How to Do Archaeology the Right Way
by Barbara Purdy
"Provides a sense of what
it really means to be a professional archaeologist, how we go
about doing that which we do, and the benefit to the broader
public from our doing it. . . . Will help improve the
public’s understanding of the fragile nature of
archaeological resources."
--Louis D. Tesar, Bureau of Archaeological Research, Florida Department of State.
Despite field conditions that often include bug bites, bad food, and nonexistent plumbing, legions of amateur archaeologists regularly take to the field—sometimes a muddy one—to dig up ceramic pots, animal bones, and stone spearheads. This book explains how and why the professionals do it.
Most of the sites and artifacts discussed and illustrated come from Florida, and from Purdy’s 30 years of experience in the field there, but the techniques and analyses she describes can be applied anywhere. With the proper methods, excavation of the past can help
Reconstruct ancient lives and landscapes, she says, yielding new information about something old.
68 b&w photos, drawings, maps, diagram
1996
Cloth, $29.95 - Click on the price to order!
Puerto Real: The Archaeology of a Sixteenth Century Spanish Town in Hispanola
Kathleen
Deagan, editor
"A superb presentation of a critically important archaeological site. It’s a seamless synthesis of Hispanic historical sources (that) effectively ties the events played out at Puerto Real to the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century global geopolitical scene."—David Hurst Thomas, curator of anthropology, American Museum of Natural History
Puerto Real, Haiti, is the site of the largest and most intensive archaeological excavation of any Spanish colony in the Caribbean. It is a primary data source for understanding all Spanish colonial ventures in the region and a vital archival source for anyone concerned with the early history of European colonization in the New World. The essays were written by the international specialists who carried out the fieldwork. They include a first-hand account by William H. Hodges, who discovered the site and brought it to the attention of archaeologists in Haiti and the United States.
31 b&w photos, drawings, exercises;
1995
Cloth, $39.95 - Click on the price to order!
The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production
Edited by Peter R. Schmidt
"An extraordinarily informative volume that examines the technical aspects of iron production in Africa, both prehistoric and recent, and the cultural modes of behavior surrounding iron working. . . . Science and cultural anthropology are blended into an illuminating exposition, and alternative points of view expose the major issues concerning African iron production."--Thomas H. Wilson, director, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles
Archaeological and ethnographic investigations in western Tanzania in the 1970s revealed remarkable evidence for a complex and highly advanced iron technology that existed there several thousand years ago. Still, Western scientific and historical practice continues to obscure the history of iron technology and its accomplishments in Africa. Weaving together myth, ritual, history, and science, this work describes the systems of smithing and iron smelting, some of which arose 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. Revealing the world of African technological achievement, the contributors to this work demonstrate that iron production there is a socially constructed activity and that its cultural and technological domains cannot be understood separately.
352 pp. 69 b&w photos. 1384-4
1995
Cloth, $55.00 - Click on the price to order!
A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions
by John H. Hann
"An extraordinary scholarly work . . .
[that] will immediately make everything else written about the
Timucua and the Spanish mission system in La
Florida out-of-date. This will be the basic
scholarly reference for students of Florida history and
historical archaeology."—Jerald T. Milanich, Florida
Museum of Natural History
"An intricate and detailed portrait of the Timucuan Indians during the European colonial era . . . will undoubtedly stand as the principal source regarding the land of the Timucua speakers for years to come.
. . . A classic example of historical
scholarship."—John E. Worth, Fernbank Museum of Natural
History, Atlanta
When Spanish and French explorers first landed in Florida early in the 16th century, Timucua speakers occupied more land area and were more numerous than any other aboriginal group. This is their first detailed history, a major study that places its author in the forefront of Spanish colonial historians working in the United States. The Timucua are the only native people of Florida whose language survives in literature in sufficient quality and quantity to permit significant study. Relying on previously unused documents, this account of the Timucua traces their experience from first contact with Europeans to their exile to Cuba in 1763 and their final eradication.
Ripley P. Bullen Series/Florida Museum of Natural History/University of Florida.
400 pp. Maps. 1424-7.
1996
Cloth, $49.95 - Click on the price to order!
Lost Cities of the Ancient Southeast
by 
Mallory McCane O’Connor
Site photographs by Barbara B. Gibbs
"First-rate. . . . excellent for both the general public and the general scholarly audience."—Janet Catherine Berlo, University of Missouri, St. Louis
"Provides concise art historical analysis of works of art that have never been subjected to such analysis before . . . joining the best from old classics and the latest scholarship in the field. It’s a huge task and O’Connor has done it well."—Amelia M. Trevelyan, Gettysburg College
Bringing together scholarship from classics in architecture, archaeology, and iconography, O’Connor examines twenty sites of Mississippian culture, from the metropolis of Cahokia (near present-day St. Louis) to the island stronghold of Calos, king of the Florida Calusa, describing the religious patterns of the inhabitants and the sophisticated art works that supported their sacred practices. Lavishly illustrated with maps, site plans, and photographs of the ruins of ancient ceremonial centers along with sculpture, ceramics, and other artifacts, Lost Cities of the Ancient Southeast captures the timeless beauty and technical sophistication of the art and architecture of precolumbian America.
176 pp. 7 X 10. 32 color, 73 b & w illus. 1350-X
1995
Cloth, $49.95 - Click on the price to order!
Fort Mose: Colonial America's Black Fortress of Freedom
by Kathleen Deagan and Darcie MacMahon
"Outstanding research, fascinating details,
and absorbing illustrations."—Florida
Heritage
"Deagan and MacMahon skillfully
weave together the historical context of African American
settlement in Spanish Florida, the discovery and investigation of
the archaeological remains of Fort Mose, the modern political
context of the site, and the research and interpretation of
evidence from many fields in the sciences and humanities. This is
archaeology as it should be—a broad inquiry into the past
that lets us reassess and improve our understanding of ourselves
and others."—James J. Miller, State Archaeologist of
Florida
Published in cooperation with the Florida Museum of Natural History.
64 pp. 11 X 8 1/2. 125 color, 84 b&w photos.
1995
Cloth, $27.95 1351-8 - Click on the price to order!
Paper, $9.95 1352-6
Political Structure and Change in the Prehistoric Southeastern United States
Edited by John F. Scarry
"This book is a must for those interested in the period—and highly recommended for archaeologists who are not southeasterners."—James A. Brown, Northwestern University
The great societies that flourished during the late precolumbian period disappeared shortly after European contact, leaving a legacy across the southeastern United States. Using archaeological discoveries and historical documents, this book presents up-to-date information about their political structures, offering new perspectives on "cycling"—the growth, collapse, and reappearance of chiefdoms. It also illustrates the value of studies of the Mississippian societies for addressing general anthropological questions.
Ripley P. Bullen Series/Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida
304 pp. 42 figs. 1433-6
1996
Cloth, $55.00 - Click on the price to order!
Fifty Years of Southeastern Archaeology: Selected Works of John W. Griffin
Edited by Patricia C. Griffin
"This volume of essays not only charts the trajectory of a distinguished Floridian’s remarkable career, it also chronicles much that has happened in North American archaeology over the past sixty years. . . . His work not only shaped archaeology in Florida, it also influenced the development of the field of historical archaeology in general."—from the foreword, by Kathleen Deagan
"John Griffin was one of archaeology’s pioneers. This collection of papers spans his remarkable career, mirroring the development of archaeology in the eastern United States."—Jerald T. Milanich, Florida Museum of Natural History
272 pp. 14 b&w photos.
1996
Cloth, $39.95- Click on the price to order!
Pottery from Spanish Shipwrecks, 1500-1800
by Mitchell W. Marken
"The
first major attempt to collate and analyze this type of
information from wrecks of the Spanish Main (ca. 1500-1800). . .
. This is a work of important scholarship and implications which
should be widely read, not least because it provides one of the
most persuasive statements yet of research strategy focused on
the non-structural finds of early historic wrecks."—Antiquity
"A classic whose quality will meet the test of time. No doubt this book will become a standard reference for students of the early modern archaeology of the Spanish empire, be their focus under the ground or under the sea."—Russell Skowronek, Santa Clara University
256 pp. 1268-6
1994
Cloth, $55.00- Click on the price to order!
Macanche Island, El Peten, Guatemala:
Excavations, Pottery, and Artifacts
by Prudence M. Rice
"A model for Maya type-variety ceramic studies and an essential source book for those involved in Postclassic period archaeology."—American Anthropologist
283 pp. 0838-7
1987
Cloth, $55.00- Click on the price to order!
The Spanish Missions of La Florida
Edited by Bonnie G. McEwan
"A major compendium of the latest effort of a truly blue-ribbon group of scholars. . . . The volume is certain to be a classic among scholars of archaeology, history, and geography, not only in Florida and the Southeast, but among the large numbers involved in Spanish colonial research elsewhere."—Robert L. Hoover, California Polytechnic State University
"This attractive volume
demonstrates what excellent scholarly research can be achieved
when archaeologists and historians work
together."—Robert A. Matter, Journal
of Southern History
485 pp.
1993
Cloth, $49.95 1231-7 - Click on the price to order!
Paper, $24.95 1232-5
Foraging and Farming in the Eastern Woodlands
Edited by C. Margaret Scarry
"Anyone interested in Native American agricultural practices will find this study useful. . . . The bibliography provides a detailed list of references that any historian pursuing interdisciplinary research on Indian agriculture will find essential."—R. Douglas Hunt, Agricultural History
"I highly recommend this book for every archaeologist’s bookshelf. It not only clearly summarizes important revisions to the culture history of eastern North America, it more than adequately illustrates the value of paleontological viewpoints and analyses within archaeology today."—Gail E. Wagner, Southeastern Archaeology
Ripley P. Bullen Series
365 pp. 1235-X
1993
Cloth, $55.00 - Click on the price to order!
The People Who Discovered Columbus: The Prehistory of the Bahamas
by William F. Keegan
"[Keegan] has been an important player in the debate over where Columbus actually landed and offers a valuable perspective on this controversy. His book opens a window on the lifeways of a largely extinct culture and will excite the general as well as the specialized reader."—Library Journal
Ripley P. Bullen Series
304 pp. 1137-X
1992
Cloth, $49.95 - Click on the price to order!
First
Encounters:
Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States,
1492-1570
Edited by Jerald T. Milanich and Susan
Milbrath
"An unrivaled picture of the intricate relations between European and native American during the early years of contact in the Indies and the Southeast."—Antiquity
"A readable, splendidly illustrated study of Spain’s early attempts to explore and settle the Caribbean islands and the eastern seaboard of what is now the U.S."—Booklist
Ripley P. Bullen Series
231 pp.
1989
Cloth, $49.95 0946-4 - Click on the price to order!
Paper, $24.95 0947-2
Excavations
on the Franciscan Frontier:
Archaeology at the Fig Springs Mission
Brent Richards Weisman
"Excavations on the Franciscan Frontier offers new perspectives on a little-known aspect of seventeenth-century La Florida, the western Timucuan-Franciscan mission frontier. Weisman’s book illuminates both mission organization and the material culture of American Indians and Spaniards of interior northern Florida during this period."—Kathleen A. Deagan, Florida Museum of Natural History
Ripley P. Bullen Series
267 pp. 1119-1
1992
Cloth, $49.95 - Click on the price to order!
Edited and translated by John H. Hann
Introduction by William H. Marquardt
"A magnificent volume . . . an amazing piece of research and must reading for anyone interested in the ethnohistory of the southeastern U.S., Spanish-Indians relations, or the mission effort in the New World."— Randolph J. Widmer, Ethnohistory
"Sets a standard for future publication of similar source materials from various time periods and geographic regions of Spanish colonization. . . . Dr. Hann has produced one of the most thorough documentations of any single missions in the circum-Caribbean. Along the way he has established himself as one of our foremost ethnohistorians."—Historical Archaeology
Ripley P. Bullen Series
479 pp. 0854-9
1991
Cloth, $24.95 - Click on the price to order!
Archaeology of Aboriginal Culture Change in the Interior Southeast:
Depopulation During the Early Historic Period
by Marvin T. Smith
"Smith’s study admirably bridges the history of interior Southeastern Indian nations between the Late Prehistoric and the eighteenth century."—Alice B. Kehoe, American Indian Quarterly
Ripley P. Bullen Series
198 pp.
1992
Cloth, $49.95 0846-8 - Click on the price to order!
Paper, $24.95 1158-2
Archaeology and Adventure in the Nineteenth Century
by Marion Spjut Gilliland
"Frank Hamilton Cushing was one of the most
intriguing and romantic figures of nineteenth-century American
anthropology. . . in 1896, he led the Pepper-Hearst expedition to
Key Marco, Florida, where he excavated incredibly well preserved
wooden artifacts of the prehistoric Calusa: masks, statues,
utilitarian items, and the tools used to make them. His finds
have yet to be surpassed. . . . This book is an account of that
expedition. . . . I recommend it to anyone interested in the
history of archaeology in America."—John F. Scarry, American
Antiquity
Ripley P. Bullen Series
150 pp. 8 1/2 X 11. 0884-0
1988
Cloth, $39.95 - Click on the price to order!
Apalachee: The Land Between the Rivers
by John H. Hann
"With its wealth of essential information on the life, culture, and history of the Apalachee, this book is invaluable for providing substance, depth, and accuracy to any anthropological or historical study of the Apalachee region during the historic period. It will also be useful to archaeologists, restorationists, and the general public. . . . The indispensable, encyclopedic reference work on the Apalachee."—Journal of American History
464 pp. 0854-9
1988
Cloth, $24.95 - Click on the price to order!
Perspectives on Gulf Coast Prehistory
Edited by Dave D. Davis
"A significant contribution to our understanding of Southeastern Indians and will undoubtedly become a ‘landmark’ book. . . . an excellent addition to any library and should be read by anyone who is interested in the Indians of the Southeast."—American Indian Quarterly
379 pp. 0756-9
1984
Cloth, $49.95 - Click on the price to order!
Fort Center: An Archaeological Site in the Lake Okeechobee Basin
by William H. Sears
"A landmark publication by one of the great American archaeologists, it should be read not only by southeastern archaeologists but by all concerned with agriculture and ceremonial life in the precolumbian New World."—Michael D. Coe, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University
223 pp. 1298-8
1994
Paper, $24.95 - Click on the price to order!
