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In the Beginning: An Introduction to Archaeology 11/e
Brian M. Fagan Emeritus
Christopher R. DeCorse
Published June 2004 by Prentice Hall
Copyright 2005, 624 pp., Cloth
ISBN: 0-13-032906-1
List Price:
$85.00
Inventory Status:
In-Stock
   
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Summary

This comprehensive narrative uses an international perspective throughout while outlining the basic principles, methods, and theoretical approaches of modern archaeology. It gives readers a basic grounding on the subject, the career opportunities it offers, and a look at some of the spectacular—and not so well known—discoveries that illuminate our past. KEY TOPICS: The book emphasizes remote sensing techniques for archaeological survey, addresses the study of gender and ethnic diversity from the archaeological record, and assesses the importance of archaeology in the modern world. MARKET: For anyone interested in a background of—and possibly a future in—archeology.

Features

  • NEW - New co-author, Christopher DeCorse—Brings new perspectives and a broad international experience to the unique background of the internationally renowned senior author, Brian Fagan.
  • NEW - Early and extensively rewritten introduction to archaeological theory.

    • Provides students with an upfront discussion that serves as a background to later, more specific material.

  • NEW - Extended coverage of ethics and stewardship with an emphasis on cultural resource management—Contained in Chapter 18.
  • NEW - Rewritten chapter on “Finding and Assessing Archaeological Sites”—Revamped Chapter 8.

    • Reflects for students the burgeoning concern with archaeological survey and ancient landscapes.

  • NEW - Completely revised chapter on “Settlement Archeology”—Revamped Chapter 15.

    • Provides students with a response to the increasing interest in ancient landscapes.

  • “What Happened in Prehistory?”

    • Offers beginning students a brief summary of world prehistory as a reference point for the examples that appear in the main text.

  • Thorough chapter on environmental reconstruction and short- and long-term climatic change.

    • Shows students the remarkable advances in paleoclimatology in recent years, especially in the study of short-term climatic shifts—like the well-known El Niños.

  • Innovative chapter (Chapter 19) on “Becoming an Archaeologist.”

    • Offers students some frank and hard-hitting advice about archaeology as a career.

  • Up-to-date theoretical coverage on a global basis throughout.

    • Allows instructors to cover their own specialty within a broad context, and not just North America or Mesoamerica—which are the dominant themes in some other texts. Gives students an expansive view of a rapidly changing field.

  • Well-focused coverage of contemporary issues throughout—Includes environmental reconstruction; groups; human interactions; stewardship; and archaeological survey.

    • Makes students aware of the hot issues in the field.



Table of Contents



What Happened in Prehistory?

I. BACKGROUND TO ARCHAEOLOGY.

 1. Introducing Archaeology.

II. A SHORT HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY: SIXTH CENTURY B.C. THROUGH A.D. 2000.

 2. The Beginnings of Scientific Archaeology: Sixth Century B.C. to the 1950s.

 3. Science, Ecology, and the Many-Voiced Past: From the 1950s to Today.

III. BASIC PROCESSES AND PRINCIPLES.

 4. Matrix and Preservation.

 5. Doing Archaeological Research.

 6. Culture, Data, and Context.

 7. How Old Is It?

IV. RECOVERING ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA.

 8. Finding and Assessing Archaeological Sites.

 9. Archaeological Excavation.

V. ANALYZING THE PAST: ARTIFACTS AND TECHNOLOGY.

10. Classifying Artifacts.

11. Technologies of the Ancients.

VI. ENVIRONMENTS, LIFEWAYS, PEOPLE, AND THE INTANGIBLE.

12. Ancient Environments.

13. Subsistence and Diet.

14. Analogy, Middle-Range Theory, and the Living Past.

15. Settlement Archaeology.

16. Interactions: People of the Past.

17. Archaeology of the Intangible.

VII. CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

18. Managing the Past and Public Archaeology.

VIII. CAREERS AND RESOURCES.

19. Becoming an Archaeologist.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Photo Credits.

Index.



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