Archaeology books recommendation

[thorgrim29]

Hey, I was pondering what to give to my sister for Christmas, and since she likes history a lot and might even go study that in college, maybe with a focus on archaeology, I figured something related to that would be a good idea to change things up a bit (most of her gifts from me over the last years have been music related).

I'd be specifically looking for a book related to ancient Greece or Rome because she took a lot of classes on those so she'll actually understand it even if it gets pretty technical and in debt . It shouldn't be a textbook, but it should also be serious and contain real information about the subject and what archaeologists do when on a dig and between them. Maybe memoirs?

FYI she speak and reads french and english

Does anyone have an idea?

[Palanan]

Well, I can try to suggest a few titles in the ballpark.

If she's interested in the archeology of the ancient world, then you can't go wrong with Heinrich Schliemann. Lost and Found (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-Heinrich-Schliemann-Gold/dp/0140239502/) is a book that ostensibly focuses on missing artworks, but much of the book is taken up with an excellent profile of Herr Schliemann. It's a great introduction to the man and his approach to excavation, which was somehow both obsessive and freewheeling, not to mention slightly piratical. In many ways he really pioneered the field of archeology, in the sense that pioneers often burned large swathes of the landscape. There are other books on Schliemann which go into more detail--he's a character you couldn't make up.

Although it's a bit pricey and rather dense, you might also look at The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-Bronze-Aegean-Handbooks/dp/0199873607) by Eric Cline, an archaeologist who's written a number of books on the ancient world. He also has two lecture courses on CD that I've listened to, "History of Ancient Greece" and "Archeology of the Iliad," although I'd suggest getting those from the library rather than buying them outright. "Archeology of the Iliad" in particular was great for its in-depth treatment of the excavations of Hissarlik, aka Troy, which Schliemann began and several other teams have continued right up until today.

For a different angle on the ancient world, I would suggest The Decipherment of Linear B (http://www.amazon.com/Decipherment-Linear-B-Canto/dp/0521398304/), which is the story of the classic decipherment by Michael Ventris, an architect and amateur linguist who, by dint of logic and hard work, succeeded in deciphering the mysterious syllabary of the ancient "Minoans." For a survey of this and other decipherments of ancient languages--and a few that are still impenetrable--you can't do better than Lost Languages (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Languages-Enigma-Undeciphered-Scripts/dp/050028816X/), which covers everything from Mayan and Egyptian hieroglyphs to Proto-Elamite and the Indus River Valley script.

And for a madcap joyride through the ancient world, screaming downhill with your feet out the window, there's Alpha to Omega (http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Omega-Times-Greek-Alphabet/dp/1567921019/) and A.B.C. Et Cetera (http://www.amazon.com/A-B-C-Et-Cetera-Times-Alphabet/dp/1567921000/), both by the incomparable brothers Humez, who use the framework of the Greek and Roman alphabets, respectively, to share a blizzard of telling facts and cunning anecdotes about the classical Mediterranean.

I know that none of these is exactly what you're looking for--but hopefully one or more of them will be intriguing in their own right, or at least help lead you in a promising direction.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Depends what kind of history she likes, but in general, one of the single best books regarding why civilizations arose when and where they did is Guns, Germs and Steel (http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552) by Jared Diamond.

It's something of a narrative focusing on why such things as presence of draft animals can make or break a complex civilization, or that tribesmen in Papua New Guinea are actually likely to be smarter than a typical western urbanite because of environmental selection pressure.

This, however, is less archaeology and more anthropology.

[Topus]

Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by Ceram, is the most famous entry level book about archeology. Quite old but still entertaining and focusing on the great archeological discoveries.
Would she be interested in a wider area, I recommend Four Thousand Years Ago: A World Panorama of Life in the Second Millennium, by Geoffrey Bibby, maybe the most exciting history book, with a compelling narrative structure and a very wide view about bronze age civilizations.

[thorgrim29]

I think I'll go with Gods Graves and Scholars, the other ones suggested are either a bit too focused for what I'm looking for or way outside my price range. Thanks everyone