I grew up in western Minnesota on antique gravel deposit of Lake Agassi having one old 1920s pit in the backyard and active others across the street. One grade school day, while walking a hundred yards to the school bus on the gravel road, I found a 4-inch black flint broken knife. It triggered my interest in archaeology, and eventually I subscribed to two magazines on the subject.
I saw an ad for a $50 Smithsonian book on the subject, bit, and it was the best bait I ever took. I’m simply blown away by its encyclopedic nature, hundreds of places personally previously unknown. The timelines for various eras help to set your mind at what you’re looking at. Helpful global maps of eras point out various locations with their page numbers of geographical locations. The index is four pages. The ending chapters explain how science explains history.
This is one of most important quick reference books ever assembled on a subject that needs hours of study. Information on early humanoid fossils builds forward into the known record. Generally the book devotes just two pages for each site scattered around the globe. Every home and school needs it (unless it’s preaching that humans have only been here 5,000 years).
Review by DJ Kava, ISSUE contributor