Best Archaeology Books
Here you will get Best Archaeology Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age
Author: by Annalee Newitz
Published at: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (February 2, 2021)
ISBN: 978-0393652666
A quest to explore some of the most spectacular ancient cities in human historyand figure out why people abandoned them. In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life.
Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of atalhyk in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today.
Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Tracing the early development of urban planning, Newitz also introduces us to the often anonymous workersslaves, women, immigrants, and manual laborerswho built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia.
2. Fingerprints of the Gods
Author: by Graham Hancock
Published at: Crown; Reissue edition (April 2, 1996)
ISBN: 978-0517887295
Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is. A fancy piece of historical sleuthing …
Intriguing and entertaining and sturdy enough to give a long pause for thought. Kirkus Reviews In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind’s hidden past.
In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt’s Great Sphinx, the strange Andean ruins of Tihuanaco, and Mexico’s awe-inspiring Temples of the Sun and Moon, he reveals not only the clear fingerprints of an as-yet-unidentified civilization of remote antiquity, but also startling evidence of its vast sophistication, technological advancement, and evolved scientific knowledge.
A record-breaking number one bestseller in Britain, Fingerprints of the Gods contains the makings of an intellectual revolution, a dramatic and irreversible change in the way that we understand our pastand so our future. And Fingerprints of God tells us something more.
3. Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art (Bloomsbury Sigma)
Author: by Rebecca Wragg Sykes
Published at: Bloomsbury Sigma (October 27, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1472937490
“Kindred is important reading not just for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity.”-The New York Times Book Review”[A] bold and magnificent attempt to resurrect our Neanderthal kin.”-The Wall Street JournalIn Kindred, Neanderthal expert Rebecca Wragg Sykes shoves aside the clich of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland, and reveals the Neanderthal you don’t know, our ancestor who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change.
This book sheds new light on where they lived, what they ate, and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that researchers have discovered. Since their discovery 150 years ago, Neanderthals have gone from the losers of the human family tree to A-list hominins.
Our perception of the Neanderthal has changed dramatically, but despite growing scientific curiosity, popular culture fascination, and a wealth of coverage in the media and beyond are we getting the whole story? The reality of 21st century Neanderthals is complex and fascinating, yet remains virtually unknown and inaccessible outside the scientific literature.
4. The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
Author: by Douglas Preston
Published at: Grand Central Publishing; Illustrated edition (September 5, 2017)
ISBN: 978-1455540013
The #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic: acclaimed journalist Douglas Preston takes readers on a true adventure deep into the Honduran rainforest in this riveting narrative about the discovery of a lost civilization – culminating in a stunning medical mystery.
Since the days of conquistador Hernn Corts, rumors have circulated about a lost city of immense wealth hidden somewhere in the Honduran interior, called the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God. Indigenous tribes speak of ancestors who fled there to escape the Spanish invaders, and they warn that anyone who enters this sacred city will fall ill and die.
In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God-but then committed suicide without revealing its location. Three quarters of a century later, bestselling author Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a groundbreaking new quest.
5. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources
Author: by M. Kat Anderson
Published at: University of California Press; First edition (October 10, 2013)
ISBN: 978-0520280434
A complex look at California Native ecological practices as a model for environmental sustainability and conservation. John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold todaythat much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans.
But as this groundbreaking book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning.
Marvelously detailed and beautifully written, Tending the Wild is an unparalleled examination of Native American knowledge and uses of California’s natural resources that reshapes our understanding of native cultures and shows how we might begin to use their knowledge in our own conservation efforts.M.
Kat Anderson presents a wealth of information on native land management practices gleaned in part from interviews and correspondence with Native Americans who recall what their grandparents told them about how and when areas were burned, which plants were eaten and which were used for basketry, and how plants were tended.
6. Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life
Author: by Titus M Kennedy
Published at: Harvest House Publishers (June 2, 2020)
ISBN: 978-0736979153
A much-needed resource for those serious about biblical studies.Mark M. Yarbrough, president, Dallas Theological SeminaryThe Bible has long been dismissed as a book of myths, legends, fairy tales, and propaganda. Yet when we examine the archaeological evidence, its accuracy comes to light.
In Unearthing the Bible, Dr. Titus M. Kennedy presents 101 objects that provide compelling evidence for the historical reliability of Scripture from the dawn of civilization through the early church. Gathered from more than 50 museums, private collections, and archaeological sites, these pieces not only reinforce the reliability of the biblical narratives, but also provide rich cultural insights into the ancient world.
Using this visual guide, you can find context for your faith as you make your way through the Bible. Dr. Kennedy’s photographs and detailed descriptions enable you to examine each piece of fascinating evidence for yourself. From the earliest tablets of creation to artifacts connected with the life and resurrection of Jesus, Unearthing the Bible shows you can be confident there is an abundance of archaeological support for the history told in the Scriptures.
7. The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention
Author: by Simon Baron-Cohen
Published at: Basic Books (November 10, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1541647145
A groundbreaking argument about the link between autism and ingenuity. Why can humans alone invent? In The Pattern Seekers, Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen makes a case that autism is as crucial to our creative and cultural history as the mastery of fire.
Indeed, Baron-Cohen argues that autistic people have played a key role in human progress for seventy thousand years, from the first tools to the digital revolution.How? Because the same genes that cause autism enable the pattern seeking that is essential to our species’s inventiveness.
However, these abilities exact a great cost on autistic people, including social and often medical challenges, so Baron-Cohen calls on us to support and celebrate autistic people in both their disabilities and their triumphs. Ultimately, The Pattern Seekers isn’t just a new theory of human civilization, but a call to consider anew how society treats those who think differently.
8. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History, 2)
Author: by Eric H. Cline
Published at: Princeton University Press; Revised edition (September 22, 2015)
ISBN: 978-0691168388
A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapseIn 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the “Sea Peoples” invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations.
After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians.
The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown.How did it happen?
In this major new account of the causes of this “First Dark Ages,” Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes.
9. The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution
Author: by Dan Hicks
Published at: Pluto Press (November 5, 2020)
ISBN: 978-0745341767
Walk into any European museum today and you will see the curated spoils of Empire. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date and place of origin. They do not mention that the objects are all stolen.
Few artefacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes – a collection of thousands of metal plaques and sculptures depicting the history of the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum and countless private collections.
The story of the Benin Bronzes sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. In The Brutish Museum, Dan Hicks makes a powerful case for the urgent return of such objects, as part of a wider project of addressing the outstanding debt of colonialism.
10. Giza and the Pyramids: The Definitive History
Author: by Mark Lehner
Published at: University of Chicago Press; Illustrated edition (October 29, 2017)
ISBN: 978-0226425696
The pyramids of Giza have stood for more than four thousand years, fascinating generations around the world. We think of the pyramids as mysteries, but the stones, hieroglyphs, landscape, and even layers of sand and debris around them hold stories.
In Giza and the Pyramids: The Definitive History, two of the world’s most eminent Egyptologists, Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass, provide their unique insights based on more than four decades of excavating and studying the site. The celebrated Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops, is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing, but there is much more to Giza.
Though we imagine the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure and the Sphinx rising from the desert, isolated and enigmatic, they were once surrounded by temples, noble tombs, vast cemeteries, and even harbors and teeming towns. This unparalleled account describes that past life in vibrant detail, along with the history of exploration, the religious and social function of the pyramids, how the pyramids were built, and the story of Giza before and after the Old Kingdom.
11. A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology
Author: by Toby Wilkinson
Published at: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (October 20, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1324006893
A thrilling history of the West’s scramble for the riches of ancient Egypt by the foremost Egyptologist of our time. From the decipherment of hieroglyphics in 1822 to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon a hundred years later, the uncovering of Egypt’s ancient past took place in an atmosphere of grand adventure and international rivalry.
In A World Beneath the Sands, acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson chronicles the ruthless race between the British, French, Germans, and Americans to lay claim to its mysteries and treasures. He tells riveting stories of the men and women whose obsession with Egypt’s ancient civilization helped to enrich and transform our understanding of the Nile Valley and its people, and left a lasting impression on Egypt, too.
Travelers and treasure-hunters, ethnographers and archaeologists: whatever their motives, whatever their methods, a century of adventure and scholarship revealed a lost world, buried for centuries beneath the sands. 16 pages of color illustrations; 23 black-and-white illustrations
12. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated (Turning Points in Ancient History, 6)
Author: by Eric H. Cline
Published at: Princeton University Press; Revised, Updated edition (February 2, 2021)
ISBN: 978-0691208015
From acclaimed archaeologist and bestselling author Eric Cline, a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark AgesIn 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the “Sea Peoples” invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy defeated them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations.
Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, famine, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life a vibrant multicultural world, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires of the age and shows that it may have been their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse.
Now revised and updated, 1177 B.C. Sheds light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and eventually destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Ageand set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece and, ultimately, our world today.
13. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya
Author: by Mary Ellen Miller
Published at: Thames & Hudson (April 17, 1997)
ISBN: 978-0500279281
The myths and beliefs of the great pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica have baffled and fascinated outsiders ever since the Spanish Conquest. Yet, until now, no single-volume introduction has existed to act as a guide to this labyrinthine symbolic world. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya is the first-ever English-language dictionary of Mesoamerican mythology and religion.
Nearly 300 entries, from accession to yoke, describe the main gods and symbols of the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Mixtecs, Toltecs, and Aztecs. Topics range from jaguar and jester gods to reptile eye and rubber, from creation accounts and sacred places to ritual practices such as bloodletting, confession, dance, and pilgrimage.
In addition, two introductory essays provide succinct accounts of Mesoamerican history and religion, while a substantial bibliographical survey directs the reader to original sources and recent discussions. Dictionary entries are illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned line drawings. Mary Miller and Karl Taube draw on their research in the fast-changing field of Maya studies, and on the latest Mexican discoveries, to produce an authoritative work that will serve as a standard reference for students, scholars, and travelers.
14. The Shaman's Guide to Power Animals
Author: by Lori Morrison
Published at: Four Jaguars; Illustrated edition (March 15, 2019)
ISBN: 978-0998737898
MULTI AWARD WINNING BOOK! BEST NEW AGE BOOK 2020 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS, BEST NEW AGE BOOK NAUTILUS AWARDS, BEST NEW AGE BOOK INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS! Enter the soul of the animal kingdom. Power Animals have served humanity as our spiritual protectors, teachers, messengers, companions, and helpers since our prehistoric ancestors walked the Earth.
Shamans have always relied heavily on their wisdom, healing medicine, and partnership. Whether in the mystery schools of ancient Egypt and Greece or in the ceremonial and folk traditions of Native America, Africa, and Europe, it is recognized that the embodiment of animal characteristics, the revelation of their symbolism, and their timely appearance can bring us deeper insights and empowerment.
The Shaman’s Guide to Power Animals is a cross-cultural journey into the mystical symbolism and stories of over 200 birds, fish, insects, and mammals drawn from ancient and indigenous cultures worldwide. It is a spiritual tool for understanding omens when an animal crosses your path or appears in a dream, or to apply in situations where you need protection or want to chart a course or locate resources.
15. Sutton Hoo: The Excavation of a Royal Ship-Burial, 3rd Revised Edition
Author: by Charles Green
Published at: Sheridan House; 3rd Revised ed. edition (January 27, 2014)
ISBN: 978-1574093537
Charles Green tells here the dramatic story of the initial excavation of Sutton Hoo, one of the richest archaeological finds of all time. In the Sutton Hoo burial grounds scientists unearthed a ship containing the treasures of a king who was most likely the last of the pagan rulers of East Anglia.
Green guides us through the scientific significance of the Sutton Hoo discovery: the beautiful jewelry indicates the high level of Anglo-Saxon artistic culture, the royal insignia offers clues to the organization of the East Anglican kingdom and its relations with neighboring regimes, while the burial ships themselves inspire new hypotheses regarding Anglo-Saxon immigration routes.
Any reader will be irresistibly drawn to learn more of this archaeological dig which has uncovered such intriguing relics of our medieval ancestors. This edition takes into account discoveries that have been made since the publication of the original edition.
Barbara Green, an archaeologist in East Anglia and Charles Green’s daughter, has revised and updated the original text of her father’s book.
16. After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000–5000 BC
Author: by Steven Mithen
Published at: Harvard University Press; Annotated edition (April 30, 2006)
ISBN: 978-0674019997
20,000 B.C., the peak of the last ice age-the atmosphere is heavy with dust, deserts, and glaciers span vast regions, and people, if they survive at all, exist in small, mobile groups, facing the threat of extinction. But these people live on the brink of seismic change-10,000 years of climate shifts culminating in abrupt global warming that will usher in a fundamentally changed human world.
After the Ice is the story of this momentous period-one in which a seemingly minor alteration in temperature could presage anything from the spread of lush woodland to the coming of apocalyptic floods-and one in which we find the origins of civilization itself.
Drawing on the latest research in archaeology, human genetics, and environmental science, After the Ice takes the reader on a sweeping tour of 15,000 years of human history. Steven Mithen brings this world to life through the eyes of an imaginary modern traveler-John Lubbock, namesake of the great Victorian polymath and author of Prehistoric Times.
