succumbed to the Guatemalan rain forest. It was not until 1848 that it was brought to the attention of the outside world. For the next century Tikal, remote and isolated, received a surprisingly large number of visitors. Public officials, explorers, academics, military personnel, settlers, petroleum engineers, chicle gatherers, and archaeologists came and went, sometimes leaving behind material traces of their visits. A short-lived hamlet was established among the ancient ruins in the late 1870s. In 1956 the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology initiated its fourteen-year-long Tikal Project. This report chronicles documented visits to Tikal during the century following its modern discovery, and presents the post-Conquest material culture recovered by the Tikal Project in the course of its investigation of the pre-Columbian city. Further research on the nineteenth-century settlement was carried out in 1998 in its southern part by the Lacandon Archaeological Project (LAP) under the direction of Joel W. Palka of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The material culture recovered by the LAP supplements the Tikal Project collection and is referenced here. Historical Archaeology at Tikal, Guatemala is intended as a contribution to nineteenth and early twentieth century Lowland Mesoamerican research. It is rounded out with several appendices that will be of interest to historians and historical archaeologists. The printed volume includes many black and white photographs and drawings. A gallery of color photographs, several from Palka's 1998 excavations, is included on the accompanying CD-ROM. Content of the book's CD-ROM may be found online at this location: http://core.tdar.org/document/376606. University Museum Monograph, 135

First published in 1920, this work examines the principal archaeological discoveries made in Greece and nearby regions over a fifty-year period from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Originally written for the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature series, the book describes excavations at temple sites, centres of Greek life, and isolated locales, covering both prehistoric and historic periods. The study is supplemented with numerous photographs and illustrations, a list of the most important excavations from 1870 to 1914, and a map of the principal sites discussed.

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862-1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society. During his career he excavated in Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Asia Minor. His books about his travels and excavations were well received and A Wandering Scholar in the Levant of 1896 (also reissued in this series) was described by T. E. Lawrence as 'one of the best travel books ever written'. This work, first published in 1909, contains six lectures on the origins of Ionia. Hogarth presents and evaluates the theories of the origins of Ionian culture that were popular at the time, and in the course of his discussion he delivers the results of some of his own excavations, including those at Ephesus in 1904. The work remains of interest to scholars and students of the region and of the history of archaeology.

This 2004 collection of papers includes some of the most innovative history written about Greece and Rome. The volume offers a convenient and enthralling guide to important issues and topics in Greek and Roman history, maps the changing interests of ancient historians and raises stimulating questions about historical method. The contributors to the volume represent many of the most exciting and influential ancient historians who have been active in the last quarter century. An introduction by the editor, which places the papers in the wider context of changing interests in Greek and Roman history, sets the scene for papers on Greek warfare, the regulation and representation of women and the nature and study of homosexual relationships in Athens, the relationship between Rome and its empire, whether Rome was democratic, the ideology of Augustan Rome, games and gaming at Rome, the lives of slaves, the ancient interpretation of dreams, the nature of religious pilgrimage, early Christian martyr stories, and bandits in the Roman empire.

With its unique geographic diversity and abundant archaeological and textual data, the southern Levant is an excellent “laboratory” for studying how Assyrian domination operated. This collection of essays explains how Neo-Assyrian rule influenced the demographics, economy, and culture of the region. A systematic study of Assyrian rule in the west that integrates archaeological and textual perspectives and reconsiders the “Assyrian Peace” paradigm has long been needed. Building on the unparalleled archaeological and textual information available from the Land of Israel and its surroundings, the studies in this book address various aspects of Assyrian rule, including life under Assyrian hegemony and the consequences of the Assyrian conquests. It includes a broad overview of the vast archaeological data from both the provinces and client kingdoms in the Land of Israel in the Assyrian period, as well as a systematic and chronological survey of Assyrian texts that mention the region or sites therein. The contributors employ widely divergent approaches to topics such as the description of Assyrian encroachment in biblical texts, the Judean experience of Assyrian control, the political structure of the Coastal Plain, and the architecture of hospitality, among others. Integrating various sources of information to reconstruct the demography, economy, architecture, and intellectual life of the southern Levant, the articles in this volume are important not only for the study of Assyrian rule but also for research on empires writ large. In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume include Amitai Baruchi-Unna, Yigal Bloch, Alexander Fantalkin, Wayne Horowitz, David Kertai, Lily Singer-Avitz, and Peter Zilberg.