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Bluffer's Guide to ...
Bluff Your Way in Archaeology
Book by Ravette, Publishing
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Paul G. Bahn
126 books47 followersPaul G. Bahn is a British archaeologist, translator, writer and broadcaster who has published extensively on a range of archaeological topics, with particular attention to prehistoric art. He is a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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March 16, 2017Διακομωδει πολλές πτυχές του αρχαιολογικού επαγγέλματος,ενώ δίνει πληροφορίες για αυτό με τρόπο ξεκαρδιστικό.Χρήσιμο για κάθε πρωτοετή φοιτητή αρχαιολογίας η λάτρη αυτής της επιστήμης που θέλει να κάνει τον έξυπνο στο κοινό του;-)
August 22, 2020
It is exactly what the title says ;)
August 1, 2025
A little dated, but generally still quite funny :)
November 23, 2020
Oh my God, I had so much fun with this one!
Lovely little ironic ''guide'' into the "basics" of archaeology. Perfect for people just starting an archaeology class to make fun of your future self and colleagues!
Do not try to pass exams with it, tho - that'll probably turn out bad unless your professor has a sense of humour excellent enough to appreciate it!
Super enjoyable lil book, tho. You'll certainly have a great time with it! The humour is very witty, smart and just hilarious! Totally recommend!
Lovely little ironic ''guide'' into the "basics" of archaeology. Perfect for people just starting an archaeology class to make fun of your future self and colleagues!
Do not try to pass exams with it, tho - that'll probably turn out bad unless your professor has a sense of humour excellent enough to appreciate it!
Super enjoyable lil book, tho. You'll certainly have a great time with it! The humour is very witty, smart and just hilarious! Totally recommend!
June 1, 2017
This was really funny, and filled with fun and interesting facts. I wish I could remember everything in it. I borrowed it from a co-worker, and I might just need to purchase it myself.
April 3, 2012
This will raise a smile from any archaeologist but don't be fooled into thinking it's a guide of any sort. It lacks any real insight and some parts of it are probably better seen as in-jokes when the alternative is that they are inaccurate or deliberately misleading.
March 6, 2025
Wonderfully amusing
October 29, 2026
Review by Anuja Patwardhan
5/5 ⭐
A non-fictional satirical take on archaeology for Indiana Jones fanatics and romantics. Paul Bahn, a renowned archaeogist, unearths the secrets of how archaeogists survive their grave-robbing careers.
He explores various aspects within the field, including different streams like Egyptology to australian archaeology. He proceeds to elaborate on celebrated concept of Excavation and opens up a new dimension of excavation camp and quintessential charms of on-site archaeologists (read skilled labourers). At each and every step, he manages to capture the essence of what non-archaeologists perceive vs how the ground realities can be enlightening.
As an archaeogist, I absolutely loved the way, how the book calls out our species. I would 100 percent recommend it to everyone because this one is a short read and absolute fun to read, plus an eyeopener for non-field people.
5/5 ⭐
A non-fictional satirical take on archaeology for Indiana Jones fanatics and romantics. Paul Bahn, a renowned archaeogist, unearths the secrets of how archaeogists survive their grave-robbing careers.
He explores various aspects within the field, including different streams like Egyptology to australian archaeology. He proceeds to elaborate on celebrated concept of Excavation and opens up a new dimension of excavation camp and quintessential charms of on-site archaeologists (read skilled labourers). At each and every step, he manages to capture the essence of what non-archaeologists perceive vs how the ground realities can be enlightening.
As an archaeogist, I absolutely loved the way, how the book calls out our species. I would 100 percent recommend it to everyone because this one is a short read and absolute fun to read, plus an eyeopener for non-field people.
June 21, 2020
My mom found this at a second-hand store - she's an archaeologist, and like most archaeologists, loves to make fun of archaeology. This book is funny in a very British way. Don't expect to find much in the way of information, it's 95% jokes. Still, if you don't know anything about archaeology, you might learn a thing or two.
December 29, 2023
Really enjoyed this. As someone who has spent a grand total of two Irish summer afternoons on a dig outside Lurgan, this is a delightfully self-disparaging account of archaeology, which is very funny and yet tricks you into learning a great deal. And if it doubt just say any object or place had ritualistic significance.
January 31, 2026
I am a cultural anthropologist by training and this little spoof (which actually is quite culturally accurate and has a lot of genuine information for the general reader) had us roaring with laughter.
April 18, 2021
Read this in an intro to archaeology class years ago, and I still have it on my bookshelf. An enjoyable intro to the field.
January 1, 2024
Tegemist on väga humoorika teosega Paul Bahni poolt. Teos on arheoloogiat ja välitöid läbi huumori kirjeldav ning väga huvitav lugemine.
November 25, 2020
A thoroughly enjoyable book; wish I had read it earlier in life!
Bahn--who has co-written a great introductory text with Colin Renfrew on archaeology--explains here how to be an expert in archaeology (ala circa 1990 though). He captures the debates between processualism, post-processualism, and other archaeologies in a witty, humorous style. Take for example this passage on Theoretical Archaeology:
"[...] a special kind of bluffing known as 'Theoretical Archaeology'. This is done by:
1. Concealing a lack of data by questioning the validity of everyone else's [...]
2. Deflecting attention from a lack of ideas and solutions by attacking those trying to do some work and by trying to demolish their whole approach to the subject.
[...]
If its practitioners are sufficiently loud, rude, and aggressive, generations of students come to treat them with extraordinary respect and deference. This is known as the 'Alpha Baboon Syndrome', since monkeys achieve dominance with the same kind of blustering bluff." (p. 14)
No matter what Bahn's theoretical slant was in the late 1980s, he seems to take the whole discipline to task. Once you cut through the humour, this is an insightful look at the various intellectual schools in archaeology and captures part of the debates we were having in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Some of those debates we are still having, and some of the observed and exagerrated behaviours, we are still having too.
Highly recommended!
Bahn--who has co-written a great introductory text with Colin Renfrew on archaeology--explains here how to be an expert in archaeology (ala circa 1990 though). He captures the debates between processualism, post-processualism, and other archaeologies in a witty, humorous style. Take for example this passage on Theoretical Archaeology:
"[...] a special kind of bluffing known as 'Theoretical Archaeology'. This is done by:
1. Concealing a lack of data by questioning the validity of everyone else's [...]
2. Deflecting attention from a lack of ideas and solutions by attacking those trying to do some work and by trying to demolish their whole approach to the subject.
[...]
If its practitioners are sufficiently loud, rude, and aggressive, generations of students come to treat them with extraordinary respect and deference. This is known as the 'Alpha Baboon Syndrome', since monkeys achieve dominance with the same kind of blustering bluff." (p. 14)
No matter what Bahn's theoretical slant was in the late 1980s, he seems to take the whole discipline to task. Once you cut through the humour, this is an insightful look at the various intellectual schools in archaeology and captures part of the debates we were having in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Some of those debates we are still having, and some of the observed and exagerrated behaviours, we are still having too.
Highly recommended!
October 30, 2020
A non-fictional satirical take on archaeology for Indiana Jones fanatics and romantics. Paul Bahn, a renowned archaeogist, unearths the secrets of how archaeogists survive their grave-robbing careers.
As an archaeogist, I absolutely loved the way, the book calls out our species
He explores various aspects within the field, including different streams like Egyptology to australian archaeology. He proceeds to elaborate on celebrated concept of Excavation and opens up a new dimension of excavation camp and quintessential charms of on-site archaeologists (read skilled labourers). At each and every step, he manages to capture the essence of what non-archaeologists perceive vs how the ground realities can be enlightening.
.
As an archaeogist, I absolutely loved the way, the book calls out our species
He explores various aspects within the field, including different streams like Egyptology to australian archaeology. He proceeds to elaborate on celebrated concept of Excavation and opens up a new dimension of excavation camp and quintessential charms of on-site archaeologists (read skilled labourers). At each and every step, he manages to capture the essence of what non-archaeologists perceive vs how the ground realities can be enlightening.
.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2015
One part stupid. One part "I am a student and I have now seen through the archaeological way and I will show you how ridiculus some parts of it is". One part boring. One part lazy. And in a few places you get a chuckle. Most fun part of this book was that some people I worked in archaeology with in Ireland used this book as their way in to archaeology. This was the only "archaeological" book they had read befor starting to work as an archaeologist. I guess that says more about the company (IAC) that I worked for then the people that tried to get a job. But hey, it has archaeology in the title.
April 18, 2020
Funny and informative.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews