Table Of Content

A Brief History of Archaeology This short account of the discipline of archaeology tells of spectacular discoveries and the colorful lives of the archaeologists who made them, as well as of changing theories and current debates in the field. Spanning more than two thousand years of history, the book details early digs as well as covering the development of archaeology as a multidisciplinary science, the modernization of meticulous excavation methods during the twentieth century, and the important discoveries that led to new ideas about the evolution of human societies. A Brief History of Archaeology is a vivid narrative that will engage readers who are new to the discipline, drawing on the authors’ extensive experience in the field and classroom. Early research at Stonehenge in Britain, burial mound excavations, and the exploration of Herculaneum and Pompeii culminate in the nineteenth-century debates over human antiquity and the theory of evolution. The book then moves on to the discovery of the world’s pre-industrial civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Central America, the excavations at Troy and Mycenae, the Royal Burials at Ur, Iraq, and the dramatic finding of the pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. The book concludes by considering recent sensational discoveries, such as the Lords of Sipán in Peru, and exploring the debates over processual and postprocessual theory which have intrigued archaeologists in the early twenty-first century. The second edition updates this respected introduction to one of the sciences’ most fascinating disciplines. Brian M. Fagan is one of the world’s leading archaeological writers and an internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Nadia Durrani is a Cambridge University-trained archaeologist and writer, with a Ph.D. from University College London in Arabian archaeology. She is former editor of Britain’s best-selling archaeology magazine, Current World Archaeology, and has authored and edited many articles and books on archaeology from every corner of the globe. This page intentionally left blank A Brief History of Archaeology Classical Times to the Twenty-First Century Second Edition Brian M. Fagan and Nadia Durrani Second edition published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Brian M. Fagan (as the Lindbriar Corporation) and Nadia Durrani The right of Brian M. Fagan (as the Lindbriar Corporation) and Nadia Durrani to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Pearson 2005 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Fagan, Brian M. | Durrani, Nadia. Title: A brief history of archaeology : classical times to the twenty-first century / Brian M. Fagan and Nadia Durrani. Description: Second edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015046760| ISBN 9781138657076 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315621524 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Archaeology—History. Classification: LCC CC100. F335 2016 | DDC 930.109—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046760 ISBN: 978-1-138-65707-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-62152-4 (ebk) Typeset in Palatino by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton In Memoriam Desmond and Betty Clark Because of Livingstone and many other kindnesses This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xix Authors’ Note xxi Maps xxiii Major Events in the History of Archaeology from A.D. 1600 xxvii 1 “The Backward Looking Curiosity” 1 Beginnings 3 A Past “Five Days Elder Than Ourselves” 6 Stone Tools and Scriptures 12 Herculaneum and Pompeii 14 Egypt and Mesopotamia 16 Summary 18 Guide to Further Reading 18 2 The Antiquity of Humankind 20 Stratigraphic Geology 21 Humans and Extinct Animals 23 Evolution and Natural Selection: Human Progress 27 Summary 30 Guide to Further Reading 32 3 Pharaohs and Assyrians 33 Napoleon in Egypt 34 The Decipherment of Hieroglyphs 35 Looters and Archaeologists 36 Discovering the Assyrians 39 Summary 45 Guide to Further Reading 45 viii Contents 4 Human Progress and the Three Ages 47 The Enlightenment and Human Progress 48 The Barrow Diggers 50 The Native Americans 51 The Three Ages 54 Three Ages Proven 56 The Swiss Lake Dwellings 58 Hand Axes and Lake Dwellers 59 Inevitable Human Progress? 61 Cultural Evolution and Human Progress 63 Summary 64 Guide to Further Reading 65 5 Early American Archaeology 66 The Discovery of Ancient Maya Civilization 67 The Moundbuilders of North America 71 Science, the First Americans, and Moundbuilders 74 The Beginnings of Southwestern Archaeology 77 Summary 83 Guide to Further Reading 84 6 Scriptures and Civilizations 86 Underground Jerusalem 87 The Flood Tablets 88 The Sumerian Civilization 89 Heinrich Schliemann: Troy and Mycenae 91 The Beginnings of Scientific Excavation 95 Flinders Petrie and the Small Object 98 The Discovery of Minoan Civilization 101 Summary 104 Guide to Further Reading 105 7 The Birth of Culture History 106 Lubbock’s Prehistoric Times 107 Oscar Montelius and the First Culture History 108 Stratigraphic Archaeology and Culture Change in the Americas 110 Diffusionism 115 Alfred Kidder and Pecos 116 Mesoamerica and the Andes 118 Summary 122 Guide to Further Reading 123 8 Egypt, Iraq, and Beyond 124 Tutankhamun: The Golden Pharaoh 125 Leonard Woolley and Gertrude Bell: Carchemish and Ur 128 Contents ix Aurel Stein: Archaeology in Central Asia 133 Early Archaeology in Africa 136 Australia and New Zealand 140 Summary 142 Guide to Further Reading 143 9 Archaeology Coming of Age, 1920 to 1950 144 Field Archaeology and Aerial Photography 145 Mortimer Wheeler and Scientific Excavation 146 The Indus Civilization 148 Vere Gordon Childe: Prehistoric Revolutions 150 The Search for Human Origins 153 Excavating a Ghost Ship: Sutton Hoo 157 Summary 158 Guide to Further Reading 159 10 Culture History and Beyond 161 North American Archaeology: Tree Rings and Taxonomy 162 Grahame Clark and the Birth of Ecological Archaeology 167 Julian Steward and Cultural Ecology 170 Settlement Archaeology in the Americas 172 The Dead Sea Scrolls 173 The Sepulcher of the Maya Lord Pacal 175 Functional Archaeology 176 Summary 178 Guide to Further Reading 178 11 Radiocarbon Dating and World Prehistory 180 Taylor’s A Study of Archaeology 181 Multidisciplinary Research 182 Radiocarbon Dating 184 New Chapters in Human Evolution 186 Discoveries: Pazyryk, Tollund, and Olsen-Chubbock 190 A Global Prehistory 195 Salvage Archaeology 198 Summary 200 Guide to Further Reading 201 12 The “New Archaeology”? 202 Multilinear Evolution 203 Processual Archaeology: Cultural Systems and Cultural Process 205 Reaction and Legacy 209 Underwater Archaeology 212 New Chapters in Human Evolution 214