Linking to the Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology

Feder, Kenneth L.

ISBN 10: 0195331176 / ISBN 13: 9780195331172

Published by Oxford University Press (edition 2), 2007

The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way. Seller Inventory # 0195331176-7-1

Synopsis:

This thoroughly revised Second Edition of Linking to the Past features:

* A completely reorganized structure that ensures all students take the same pathway to learning the material traditionally covered in an archaeology course
* An expanded focus that covers the whole of the archaeological experience (including ceramics, theory, and human burials) and integrates examples from around the globe
* Updated material on such cutting-edge technology and theory as transformation processes, GIS, Total Station, glacial dating, and aerial photography
* Discussions of current issues facing archaeology, including federal legislation that protects archaeological sites
* More in-depth coverage of the scientific method; the history and development of archaeology; various theoretical approaches; and the archaeology of social inequality, race, gender, and the sacred
* An in-text CD with interactive student exercises and slide shows

Written in a conversational style, Linking to the Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology, Second Edition, offers students a concise and entertaining introduction to archaeological methods. Author Kenneth L. Feder helps students relate to the study of the past and learn what it means to think like an archaeologist by using accessible examples drawn from daily life; he examines the evolution of the beer and soda can to teach about seriation, demonstrates how technology changes over time with an iPod, and introduces dendrochronology by discussing a tree that fell on his property during a storm. Employing an "ask-and-answer" approach, Feder leads students through a wide-ranging series of questions about how archaeologists find, recover, study, and interpret the material culture left behind by earlier peoples.
To give students an opportunity to think like archaeologists, the author offers interactive student exercises and slide shows (provided on the in-text CD). Linked to chapters in the text, the exercises on the CD include exploring a topographic map to see what features might support human habitation, translating radiocarbon dates into calendar years, and calculating the age at death of a sample of human beings by examining their skeletal features. The text is also enriched by additional pedagogical features including detailed study questions at the end of each chapter, an extensive glossary of more than 200 key terms, and suggestions for further reading. An Instructor's Manual on CD is also available.

Review:
"Archaeologists are, or ought to be, storytellers, and Ken Feder is an accomplished raconteur. Linking to the Past is great fun to read because of the many engaging stories and anecdotes of the author's own fieldwork, laboratory research, classroom experiences, and other incidents it includes. This book is more likely to actually be read by students."--Eric Johnson, University of Massachusetts

Bibliographic Details

Title: Linking to the Past: A Brief Introduction to...
Publisher: Oxford University Press (edition 2)
Publication Date: 2007
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Fair
Edition: 2.