Ebook: Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries

In 1999, ABC-CLIO published the two-volume Encyclopedia of Archaeology: The Great Archaeologists, which took a biographical approach to the field. This next installment of the Encyclopedia of Archaeology takes a more standard topical approach, with entries covering the history of archaeology in specific countries or regions as well as "the histories of significant sites, debates, techniques, methods and issues that are central to the global practice of the discipline. Examples include Abydos, Babylonian civilization, Dating, Chaco Canyon, Industrial archaeology, Iran, Sweden, and Terracotta warriors. There are also entries for individuals (Thomas Jefferson) who did not appear in the earlier volumes and a few (Howard Carter) who did.The signed entries are arranged alphabetically and vary in length from a paragraph to more than 30 pages for Island Southeast Asia. Most are accompanied by cross-references and bibliographies, which in some cases are quite extensive. A comprehensive table of contents is repeated in all three volumes, and volume 3 also offers a glossary and a well-done index. It is unfortunate that there is no indexing that refers the reader to The Great Archaeologists, although there are references to those volumes in some of the bibliographies. The lack of guide words makes it difficult to navigate through the pages, especially because some of the entries are so long.The national and regional surveys are the most valuable aspect of this resource. Titles such as Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (Routledge, 1999) and Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America [RBB Mr 1 01] offer more depth, but entries here on Egypt, Mexico, and Maya civilization, to name a few, provide useful synthesis for the general reader. Libraries that purchased The Great Archaeologists will certainly want to add History and Discoveries to their collections.