Breve storia dell'archeologia

by Brian M. Fagan

«Colto e brillante.»
The Wall Street Journal

«Una splendida introduzione alla storia dell'archeologia... Molto affascinante.»
Archaeology

Per molti l’archeologia è una disciplina affascinante fatta di piramidi e faraoni dorati, civiltà scomparse e avventurieri in giacca di pelle e cappello a falda larga.

L’archeologia è tutto questo, ma soprattutto è l’unica scienza in grado di descrivere la storia dell’umanità nella sua dalle rovine della civiltà maya al mistero di Stonehenge, dai leggendari luoghi degli eroi di Omero allo sconfinato esercito di terracotta cinese.

Brian Fagan, massimo esperto in materia e abilissimo divulgatore, ripercorre in quaranta brevi e avvincenti capitoli le vicende di alcuni dei più grandi archeologi del mondo e delle loro scoperte, tracciando la storia dell’archeologia e l’evolvere dei metodi di ricerca dalla nascita della disciplina nel Settecento fino agli sviluppi tecnologici più recenti.

Un racconto scorrevole e suggestivo arricchito dai ricordi ed esperienze sul campo dell’autore; un’avventura fatta di mille pericoli, audaci esploratori e stupefacenti ritrovamenti.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Archaeology, Anthropology, Read For School

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Brian Murray Fagan was a British author of popular archaeology books and a professor emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an additional book for my archaeology I and II courses. It was VERY factual and wordy which made the short 200 something page book feel like 800 pages. I did enjoy it, as I learned a lot, and as the non-fiction format was still more enjoyable than the huge textbook format. I do not think I'd read it again though.

The book went over the history and origins of the discipline of archaeology all the way to modern archaeological capabilities with regards to cultural resource management and new technology. It went over archaeology's transition to a science, and the people that made that transition possible (e.g. The Leakey's, Heinrich Schliemann, John Lubbock, and Franz Boas, to name a few).The book explores the timeline of significant archaeological finds, both big and small, and examines the context of the finds in relation to human cultures and societies. There are pictures (black and white) spread out throughout the book that help explain certain concepts or provide examples of certain archaeological artifacts/sites. There is also a reference section at the back of the book that contains definitions for different sites, cities, people, artifacts, scientific properties, theories, and ancient words. On a final note, there was a publishing error on one of the pages, as what appears to be the photocopy of a sticky note, is covering the words in the middle of the page.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging overview of the history of archeology as a discipline, told through the lens of the most important excavations. Great for archeology students or nerds!

[Riversue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good concise history with a brief look at the future of archaeology.

[Bruno Pascon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro interessante, de leitura fácil com capítulos curtos que faz uma retrospectiva da evolução da Arqueologia amadora até profissional. Dado a área de concentração do autor, o livro concentra-se bastante na pré-história e senti falta de uma pesquisa um pouco mais ampla de arqueólogos e projetos recentes. Como breve história cumpre seu papel, mas gostaria de ver um compêndio mais completo no futuro sobre a Arqueologia como Thompson escreveu para a Egiptologia em 3 preciosos volumes.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read from my history of archaeology class. I learned a lot about archaeology and antiquity from reading this book. Some parts were drier than others, but other parts seemed straight out of an Indiana Jones film.

[Э. Билгүүнтөгс]

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