The Atlas of Archaeology

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From the Paleolithic Age through the Industrial Revolution, a fascinating foray into the world of archaeology explores geophysics, excavations, and skeletal analyses from the start of a dig to the preservation process.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8,1998

About the author

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Michael Antony "Mick" Aston, FSA (1 July 1946 – 24 June 2013) was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bristol and University of Oxford and published fifteen books on archaeological subjects. A keen populariser of the discipline, Aston was widely known for appearing as the resident academic on the Channel 4 television series Time Team from 1994 to 2011.

Born in Oldbury, Worcestershire to a working-class family, Aston developed an early interest in archaeology, studying it as a subsidiary to geography at the University of Birmingham. In 1970, he began his career working for Oxford City and County Museum and there began his work in public outreach by running extramural classes in archaeology and presenting a series on the subject for Radio Oxford. In 1974, he was appointed as the first County Archaeologist for Somerset, there developing an interest in aerial archaeology and establishing a reputation as a pioneer in landscape archaeology – a term that he co-invented with Trevor Rowley – by authoring some of the earliest books on the subject. In 1978 he began lecturing at the University of Oxford and in 1979 became a tutor at the University of Bristol, supplementing these activities by working as an archaeological tour guide in Greece.

In 1988, Aston teamed up with television producer Tim Taylor and together they created two shows which focused on bringing archaeology into British popular consciousness. The first was the short-lived Time Signs (1991), although this was followed by the more successful Time Team, which was produced for Channel 4 from 1994 to 2013. Aston was responsible for identifying sites for excavation and for selecting specialists to appear on the show, and through the programme became well known to the viewing public for his trademark colourful jumpers and flowing, untidy hairstyle. In 1996 he was appointed to the specially-created post of Professor of Landscape Archaeology at Bristol University, and undertook a ten-year project investigating the manor at Shapwick, Somerset. He retired from his university posts in 2004, but continued working on Time Team until 2011 and in 2006 commenced writing regular articles for British Archaeology magazine until his death. Although Aston did not believe that he would leave a significant legacy behind him, after his death various archaeologists claimed that he had a major impact in helping to popularise the discipline among the British public.


Community Reviews

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5 reviews All reviews
April 26,2025
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Late recensie, kwestie van de gaten op te vullen. Ik heb dit boek eigenlijk via de verzamelmap in De Morgen (of was het een andere krant?) gekocht. Elke week, zo'n 20 jaar geleden, verscheen een nieuw deel. Ik had echter 1 deel te kort, zodat het boek onvolledig was.

Het behandelt, op beknopte wijze, de verschillende soorten religies in de wereld. Op zich best interessant, maar het formaat met de map was, bij nader inzien, best onhandig. Dan is de boekvorm beter.

Ook zijn er intussen veel meer en betere werken verschenen, in allerlei talen.
April 26,2025
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An excellent and informative book on archaeology from B.C. to modern times. Specific sites are explored, as well as trends across the world at the time showing cultural variations. My only problem was the changing size of the font which made writing hard to read at times.
April 26,2025
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My favorite archaeology book! Perfect blend of history and archeology. It covers pretty much everything within the field, even if information given on each topic is relatively basic.
A lot of illustrations and color photos also make the book easily accessible.
A very interesting, great non-fiction book.
April 26,2025
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ANYTHING published by Dorling Kindersley is of high quality and visually stunning!
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