Start planning those classes.

 

Left Coast Press has several excellent new and recent books to serve as
textbooks for your courses. Copies are available on an examination basis for
college instructors. Details on our examination policy and ordering
information are below.  Visit our website at www.LCoastPress.com
<http://www.lcoastpress.com/> .

 

 

For your courses:

Archaeology Matters: Action Archaeology in the Modern World

Jeremy A. Sabloff

Published March 2008, 128 pages, $21.95 (paperback)


ISBN: 978-1-59874-089-9


Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, Public Archaeology, CRM/Heritage
Management, Applied Anthropology


 

How could archaeology matter in the modern world? Archaeology studies the
people of long ago and far away. Former SAA President Jeremy Sabloff points
to ways in which archaeology is also relevant to the understanding and
amelioration of modern problems. Though archaeologists have commonly been
associated with efforts to uncover cultural identity, restore the past of
underrepresented peoples, and preserve historical sites, their knowledge and
skills can be used in many other ways. Archaeologists help Peruvian farmers
increase crop yields, aid city planners in reducing landfills, and guide
local communities in tourism development and water management. This brief
volume, aimed at students and other prospective archaeologists, challenges
the field to go beyond merely understanding the past and actively engage in
making a difference in the modern world. 

Controversies in Archaeology

Alice Beck Kehoe

Published March 2008, 256 pages, $29.95 (paperback)


ISBN: 978-1-59874-062-2


Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, Public Archaeology, Discussion
Seminars, Popular Archaeology


 

Atlantis, ancient astronauts, and pyramid power. Archaeologists are
perennially bombarded with questions about the "mysteries" of the past. They
are also constantly addressing more realistic controversies: origins of the
First Americans, the ownership of antiquities, and national claims to
historical territories. Alice Beck Kehoe offers to introductory students a
method of evaluating and assessing these claims about the past in this
reader-friendly, concise text. She shows how to use the methods of science
to challenge the legitimacy of pseudoscientific proclamations and develop
reasonable interpretations on controversial issues. Not one to shy away from
controversy herself, Kehoe takes some stands - on transpacific migration,
shamanism, the Kensington Runestone-which will challenge instructor and
students alike, and foster class discussion 

Field Methods in Archaeology

Thomas J. Hester, Harry Shafer, and Kenneth Feder

Published December 2008, 436 pages, $69.00 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-428-6

Course: Field Methods

 

Field Methods in Archaeology has been the leading source for instructors and
students in archaeology courses and field schools for 60 years since it was
first authored in 1949 by the legendary Robert Heizer. Left Coast has
arranged to put the most recent Seventh Edition back into print after a
brief hiatus, making this classic textbook again available to the next
generation of archaeology students. This comprehensive guide provides an
authoritative overview of the variety of methods used in field archaeology,
from research design, to survey and excavation strategies, to conservation
of artifacts and record-keeping.  Authored by three leading archaeologists,
with specialized contributions by several other experts, this volume deals
with current issues such as cultural resource management, relations with
indigenous peoples, and database management as well as standard methods of
archaeological data collection and analysis.

 

Ancient Peoples of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau

Steven R. Simms

Published June 2008, 288 pages, $26.95 (paperback)


ISBN: 978-1-59874-296-1


Courses: Archaeology of North America, Archaeology of the Great Basin


 

Written to appeal to professional archaeologists and the interested public,
this book is a long-overdue introduction to the ancient peoples of the Great
Basin and northern Colorado Plateau. More than simply a textbook about the
Great Basin, it provides background about the region as well as a deeper
understanding of the people who inhabited it. Through detailed syntheses,
the reader is drawn into the story of the inhabitation of the Great Basin
from the entry of Paleoindians through the arrival of Europeans in the
region. This book is a major contribution to Great Basin archaeology and
anthropology, as well as the general study of foraging societies. 

Stone Mirror: A Novel of the Neolithic

Rob Swigart

Published April 2007, 256 pages, $21.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-017-2

Excerpt available at http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=80


Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, World Prehistory


 

A large obsidian mirror is found by a Turkish farmer on top of a mound. How
did it get there? What does it mean, for then and now? In this teaching
novel by writer Rob Swigart, the story toggles back and forth between the
story of a Neolithic village-- and the changing fortunes of the family who
find this wondrous tool-- and a tale of modern archaeologists whose
excavated finds stir journalists, governments, and goddess worshippers
alike. In doing so, Swigart's novel provides both a basic reconstruction of
Neolithic lifeways and a primer of contemporary archaeological politics and
practice. For students in introductory archaeology classes, courses on the
Neolithic, or on ethical issues, Stone Mirror will be a fun, informative
introduction both to archaeology and to the people archaeologists study.

 

Box Office Archaeology: Refining Hollywood's Portrayals of the Past

Julie M. Schablitsky, Editor

Published April 2007, 256 pages, $24.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-056-1

Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, Public Archaeology, Archaeology and
Media, Historical Archaeology

 

"How true is it?" is a common refrain of patrons coming out of movie
theatres after the latest film on pirates, Vikings, or mummies. While
Hollywood usurps the past for its own entertainment purposes, archaeologists
and historians know a lot about many of these subjects, digging up stories
often more fascinating than the ones projected on screen. Archaeologists
select key subjects and genres used by Hollywood and provide the historical
and archaeological depth that a movie cannot--what really happened in
history. Topics include Egypt, the Wild West, Civil War submarines, Vikings,
the Titanic, and others.

 

Historical Archaeology: Why the Past Matters

Barbara J. Little

Published January 2007, 216 pages, $22.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-023-3

Course: Historical Archaeology

 

What is historical archaeology and why is it important? Well-known
archaeologist Barbara Little addresses these key questions for introductory
students in this concise, inexpensive, and well-written text. Little covers
the goals of historical archaeological work, the kinds of questions it asks,
and the ethical and political concerns it raises. She shows what historical
archaeology can provide that neither of its parent disciplines can offer
alone.  As an introductory guide for historical archaeology and similar
courses, this volume is unmatched in quality and scope.

 

Doing Archaeology: A Cultural Resource Management Perspective

Thomas F. King

Published August 2005, 160 pages, $21.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-003-5

Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, CRM/Heritage Management

 

What is archaeology, and why should we do it? Tom King, arguably the
best-known heritage management consultant in the United States, answers the
basic question of every introductory student from the unique perspective of
one who actively uses archaeology for cultural resource management. King
shows how contemporary archaeology, as part of the larger cultural resource
management endeavor, acts to help preserve and protect prehistoric and
historic sites in the United States and elsewhere. An ideal ice-breaker for
introductory college classes in archaeology, one that will get students
engaged in the subject and thinking about its challenges

 

 

Resources for the Classroom:

Archaeological Field Schools: A Guide for Teaching in the Field

Jane Eva Baxter

Published March 2009, 240 pages, $49.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-007-3

Course: Field School

 

The field school is often described as a "rite of passage" among
archaeologists. They are considered essential for the appropriate training
of students for academic or professional archaeological careers, and are
perhaps the only universal experience in an increasingly diverse array of
archaeological career paths. Jane Baxter's practical guide about how to run
a successful field school offers archaeologists ways to maximize the
educational and training benefits of these experiences. She presents a wide
range of pedagogical theories and techniques that can be used to place field
schools in an educational, as well as an archaeological, context. Baxter
then offers a "how to" guide for the design of field schools, including
logistical, legal, and personnel issues as well as strategies for
integrating research and teaching in the field. Replete with checklists,
forms, and cogent examples, the author gives directors and staff a set of
"best practices" for designing and implementing a school.

 

Privy to the Past

Janet Pape and Adrian Praetzellis 

Published September 2005, 25 minute video, $79.95 (DVD)

DVD ISBN: 978-1-59874-299-2

Use discount code Lo87 for instructor discount price, $49.95

Courses: Introduction to Archaeology, Field Methods, Historical Archaeology,
Urban Archaeology

 

This detailed and engaging documentary provides an outstanding introduction
to the goals and methods of historical and urban archaeology. It chronicles
a major cultural resource management project conducted in advance of
reconstruction of a freeway through West Oakland, California, after the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake. The video follows the archaeologists as they
excavate and interpret structures, features, and objects of 19th century
Oakland. It shows how the archaeologists use historical documents, tax
records, insurance maps, and oral history interviews with descendants to
broaden and corroborate the archaeological finds. The difficulties of
conducting excavation in urban settings, as well as the importance of
cultural resource management work, are also demonstrated in the film.

 

The Potters of Buur Heybe, Somalia

Steven Brandt and Tara Belkin

Published September 2006, 25 minute video with 4-page insert, $79.95 (DVD)

DVD ISBN: 978-1-59874-118-6

Use discount code Lo87 for instructor discount price, $49.95

 

Now available on DVD at a considerably reduced price, this award-winning
ethnoarchaeological film documents the complete sequence of pottery
production and use at Buur Heybe, "The Hill of the Potter's Sand", in
southern Somalia. The Potters of Buur Heybe portrays the complete life cycle
of earthenware pottery manufacture and use, places the pottery in its social
and economic context, and considers the roles of gender, symbolism, agency
and religion in the process.  Short, technologically fascinating, and
ethnographically rich, Potters of Buur Heybe is an excellent film for both
undergraduate and graduate courses in anthropology and archaeology,
including methods, technology, material culture, ethnography, and arts.

 

Woman the Toolmaker: Hideworking and Stone Tool Use in Konso, Ethiopia

Steven Brandt, Kathryn Weedman, and Tara Belkin

Published September 2006, 25 minute video with 4-page insert, $79.95 (DVD)

DVD ISBN: 978-1-59874-119-3

Use discount code Lo87 for instructor discount price, $49.95

 

Woman the Toolmaker portrays the remarkable lives of a group of Konso hide
workers from southern Ethiopia who may be the last people in the world to
make and use flaked stone tools on a regular basis. Unlike the "Man the
Toolmaker" stereotype, virtually all of the Konso hide workers are women who
as young girls learn flintknapping skills from their mothers or other female
relatives. The complete life cycle of making and using flaked stone
artifacts is documented in this ethnoarchaeological portrait of Konso women
scraping hides to produce soft leather products for bedding, bags, drums,
and even ritual clothing.  This unique video is an excellent addition to
both undergraduate and graduate courses in anthropology, archaeology, and
women's studies, including material culture, technology, methods, and
ethnography.

 

Archaeology to Delight and Instruct: Active Learning in the University
Classroom

Heather Burke and Claire Smith

Published January 2007, 288 pages, $29.95 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59874-257-2

 

This book presents novel and interesting ways of teaching archaeological
concepts and processes to college and university students. Seeking
alternatives to the formal lecture format, the various contributions seek
better ways of communicating the complexities of human behavior and of
engaging students in active learning about the past. This collection of
imaginative exercises designed by 20 master instructors on three continents,
include role-playing, games, simulations, activities, and performance, all
designed to teach archaeological concepts in interesting and engaging ways.

 

 

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visit our website at:

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To encourage college instructors to consider our titles for use in courses,
we invite you to request up to three books to review for class adoption.
Books will be sent on a 90-day examination basis and invoiced at a 15%
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students you expect, what texts you are currently using, and when you need
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