Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice - Third Edition

United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson, 2000. Third Edition Stated . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 7 1/2" X 8 . 640 Pages Indexed. Covers show some shelf wear with small crease on back cover and lightly turned up front corners. Interior is faultless. Tight, straight, square and bright. Over 600 illustrations. Developing methods continue to open new perspectdives. Investigation of individual sites by remote sensing techniques, including satellite imagery, and also by Ground Penetrating Radar, produces ever more sophisticated results. Methods of dating are becoming more reliable and precise --- for instance the potential and limitations of radiocarbon have beenn greatly clifified --- and every few years a new technique, such as Chlorine -36 dating, opens new possibilities. The most rapidly developing fields is the application of molecular genetics to human populaiton history. Use of ancient DNA so has been sparse but there is the spectacular case of extraction and sequencing mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthal remains some 40,000 years old. There is a sense of excitement of a rapidly moving discipline. Moleckular genetics may carry important implicaitons for the histories of the language families of the world. The authors have attempted to keep pace with developments in all aspects of this diverse discipline and have involved a great number of people all over the world utilizing numerous specialists and course tutors for input. Contents In Three Parts: The Framework of Archaeology, Discovering the Variety of Human Experience, and The World of Archaeology. The Book Addresses these Fourteen Topicss: The Searchers, What is Left, Where, When, How Were Societies Organized, What Was the Environment, What Did They Eat, How Did They Make and Use Tools, What Contact Did They Have, What Did They Think, Who Were They and What Were They Like, Why Did Things Change, Archaeology in Action, and Whose Past. Plus Preface, Glossary, Notes and Bibliography, and Acknowledgments. A comprehensive introductiory text that not only outlines what archaeologists do but addresses why they do it.