Interpreting Archaeology: What Archaeological Discoveries Reveal about the Past

by Neil Falkner

Overview

Archaeology can shed light on the rise and fall of empires, the march of technology, the nature of past societies, the development of arts and culture, the course of warfare, and much more. Yet what gives it its greatest value is its ability to illuminate the area in which written records fall short - the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Interpreting Archaeology uses a wide array of evidence, including artefacts as varied as humble ceramic pots, imposing monuments, and genetic data, to tell the human story from a new angle.

Beginning with the discoveries that have reshaped our understanding of hominin evolution and the spread of Homo sapiens across the globe, Neil Faulkner has charted a fascinating journey through the past, taking in everything from the rise of the world's first great civilizations to the establishment of hierarchies, the development of art and religion, and the causes of warfare along the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781398827943
Publisher:	Arcturus Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	45 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dr Neil Faulkner was a Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, Co-editor of Past Worlds magazine, editor of Military History Matters and Co-director of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (in Norfolk, England). He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 2008. Since 1996 he worked on the excavation of an Anglo-Saxon site at Sedgeford in Norfolk with the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP). In 2016, he completed a ten-year field project looking at the military campaigns of Lawrence of Arabia in southern Jordan (the Great Arab Revolt Project).

The author of many articles and numerous academic papers, his ten books include The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain, A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics, and Digging Sedgeford: A People's Archaeology. Faulkner appeared frequently on television, both at home and abroad. His TV work includes Channel Four's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, and Sky Atlantic's The British.

Table of Contents

Introduction
What is Archaeology
An Archaeological Timeline
A Fascination with the Past
Archaeology Today
The Origins of Humankind
Cradles of Civilization i) The Fertile Crescent ii) The Land of the Pharaohs iii) The Mystery of the Inus iv) The Valley of the Huang He River
Classical & Early Civilization in Europe i) Classical Greece ii) Relics of the Roman Empire iii) Lords of the North
The Archaeology of the Americas i) Rewriting the History Books ii) Cultural Giants
The Archaeology of Asia i) From the Qin to the Ming ii) The Land of the Rising Sun iii) The Complexities of the East iv) The Splendours of South Asia
Developments in Archaeology i) The Holy Land ii) Going into Battle iii) What Lies Beneath
Bibliography
Index
Picture Credits