Amateur geologist and archaeologist, Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868) was the first to establish the existence of man in Europe in the Pleistocene period. Although his three volume work resulted from over ten years of excavations in the gravel pits of the Somme Valley, Boucher de Perthes' assertions were doubted by contemporaries. His conclusion was based on the simultaneous discovery of flint tools and human remains. These doubts appeared justified when a human jaw uncovered during one of his excavations turned out to be a hoax. De Perthes' findings later received support from the British Royal Society, sparking an explosion of scientific research on evolution. De Perthes was elected an officer of the Legion d'Honneur, and served as President of the Societe d'Emulation d'Abbeville (Competitiveness Society) for seventeen years. Volume 2 describes his further excavations in the Somme Valley. Published in Paris in 1857, it includes 26 plates.

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. In this 1874 work, written in the style of a diary, Schliemann describes his excavations at 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. Although his excavating techniques were crude, and later work on the site has led to the conclusion that the treasure dates from a much earlier settlement than Homeric Troy, Schliemann's achievement was extraordinary and his account makes compelling reading. This book was translated into English in 1875 as Troy and Its Remains, also reissued in this series.

Clothing was crucial in human evolution, and having to cope with climate change was as true in prehistory as it is today. In Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory, Ian Gilligan offers the first complete account of the development of clothing as a response to cold exposure during the ice ages. He explores how and when clothes were invented, noting that the thermal motive alone is tenable in view of the naked condition of humans. His account shows that there is considerably more archaeological evidence for palaeolithic clothes than is generally appreciated. Moreover, Gilligan posits, clothing played a leading role in major technological innovations. He demonstrates that fibre production and the advent of woven fabrics, developed in response to global warming, were pivotal to the origins of agriculture. Drawing together evidence from many disciplines, Climate Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory is written in a clear and engaging style, and is illustrated with nearly 100 images.

Humanity's written history stretches back only 5,000 years, a mere blip on the timeline of our existence. If you want to know what it really means to be fully human, to see the whole story, you need to go back. Way, way back. Prehistoric humans couldn't write, but they were adept at telling their own stories. On every continent and outpost where they gained a foothold, they left signs for modern man to decipher. From the Middle Bronze Age settlement of Arkaim on the Kazakh Steppes to the temples of the Olmec in Mexico; from one of the first European proto-cities at Nebelivka in Ukraine to the neolithic henges of Avebury and Stonehenge; from the dolmens of Antequera in the heart of Andalucia to the megalithic culture that thrived in isolation on Indonesia's tiny Nias Island.

The essays in Transforming the Dead: Culturally Modified Bone in the Prehistoric Midwest explore the numerous ways that Eastern Woodland Native Americans selected, modified, and used human bones as tools, trophies, ornaments, and other objects imbued with cultural signifi cance in daily life and rituals. Transforming the Dead is a collection of essays that examines culturally modified human bones and their roles as "cultural and ritual objects" among prehistoric Eastern Woodland cultures. Previous scholarship has explored the role of human body parts in Native American cultures as trophies of war and revered ancestors. This collection discusses new evidence that human elements were also important components of daily and ritual activities across the Eastern Woodlands. The contribu tors to this volume discuss each case study within the unique regional and temporal contexts of the material, rather than seeking universal answers to how these objects were used. Most research addressing modified human bone has focused on cut marks and trauma associated with warfare, trophy taking, and burial practices. The editors and contributors of Transforming the Dead docu ment the varied and often overlooked ways that human bone was intentionally modified through drilling, incising, cutting, and polish ing for utilitarian, ornamental, spiritual, or ritual use. Examples include bracelets and gorgets to be worn, as well as musical rasps, pipe stems, masks, and protective talismans. The form and function of these ob jects are not unusual; their construction from the remains of "another" sets them apart. Through a flexible but systematic analysis of the archaeological record, the contributors bring into focus how the careful selection, modifica tion, and retention of particular bones or body parts of an individual after death offer insights into concepts of personhood, the body, life, and death among the prehistoric Native Americans in the Midwest.

Massive yet elegantly executed masonry architecture and andenes (agricultural terraces) set against majestic and seemingly boundless Andean landscapes, roads built in defiance of rugged terrains, and fine textiles with orderly geometric designs-all were created within the largest political system in the ancient New World, a system headed, paradoxically, by a single, small minority group without wheeled vehicles, markets, or a writing system, the Inka. For some 130 years (ca. A.D. 1400 to 1533), the Inka ruled over at least eighty-six ethnic groups in an empire that encompassed about 2 million square kilometers, from the northernmost region of the Ecuador-Colombia border to northwest Argentina. The Inka Empire brings together leading international scholars from many complementary disciplines, including human genetics, linguistics, textile and architectural studies, ethnohistory, and archaeology, to present a state-of-the-art, holistic, and in-depth vision of the Inkas. The contributors provide the latest data and understandings of the political, demographic, and linguistic evolution of the Inkas, from the formative era prior to their political ascendancy to their post-conquest transformation. The scholars also offer an updated vision of the unity, diversity, and essence of the material, organizational, and symbolic-ideological features of the Inka Empire. As a whole, The Inka Empire demonstrates the necessity and value of a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates the insights of fields beyond archaeology and ethnohistory. And with essays by scholars from seven countries, it reflects the cosmopolitanism that has characterized Inka studies ever since its beginnings in the nineteenth century.

Named after an archaeological site discovered in 1951 in Zhengzhou, China, the Erligang civilization arose in the Yellow River valley around the middle of the second millennium BCE. Shortly thereafter, its distinctive elite material culture spread to a large part of China's Central Plain, in the south reaching as far as the banks of the Yangzi River. The Erligang culture is best known for the remains of an immense walled city at Zhengzhou, a smaller site at Panlongcheng in Hubei, and a large-scale bronze industry of remarkable artistic and technological sophistication.

This richly illustrated book is the first in a western language devoted to the Erligang culture. It brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines, including art history and archaeology, to explore what is known about the culture and its spectacular bronze industry. The opening chapters introduce the history of the discovery of the culture and its most important archaeological sites. Subsequent essays address a variety of important methodological issues related to the study of Erligang, including how to define the culture, the usefulness of cross-cultural comparative study, and the difficulty of reconciling traditional Chinese historiography with archaeological discoveries. The book closes by examining the role the Erligang civilization played in the emergence of the first bronze-using societies in south China and the importance of bronze studies in the training of Chinese art historians.

The contributors are Robert Bagley, John Baines, Maggie Bickford, Rod Campbell, Li Yung-ti, Robin McNeal, Kyle Steinke, Wang Haicheng, and Zhang Changping.

The prehistoric site of Le Placard, located in Southwest France, was discovered and first explored 150 years ago at a time when prehistory was just emerging as a scientific discipline. Through this century and a half of explorations this site has been involved in numerous debates of prehistoric research; it has also yielded an extraordinary amount and diverse range of archaeological materials (i.e. lithics, fauna, osseous industry, body adornments, pigments, human remains, mobiliary and parietal art, hearths, etc.). Yet this site appears now poorly valued due to the devastating 19th-century excavation techniques that almost completely emptied the cavity. Subsequently it is surprisingly ill-known. This 150-year milestone gives us an opportunity to look back at this exceptional site and its associated materials in order to demonstrate that it still holds a unique potential in the debates about these Late Pleistocene hunting and gathering societies. The various chapters cover multiple aspects of the history of research and of the collections, present detailed studies on the material culture (osseous industry, spearthrowers, musical instruments), and address specific issues related to parietal art, social networks and the political nature of these prehistoric communities. The best hypothesis and explanation to account for this exceptional diversity of remains would argue that Le Placard has been a village occupied by various groups of complex (transegalitarian) hunter-gatherers.

Walking with the Unicorn - Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Felicitation Volume' is an important contribution highlighting recent developments in the archaeological research of ancient South Asia, with specific reference to the Indus Civilization. As suggested by the title, it is a compilation of original papers written to celebrate the outstanding contributions of Jonathan Mark Kenoyer to the archaeology of South Asia over the past forty years. Many interpretations now commonly accepted in the study of the Indus Civilization are the results of Kenoyer's original insights, which combine his instinctive knowledge of the indigenous culture with the groundbreaking application of ethnoarchaeology, experimental studies and instrumental analyses. The numerous contributions from international specialists cover central aspects of the archaeological research on Bronze Age South Asia, as well as of the neighboring regions. They include socio-economic implications of craft productions, the still undeciphered Indus script and related administrative technologies and procedures. The inter-regional exchanges that allowed the rooting of the Indus culture over a vaste territory, as well as the subtle regional variations in this 'Harappan veneer' are also studied.

From its first adoption of writing at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, ancient Cyprus was home to distinctive scripts and writing habits, often setting it apart from other areas of the Mediterranean and Near East. This well-illustrated volume is the first to explore the development and importance of Cypriot writing over a period of more than 1,500 years in the second and first millennia BC. Five themed chapters deal with issues ranging from the acquisition of literacy and the adaptation of new writing systems to the visibility of writing and its role in the marking of identities. The agency of Cypriots in shaping the island's literate landscape is given prominence, and an extended consideration of the social context of writing leads to new insights on Cypriot scripts and their users. Cyprus provides a stimulating case to demonstrate the importance of contextualised approaches to the development of writing systems.

Exploring emerging and suppressed evidence from archaeology, anthropology and biology, Frank Joseph challenges conventional theories of evolution, the age of humanity, the origins of civilisation and the purpose of megaliths around the world. Further investigating the evolutionary branches of humanity, he explores the mounting biological evidence supporting the aquatic ape theory - that our ancestors spent one or more evolutionary phases in water - and shows how these aquatic phases of humanity fall neatly into place within his revised timeline of ancient history. Tying in his extensive research into Atlantis and Lemuria, Joseph provides a 20-million-year timeline of the rise and fall of ancient civilisations, both human and pre-human, the evolutionary stages of humanity and the catastrophes and resulting climate changes that triggered them all - events that our relatively young civilisation may soon experience. He reveals 20-million-year-old quartzite tools discovered in the remains of extinct fauna in Argentina and other evidence of ancient pre-human cultures from which we are not descended. He traces the genesis of modern human civilisation to Indonesia and the Central Pacific 75,000 years ago, launched by a catastrophic volcanic eruption that abruptly reduced humanity from two million to a few thousand individuals worldwide. Examining the profound similarities of megaliths around the world, including Nabta Playa, Gobekli Tepe, Stonehenge, New Hampshire's Mystery Hill and the Japanese Oyu circles, the author explains how these precisely placed monuments of quartz were built specifically to produce altered states of consciousness, revealing the spiritual and technological sophistication of their Neolithic builders - a transoceanic civilisation fractured by the cataclysmic effects of comets. · Explores biological evidence for the aquatic ape theory and 20-million-year-old evidence of pre-human cultures from which we are not descended · Traces the genesis of modern human civilisation to Indonesia and the Central Pacific 75,000 years ago after a near-extinction-level volcanic eruption · Examines the profound similarities of megaliths around the world, including Nabta Playa and Gobekli Tepe, to reveal the transoceanic civilisation that built them all

Aspen Shelter on the Old Woman Plateau in central Utah was a hub of deer hunting activity from 4,000 years ago until the end of the Fremont era, about AD 1200. Thousands of deer bones discarded at the site are evidence of these early hunters' success. In addition to the faunal remains, excavators uncovered two small house basins with central hearths and reflector stones dating to the Late Archaic period. Projectile points and miscellaneous butchering tools are common, as are milling tools and plant macrophytes. The Aspen Shelter occupation complements Sudden Shelter, a few miles south, where use ceased by the Late Archaic.

The Great Orme copper mine on the coast of north Wales is one of the largest surviving Bronze Age mines in Europe. But where did all the copper go? Until now this remained something of a mystery. It was claimed in the 1990s that the mine only produced a low impurity type of copper that was uncommon in the British Bronze Age. These claims had marginalised the mine as an unimportant copper source, whose extensive workings were explained away as being merely the result of small-scale workings over nearly a thousand years. However, the results of this new interdisciplinary research, which combines archaeological and geological knowledge with the latest scientific analytical methods, radically changes that picture. This new evidence reveals a copper mine of European importance, which dominated Britain's copper supply for two centuries (c. 1600-1400 BC), with some metal reaching mainland Europe - from Brittany to as far as the Baltic. This zenith period of large-scale production is very likely to have required a full-time mining community at the mine, possibly supported or controlled by the agriculturally richer area of northeast Wales with its strategic links into wider communication networks. Overall, the new evidence suggests that Britain was far more integrated into European trade/exchange networks than was previously suspected. Once the richest parts of the mine were exhausted, there followed a twilight period of minor production that lasted several centuries.

This volume reflects on the unique status of the Western Mediterranean in the Bronze Age, considering the independence of its development and the existence of an indigenous maritime trade. It looks at ways to establish a chronology of the period that is not based solely on ceramic typologies, and aims to clarify the cultural exclusion to which the Lower Guadalquivir is subjected.

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) undertook extensive excavations during the construction of two separate, but adjacent road schemes, some 4.5km apart near Houghton Regis and Toddington, in south Central Bedfordshire. Taken as a whole, the excavations provide a detailed multi-period dataset for regional and national comparison. The first evidence for occupation occurred in the middle/late Bronze Age comprising pits and clusters of postholes, including four-post and six-post structures. Two pit alignments, more than 2km apart, also indicate that land divisions were being established, and in the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age a significant new settlement emerged in the valley bottom. Parts of a further contemporary earlier-middle Iron Age settlement lay at the top of the valley but neither settlement extended into the Roman period. In the late Iron Age or early Roman period three or four new settlements emerged with occupation continuing into the late Roman period in at least one of these. Of particular interest was the recovery of two significant Aylesford-Swarling type cemeteries as well as a third cemetery which largely comprised unurned burials, including some busta, but with few accompanying grave goods. In the late 7th-century a small probable Christian conversion open-ground inhumation cemetery was established with burials accompanied by a range of objects, including a rare work box, knives, brooches, chatelaine keys and a spearhead. Parts of three medieval settlements were uncovered including one with a potters' working area.

This volume brings together recent excavations at two sites in Pocklington, East Yorkshire. The main focus of the volume is examination of Iron Age burials, which included chariots, swords, and spears, along with inclusion of earlier Prehistoric and later Roman activity. The excavations have enabled further scientific evidence for migration and mobility in the Iron Age population and secure chronologies for artefacts. New evidence from osteological analysis gives support for Warrior Graves and burial rites. The volume also examines the Pocklington shield, which has been described as one of the most significant pieces of Iron Age art. The exceptional finds, including a dismantled chariot with horses and an upright chariot also with horses, captured the world’s media and the public imagination. The excavations at Pocklington in 2017 and 2018 were featured on BBC 4’s Digging for Britain series and was voted Current Archaeology Rescue Project of the Year 2018. Anglian elements will be included in an additional volume.

This book provides new insights into the relationship between humans and birds in Northern Europe during the Bronze Age. Joakim Goldhahn argues that birds had a central role in Bronze Age society and imagination, as reflected in legends, myths, rituals, and cosmologies. Goldhahn offers a new theoretical model for understanding the intricate relationship between humans and birds during this period. He explores traces of birds found in a range of archaeological context, including settlements and burials, and analyzes depictions of birds on bronze artefacts and figurines, rock art, and ritual paraphernalia. He demonstrates how birds were used in divinations, and provides the oldest evidence of omens taken from gastric contents of birds - extispicy - ever found in Europe.

This study serves as a source book on domestic food storage in Ancient Israel and Judah by outlining important ethnographic and ancient textual and pictorial sources relevant to the discussion. These allow us to understand the motivated actions in relation to food storage, and the significance of food storage in daily life. On the basis of twenty-two well-excavated buildings from thirteen Iron Age sites, representative archaeological data is examined. For each house the total preserved food storage capacity is calculated, activity areas are identified, and specific patterns are noted. Food storage equipment, the location and role of food storage in the household, and the integration with other activities are analysed. Storage rooms were often located at the margins of houses, but a considerable part of the stored food was kept in other activity areas toward the centre. The data indicates that in Iron Age I food was stored mainly domestically or in shared community facilities, while redistributive food storage became more common in Iron Age II, with significant domestic storage continuing. The ideal of self-sufficiency remained.

The prehistoric settlement of Ayia Irini on Kea, one of the Cyclades islands of Greece, is the site of an ancient settlement dating back to the late Neolithic Age. Area B, in the southeastern part of the Bronze Age town of Ayia Irini, preserves evidence for human activity from the mid-Early Bronze Age to the mid-Late Bronze Age, or Periods III-VII in the parlance of the site. This volume summarizes the results of excavation in the area and provides an overview of the stratigraphy, architecture, and artifacts found in it. Owing to its status as one of the best-excavated and best-documented sectors of the site, Area B also provides an excellent opportunity to consider diachronic changes in the ceramic assemblage through time. Analysis of macroscopic and petrographic fabrics and evaluation of how fabric, ware, and shape categories intersect enables a detailed, diachronic study of changes in pottery production, trade, and consumption patterns at the site in view of broader shifts in Aegean economy and society.

Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New approaches and discoveries' reflects the present exciting times in Cycladic archaeology. New excavations are bringing to light sanctuaries unmentioned by literary sources and inscriptions (e.g., Kythnos, Despotiko); new theoretical approaches to insularity and networks are radically changing our views of the Cyclades as geographic and cultural unit(s). Furthermore, the restoration and restudy of older sites (e.g., Delos, Paros, Naxos) are challenging old truths, updating chronologies and contexts throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. This volume is intended to share these recent developments with a broader, international audience. The essays have been carefully selected as representing some of the most important recent work and include significant previously-unpublished material. Individually, they cover archaeological sites and materials from across the Cycladic islands, and illustrate the diversity of the islands' material culture across the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. Together, they share common themes such as the importance of connectivity, and the role of each island's individual landscape and its resources in shaping human activity. The work they represent attests the ongoing appeal of the islands and of the islanders in the collective imagination, and demonstrates the scope for still further innovative work in the years ahead.

House X is by far the largest and best appointed of the Minoan houses excavated at Kommos in south-central Crete, a Minoan harbor and settlement that later became the site of a Greek sanctuary. Situated on the seacoast of the western Mesara Plain, Kommos faces west toward the Libyan Sea. House X stands on the southern edge of the Minoan town, separated by a large slab-paved road from the monumental civic buildings built and used between the Protopalatial and Postpalatial periods. The description of the stratigraphic excavation of this elite house is published with numerous architectural plans along with the cataloged small finds and tables of data on the floral and faunal materials. The excavated fresco fragments are also discussed and illustrated.

In this volume, Odell presents a detailed comparative analysis of standardized lithic data from 10 Illinois Valley components spanning 7500 years from the Early Archaic through the Mississippian perhaps the first time that such a comprehensive set of lithic variables has been analyzed for the entire Holocene of a region. A major part of this study constitutes the most extensive application of low-power lithic use-wear analysis to be found in the literature, accompanied by full discussion of the technique and a suite of new experimental data. The results provide significant information on prehistoric mobility and technological organization in mid-continental North America, revealing clearly for the first time a number of significant behavioral trends: e.g., an increase in the hafting of tools, economizing behavior in chert-poor areas, apparent change in projectile technology, changes in tool use intensity, and symboling behavior. These trends are supported by a massive set of easily accessible tables of data located in the appendix."