I haven't seen Pynchon's latest (although now it seems I have to), but I
just discovered Kage Baker, a sci fi writer who dabbles in time travel and
includes history and archaeology in her books and short stories. She even
has an Australopithecus character. In a short story called "The Yellow
Queen" she has a thoroughly believeable version of Petrie. Here's a quote I
nabbed from it (with her permission):
http://archaeology.about.com/od/writerquotes/qt/quote213.htm
K. Kris Hirst
Guide to Archaeology
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