The Oxford Companion to Archaeology

New York Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. First Edition. Cloth. Very Fine/None. Small 4to (8"x10"), blue cloth, illustrated with several B&W maps and charts, 844 pages. Brian Fagan (b.1936) is one of the world's most eminent archaeologists, and this "companion" which deals largely on early archaeology is truly Encyclopedic. Subjects extend from the material culture of Olduvai Gorge through Ancient Egypt to the Ancient Mayans. There are select essays on famous archaeologists and their discoveries such as Heinrich Schliemann at Troy; V. Gordon Childe on Europe and the sociology of development; Louis and Mary Leakley who did so much to unearth fossils of early man in Africa. Other notables discussed include Gertrude Bell, Paul Emile Botta, Max Uhle, and Li Chi. Much about the science of archaeology is also summarized such as site selection (aerial recon through ground surveying), and high tech methods for analysis (radiocarbon, stratigraphy, dendrochronology, & luminescence methodologies for dating). There are also excellent essays on major discoveries such as the excavation of Herculaneum in 1783, the enormous spadework done at ancient Uruk, up to such recent forensic studies as those conducted on the European "Ice Man." Apart from a small bump or two on corners, this is a pristine set.