When one hears the words "archaeology" or "archaeologist," often
what comes to mind is an image of a romantic figure: Indiana Jones
exploring exotic places in search of treasure and adventure.
Indeed, novels, movies, and many popular accounts of archaeological
discoveries have made this concept widespread. Tales of abandoned
cities, ruined temples, primeval monuments, or mysterious ancient
tombs tend to kindle the urge for adventure, exploration, or
treasure hunting that seems to lie beneath the surface of even the
most timid and conventional individuals. Today, however,
archaeologists seek knowledge rather than objects that are
intrinsically valuable. Their ultimate goal is to sweep aside the
mists in which time has enveloped the past, helping us to
understand vanished peoples and cultures.
In Uncovering the Past, William H. Stiebing, Jr. offers an
absorbing nontechnical history of archaeology, tracing the study of
ancient material culture from its beginnings in the Renaissance
through its development into the sophisticated modern discipline we
know today. The first study to focus on archaeology as a
discipline, Stiebing has organized this concise history into the
four stages of archaeological development. The first two stages
(1450-1860 and 1860-1925), known as the "heroic age," focus on the
exploits of colorful, dynamic excavators who have made their mark
on history and our imaginations. We read accounts of Giovanni
Belzoni and the removal of the seven-ton colossus of Ramesses II,
which was dragged by wooden platform and transported by boat from
Egypt to London; we witness the clergyman John Peters's skirmish
with Arab tribesmen, who surrounded his excavation site and finally
pillaged and burned his camp; and Heinrich Schliemann's quest to
prove the authenticity of Homer's Iliad by searching for ancient
Troy along the Turkish coast. And we watch as archaeology comes of
age as an academic discipline, employing stratigraphical excavation
techniques, typographical sequence dating, and stratigraphically
based pottery chronology--laying the foundation for universal
archaeological activity. The third phase (1925-1960) marked the era
of "Modern Archaeology," a time when, using the now generally
accepted stratigraphical method of excavation, scholars were able
to synthesize data to define individual cultures and trace their
development through time. This period saw a greater use of
scientific instruments and procedures to locate, date, and
interpret remains, such as aerial photography, metal detectors, and
most importantly, carbon-14 dating and tree-ring chronology.
Lastly, Stiebing discusses the fourth phase of development
(1960-present) which introduced a greater desire and need for a
more complete understanding of ancient cultures, including their
ecology, and attempts to explain why certain cultural phenomena
occurred. He goes on to examine the greater emphasis on a cultural
revolutionary approach, coupled with technological advances in
robotics and computers over the last decade and a half and their
commonplace role in modern archaeology.
With over eighty photographs, illustrations, and maps, this vivid
history is an outstanding introduction to the intriguing field of
archaeology, chronicling the development of this former pastime of
dilettantes into a rigorous science.
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