Uncovering the Past

by William Steibing and William H. Stiebing Jr.

Book Overview

Uncovering the Past is an absorbing history of archaeology that traces the study of ancient material culture from its beginnings as a hobby for Renaissance scholars to the sophisticated modern discipline we know today. Professor William Stiebing devotes the first part of his chronicle to the exploits of the colorful, dynamic excavators of archaeology's "Heroic Age." One may wonder whether the adventures of Indiana Jones are really far-fetched after...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879757647
• ISBN13: 9780879757649
• Release Date: February 1993
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An excellent starting point.

Finally! A readable, fun archaeology book!As a university student of anthropology and archaeology with of course certain peculiar specializations and interests all my own, I often found myself lacking in a truly readable account of archaeology and its history in the general sense, though various lectures had tried to assemble such a survey (without success). 'Uncovering the Past' provides this account admirably, covers achaeological development over the entire globe, including western Europe, the ancient Near East, Egyptology, Aegean archaeology, the Far East, Africa and the Americas and Mesoamerica.If you're interested in archaeology at all, whether at the academic level or purely for your own personal entertainment, I think this book provides an excellent starting point without all of the tedium that arises when one attempts to see the 'big picture' or acquire some sense of the general historical foundations of the field by treading through endless detailed site publications from various time periods or even summary accounts of any geographical region.To put it another way: sit down and spend an afternoon reading it cover to cover, you'll enjoy it!

A perfect overview and starting point!

This book was understandable since it lacked scientific jargon. It was still in depth and expository without containing too many confusing statements that so many other archeological books heavily rely upon. The text was arranged in an organized way and covered a very wide topic area. This book was interesting from beginning to end and the various pictures added the pugnancy of the book's texts tremendously. My ONLY criticism of this book is the mention of biblical topics somewhat frequently and the over use of the word 'antiquites'! Yet, it gave a flavor of different ancient worlds and explained archeology quite nicely. Overall it was a very good read.