Exploring Prehistory: How Archaeology Reveals Our Past

This new introduction to archaeology integrates world prehistory with discussion of archeological methods and techniques. It introduces archaeological methods gradually and in context through the use of Archaeology in Practice boxes which give students a more complete understanding of the tools archaeologists use to uncover the past and the reasons why they use those tools. Comprehensive Case Studies focus not just on specific sites but also on why these sites are important in the broader archaeological context. Exploring Prehistory has been developed with the aim of offering a better way to introduce students to archaeology’s unique understanding of human societies.

This update of the introductory text originally titled Archeology and Prehistory (2001) emphasizes current tools for researching the prehistoric past. Anthropologists Crabtree (New York U.) and Campana (NYU; National Park Service) apply these tools in an "archeology in practice" feature. Chapters include site maps, case studies, photos, and discussion questions. The volume concludes with a discussion of the controversy over Kennewick man and other issues relating to the field's future. This edition offers a new chapter on China, a master timeline of civilizations, and a glossary. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Pam J. Crabtree, who received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at New York University, where she has worked since 1990. Professor Crabtree was an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University from 1985 to 1990 and a research fellow at the Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania from 1982 to 1984. She has written many scholarly articles on zoo archaeology and animal domestication, co-edited Animal Use and Culture Change (with Kathleen Ryan), and edited Medieval Archaeology: An Encyclopedia.

Douglas V. Campana is a Research Associate in Anthropology at New York University and an archaeologist for the National Park Service at the Valley Forge Center for Cultural Resources. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 1981. Dr. Campana has published scholarly articles on Near Eastern prehistory and bone tool technology, and edited Before Farming: Hunter-Gatherer Society and Subsistence. He has conducted archeological research in Israel, the West Bank, and Europe; his research has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Leakey Foundation, and the National Geographic Society.

As an archaeologist for the federal government, Dr. Campana has directed archaeological excavation throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. He is currently excavating a portion of George Washington’s Revolutionary War encampment at Valley Forge.