Top 6 Introductions to Archaeology

1. Doing Archaeology: A Cultural Resource Management Perspective

Doing Archaeology is an excellent introduction to what the career of an archaeologist working in the cultural resource management field in the United States is like, in a clear, conversational, understandable, personal voice.

2. Death by Theory

Adrian Praetzellis has provided an entertaining way to survive that "killer course" in college called "Theory and Method of Archaeology."

3.

A simulated archaeological excavation of a Middle Paleolithic site in France; uses a workbook and accompanying CDROM to teach archaeological methods, using the site of Combe-Capelle as a starting point. By Harold L. Dibble, Shannon P. McPherron, and Barbara J. Roth.

4. The Archaeology Coursebook

Subtitled "An Introduction to Study Skills, Topics, and Methods," this brand new book (December 2001) is a welcome addition to the ranks of field survey text books.

5. The Past in Perspective

This introduction to prehistory by Kenneth L. Feder has a global perspective. Fortunately for us, Kenneth Feder of Central Connecticut State University has dedicated a substantial portion of his career to the presentation of readable, informative, introductory archaeological texts.

6. The Practical Archaeologist

Jane McIntosh's second edition of The Practical Archaeologist, subtitled "How we know what we know about the past," is an excellent example of the arcane art of distilling all of archaeology into an attractive, readable package; as a bonus, it is under 200 pages long and costs under $20 US.