Ebook Title: African
Archaeology: A Critical Introduction
Author: Ann Brower Stahl
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (October 1, 2004)
Hardcover: 512 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1405101555
ISBN-13: 978-1405101554

Ebook Description
African Archaeology: A Critical Introduction fills a crucial gap by providing a multi-authored introduction to the archaeology of Africa that challenges misconceptions and claims about Africa’s past, and teaches students how to evaluate these claims. Ann Stahl’s thoughtful introduction explores the contexts that have shaped archaeological knowledge of Africa’s past and asks readers to consider for whom Africa’s past matters and why. African Archaeology comprises unique contributions by prominent archaeologists with regional and topical expertise. They explore the preoccupations and assumptions that have framed research, assess the quality and reliability of evidence, and chart emerging research directions and questions that can help build on the strengths of earlier work, while finally setting aside long-held misperceptions.
African Archaeology is a landmark volume and an indispensable tool for students, instructors, and researchers.

Ebook Review
“Ann Stahl has brought together a set of researchers at the height of their powers and incited them to write chapters that bring home to readers the challenge of the archaeological enterprise. This is the book I would give as a text to seniors and to which I would constantly refer if teaching the archaeology of sub-Saharan Africa to students of any and all levels.” --Nicholas David, University of Calgary

“This book moves beyond the usual seamless syntheses and looks critically at the quality of the evidence, the questions asked and unasked, and how these have been fashioned into narratives about the African past. It is a unique and indispensable resource for Africanist archaeologists, historians, and students of these disciplines.” --Susan McIntosh, Rice University

“I have long desired a text for African archaeology that presents a summary of African prehistory while highlighting the research questions and debates that make the study of the African past exciting; that book is now available. The book’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa is exemplary.” --Peter Robertshaw, California State University, San Bernardino

"This book is a showcase for African Archaeology and deserves a place on the bookshelves of all who teach world archaeology, as well as those who study biodiversity of wild and domestic resources, or care about the linguistics or history of Africa. I recommend 'African Archaeology' to you enthusiastically." --Journal of African Archaeology

About the Author
Ann Brower Stahl is Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University, SUNY

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Ebook Title: Archaeology of Asia (Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology)
Author: Miriam T. Stark
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (August 5, 2005)
Paperback: 384 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1405102136
ISBN-13: 978-1405102131

Ebook Description
This book introduction to the archaeology of Asia focuses on case studies from the region’s last 10,000 years of history. Comprising fifteen chapters written by some of the world’s foremost Asia archaeologists, the book sheds light on many of the most compelling aspects of Asian archaeology, from the earliest plant and animal domestication to the emergence of states and empires from Pakistan to North China. In particular, the contributors explore issues of cross-cultural significance, such as migration, ethnicity, urbanism, and technology, challenging readers to think beyond national and regional boundaries. In doing so, they draw on original research data and synthesize work previously unavailable to western readers.
The volume as a whole offers new insights into the archaeology of Asia and encourages western scholars to pay more attention to the continent in their studies of human origins, evolution, and history.

Ebook Review
“Miriam Stark has performed a monumental service to global archaeology by selecting the most important cross-cultural themes in Asian archaeology and many of the most innovative writers to discuss them.” --Gina L. Barnes, University of Durham

“Offering remarkable coverage of the world’s largest continent, Stark has created an outstanding book that should be required reading for any archaeologist or historian interested in Asia.” --John Olsen, University of Arizona

"This volume is the seventh in the series Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology, a series intended to cover the central areas of undergraduate archaeological teaching. While this is certainly a sustainable market for the series, this particular volume presents an overview and depth that will also, and perhaps more so, be a welcome addition to the libraries of postgraduate and research archaeologists ... Stark has assembled a valuable resource made all the more useful by not shying away from the scholarly and national politics reflected in so much Asian Archaeology". --Australian Archaeology

About the Author
Miriam T. Stark is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. She has worked in Southeast Asia since 1987, and also has experience in North American and Near Eastern archaeology. She has published widely on her research in the Philippines and in Cambodia, and currently co-directs the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project in the Mekong Delta.

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Ebook Title: Encyclopedia of Archaeology
Author: Tim Murray
Publisher: ABC-Clio; Illustrated edition (October 1, 1999)
Library Binding: 950 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1576071995
ISBN-13: 978-1576071991

Ebook Description
Encyclopedia of Archaeology, these first volumes in what is to be a five-volume set are a commendable undertaking by Murray, who has gathered together practicing archaeologists to reflect "on the lives and work of their forebears, colleagues, and teachers" and to contribute to an understanding of the significance and potential consequences of their work within the culture and society of the time in which it was produced. To be included, the subject must have "made a major contribution to the development of archaeology as a discipline."

There are 58 entries arranged chronologically from William Camden (1551^-1623) to David Clarke (1938^-1976). Ten were still living at the time of publication. A few of the biographical profiles were written by archaeologists who are featured in entries of their own--Lewis Binford, James B. Griffin, and Eric Higgs among them. Each entry begins with an italicized summary of the individual's main contributions to the discipline. The evolution of archaeological practice and theory becomes a fascinating story as the work of many individuals, largely unknown to the general public, is traced through their biographies.

Ebook Review
The "Encyclopedia Of Archaeology" series is being published by ABC-CLIO in five volumes under the meticulous editorship of Tim Murray, professor of archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. The first two volumes survey "The Great Archaeologists" and draw upon hundreds of scholars from all parts of the world to provide readers with accurate and up-to-date information. These first two volumes present 58 remarkable and informative biographies of the world's best-known archaeologists who have developed the discipline from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Essays conclude with bibliographies of primary sources for those wanting to read about the archaeologists' discoveries in their own words, as well as secondary sources to see what critics and admirers had to say about them and their activities. Encyclopedia Of Archaeology (Vols. 1 & 2) are enhanced with an historical introduction to archeological biography, a glossary of terms, a full subject index, and more than a hundred dramatic illustrations. Volumes 3, 4 and 5 ("History and Discoveries") is set for publication in about six months. The "Encyclopedia Of Archaeology" series is a very highly recommended, definitive, comprehensive, essential, core acquisition for professional, academic, and public library collections. --By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

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Ebook Title: Archaeologist's Field Handbook
Author: Heather Burke, Claire Smith
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty., Limited (Australia) (August 30, 2004)
Paperback: 407 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1865088625
ISBN-13: 978-1865088624

Ebook Description
Archaeologist's Field Handbook, the complete guide to practical fieldwork in Australia today. A step-by-step, illustrated guide for students and professionals at all levels. Indispensable. As editor of the first field guide in 1968, the author compare that slim volume with this outstanding, compendious and wise advice, which demonstrates the sophistication of present best practice. An essential aid for beginners and professionals.

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