Showing titles in Archaeology

Was wir erst heute wahrhaft begreifen: Weit mehr als Kriege und Technologien, Religionen und Ideologien beeinflussten und lenkten seit Anbeginn der Zeit die Natur und das Klima die Geschicke der Menschen.

Fields of Mars, a new William Collins book, full description to follow when available...

From an award-winning expert on DNA, discover the myth-busting book that opens a dazzling window into the world of modern genetics. The 1984 discovery of DNA fingerprinting marked the start of a whole new era in the study of our DNA. Genetics has become a key to unlocking criminal and...

In Craeft, archaeologist and medieval historian Alexander Langlands argues that our modern understanding of craft only skims the surface. His journeys from his home in Wales have taken him along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe, from Spain through France and England to Scotland and Iceland in search of the lost meaning of craft.  

Deepwater archaeology uncovers secrets from the ancient maritime past...Thousands of shipwrecks and archaeological sites lie undiscovered in deep water, potentially holding important clues to our maritime past. Ships from the Depths surveys the dramatic advances in technology over the last few years that have made it possible for scientists to locate, study, and catalogue archaeological sites in waters previously inaccessible to humans. Søreide provides an introduction to and survey of the history, development, and potential of this exciting branch of nautical archaeology.

Almost as soon as the last shot was fired in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the battlefield became an archaeological site. For many years afterward, as fascination with the famed 1876 fight intensified, visitors to the area scavenged the many relics left behind. It took decades, however, before researchers began to tease information from the battle's debris - and the new field of battlefield archaeology began to emerge.

Adam Ford is an archaeologist. Not only has he been on expeditions to unlock the mysteries of the past in the Caribbean, British Isles, Jordan, Syria, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Australia, he's also had heat stroke, hypothermia, and dysentery; been chased by camel spiders; been walked on by scorpions; and been pestered by bugs big enough to ride.

From the first flickers of ingenuity, humankind has excelled in civilization-defining inventions and innovations. Lightbulb Moments in Human History takes a positive, playful and perceptive look at how these big ideas have driven humanity’s inevitable rise. Be astounded by the accidental invention of writing by Sumerian bookkeepers.

Die grüne Wiege der Menschheit: Die faszinierende Geschichte der Menschen und des Dschungels. Das Schicksal der Menschheit ist schon immer mit dem der Tropenwälder verbunden. Der Anthropologe und Archäologe Patrick Roberts nimmt uns mit auf eine spannende Reise durch die Jahrmillionen. Er schildert, wie die Wälder entstanden und das Aussehen unseres Planeten entscheidend prägten. Erst durch sie fanden Amphibien den Weg an Land, entwickelten sich neue Pflanzen- und Tierarten - und schließlich der Mensch.

Eso no estaba en mi libro de Historia de Roma es un texto ameno, divulgativo y riguroso que rescata los episodios menos conocidos del mayor imperio de la historia. Una obra que recoge las más fascinantes anécdotas sobre la civilización más poderosa de la Antigüedad. ¿Sabías que una mosca tuvo un funeral digno de un emperador?, ¿que el primer escrache de la historia lo protagonizaron unas mujeres romanas?, ¿que los maridos besaban a sus esposas para saber si habían ingerido alcohol o que unos gansos evitaron una invasión enemiga en la capital de la República?

El Alcázar de Sevilla: la historia del más famoso palacio real de España recorre el animado registro histórico de la fortaleza palaciega, así como todas las etapas de su construcción. Indaga también sobre algunos de los fascinantes personajes que vivieron allí, y sobre los eventos más decisivos que tuvieron lugar detrás de las centenarias paredes de ladrillo.

Eine fantastische Reise in die Pracht des Königreichs der Pharaonen: Alexandria, Gizeh, Sakkara, Dendera, Deir El-Bahari, Deir El-Medina, Medinet-Habu, Karnak - Luxor, Elephantine, Assuan, Phile, Abu-Simbel, Das Grab der Nefertari.

Atlantis and Other Lost Worlds is the most up-to-date and comprehensive investigation of history's infamous sunken city. Nowhere else will you find a more dramatic and convincing presentation of the evidence for its archaeological reality.

It may be the most interesting and yet loneliest spot on Earth: a volcanic rock surrounded by a million square miles of ocean, named for the day Dutch explorers discovered it, Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722. Here, people created a complex society, sophisticated astronomy, exquisite wood sculpture, monumental stone architecture, roads, and a puzzling ideographic script. And then they went about sculpting amazing, giant human figures in stone.

From southern Greece to northern Russia, people have long believed in female spirits, bringers of fertility, who spend their nights and days dancing in the fields and forests. So appealing were these spirit-maidens that they also took up residence in 19th-century Romantic literature. Archaeologist and linguist by profession, folk dancer by avocation, Elizabeth Wayland Barber has sleuthed through ethnographic lore and archaeological reports of east and southeast Europe, translating enchanting folktales about these "dancing goddesses" as well as eyewitness accounts of traditional rituals - texts that offer new perspectives on dance in agrarian society.

Pig/Pork explores the love-hate relationship between humans and pigs through the lenses of archaeology, biology, history and gastronomy, providing a close and affectionate look at the myriad causes underlying this multimillennial bond. What is it that people in all four corners of the world find so fascinating about the pig? When did the human obsession with pigs begin, how did it develop through time and where is it heading? Why are pigs so special to some of us but not to others?

In 1999, few people had thought to examine the effects of climate on civilization. Now, due in part to the groundbreaking work of archaeologist Brian Fagan, climate change is a central issue. Revised and updated 10 years after its first publication, Floods, Famines and Emperors remains the definitive account of how the world's best-known climate event had an indelible impact on history.

Una biografía cultural del sapiens narrada por sus artefactos comunicativos: «los fósiles mediáticos». Si la evolución de la vida en la Tierra puede narrarse a través de sus fósiles, ¿por qué no reconstruir la historia del Homo sapiens siguiendo las huellas de sus medios y tecnologías?...

Flatboats were the most prolific type of vessel on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers during the early 1800s. Thousands of these boats descended the two rivers each year, carrying not only valuable cargo to New Orleans but also western-bound emigrants to newly opened territories. By the late 1800s, flatboats had completely disappeared, and no intact examples were known to exist. That changed in 2000, when local residents found a wreck on the Ohio River shoreline in Illinois.

Violence is rampant in today's society. From state-sanctioned violence and the brutality of war and genocide to interpersonal fighting and the ways in which social lives are structured and symbolized by and through violence, people enact terrible things on other human beings almost every day. In Archaeologies of Violence and Privilege, archaeologists Christopher N. Matthews and Bradley D. Phillippi bring together a collection of authors who document the ways in which past social formations rested on violent acts and reproduced violent social and cultural structures. 

Wie lebten Frauen in der Stein- und Bronzezeit? Wie waren die Geschlechterverhältnisse in der Zeit vor Erfindung der Schrift? Bis vor Kurzem waren alle Antworten auf diese Fragen mehr oder weniger Spekulation. Doch seit DNA-Analysen für die prähistorische Forschung zur Verfügung stehen, hat sich dies geändert. Die Wissenschaftsjournalistin Karin Bojs trägt die neuesten Ergebnisse zusammen und fragt, wann und warum das Patriarchat entstand. Die Prähistorikerin Marija Gimbutas hatte seit den 50er Jahren eine Theorie entwickelt, nach der in „Alteuropa“ eher friedliche, matrilineare Gesellschaften existiert hätten.

Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology, Chip Colwell navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. His book reveals a dramatic process that involves negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics.

The sacred chest said to have been built by the Israelites to house the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, the Ark of the Covenant has long captured the popular imagination. According to the Bible, the Israelites carried it with them as they wandered in the wilderness and...

Marilyn Johnson's Lives in Ruins is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past. Johnson digs and drinks alongside archaeologists, and chases them through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even Machu Picchu. Her subjects share stories about slaves and Ice Age hunters, ordinary soldiers of the American Revolution, Chinese woman warriors, sunken fleets, and mummies.

The Inka empire was the largest pre-Columbian polity in the New World. Its vast expanse, its ethnic diversity, and the fact that the empire may have been consolidated in less than a century have prompted much scholarly interest in its creation. In this study, Besom explores the ritual practices of human sacrifice and the worship of mountains, attested in both archaeological investigations and ethnohistorical sources, as tools in the establishment and preservation of political power.

Once, farmers knew how to make a living hedge and fed their flocks on tree-branch hay. Rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts, and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls, and baskets. No place could prosper without its inhabitants knowing how to cut their trees so they would sprout again. This created the healthiest, most sustainable, and most diverse woodlands that we have ever known. In this journey from the English fens to Spain, Japan, and California, William Bryant Logan rediscovers what was once an everyday ecology.

This program is read by the author. National Geographic Explorer and TED Prize-winner Dr. Sarah Parcak welcomes you to the exciting new world of space archaeology, a growing field that is sparking extraordinary discoveries from ancient civilizations across the globe. In Archaeology from Space...

From the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Zohar, this is the untold story behind our enduring fascination with lost and found religious texts The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts ever found, were discovered in a cave by a shepherd and his goat. This story is mostly true...

When you search for the past, you just might find yourself Cousins Ellie and Lucie set out to find buried treasure. Instead, they stumble into an unexpected journey—one that uncovers forgotten histories, rekindles family bonds, and digs deep into who they are becoming. Reuniting for the first...

Caratacus is one of Britain's greatest kings. Not only did this Iron Age war leader single-handedly direct armed resistance against the Roman legions for eight years across southern England and Wales, but his name, deeds and exploits later resonated down through history. In the first detailed biography of Caratacus, Miles Russell deploys new research, placing the king in an archaeological and historical context, explaining his pivotal role in the early years of Roman Britain before looking at his literary legacy and reception in modern politics.

Das zehnte Jahrhundert gilt als Beginn deutscher Geschichte. Damals formte die Dynastie der Ottonen das, was zum »Heiligen Römischen Reich deutscher Nation« werden sollte. Es ist eine Epoche von Intrigen, Bruderkämpfen und Schlachten: Dieser Wendepunkt der europäischen Geschichte kann nun völlig neu dargestellt werden, dank einer Vielzahl aktueller archäologischer Ausgrabungen und archäogenetischer Untersuchungen.

There is a question that every human civilization has asked independently, in its own language, through its own mythology and ritual and architecture. No culture discovered it from another. No migration carried it. It arose, separately, in every corner of the inhabited world.

Mount Sinai, for many, it is the most sacred place on Earth - the site where God descended to give Moses the Ten Commandments. Yet for centuries, mankind has not known its exact location. In this heart-pounding adventure, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Howard Blum tells the...

"A revelation of the drive and creative flux of the metropolis over time."--Nature "This is a must-read book for any city dweller with a voracious appetite for understanding the wonders of cities and why we're so attracted to them."--Zahi Hawass, author of Hidden Treasures of Ancient Egypt A...

“Thrilling . . . a bracing summary of what we have learned [from] ‘archaeogenetics’—the study of ancient DNA . . . Krause and Trappe capture the excitement of this young field.”—Kyle Harper, The Wall Street Journal Johannes Krause is the director of the Max Planck Institute for...

Was, wenn die Geschichte der Dinosaurier nicht das ist, was wir gelernt haben zu glauben? Die Dinosaurier sind nicht einfach ein Kapitel der Erdgeschichte. Sie sind ein Werkzeug in einer viel größeren Geschichte–einer Geschichte von Manipulation, Macht und der bewussten Verdrehung der Wahrheit. Dabei geht es nicht nur um ein paar verstaubte Knochen, sondern um eine ganze Weltsicht. Es geht um die Erzählung von einer Milliarden Jahre alten Erde, vom Urknall und von einer „zufälligen Evolution“. All das dient nur einem Zweck: den Menschen von seiner göttlichen Herkunft abzuschneiden!

As the world recently commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, our fascination with the pharaoh begs for a balanced view. Most recovered mummies have not escaped the modern trafficking in ancient bodies and body parts. The story of Ankh-Hap, a Ptolemaic-era mummy seized in the nineteenth century from the infamous mummy-pits of Egypt, provides a salutary example of what most mummies have endured.