Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1982 - 75

Masson and Sarianidi in their 1972
reference checking, labeling and other
bias, with its center of gravity in western
essential minutiae of manuscript prepaAsia and Europe.
volume, where, for example, the Middle
Bronze or Namazga V period is dated
The text is divided into three parts of
ration, and that few attempts were made
2000-1600b.c. This is simply too late in
to report on the latest Soviet discoveries
unequal length. Part I, on the developand interpretation of data. Nevertheless,
ment of modern archaeology, is about 50
comparison with related materials from
Iran and Pakistan and with the use of
the two volumes represent a considerable
pages long; and Part III, on the dating
corrected radiocarbon determinations.
addition to Asian prehistory.
and geographic distribution of various
While debate still rages within Soviet
cultural complexes (for example, agriarchaeological circles on chronological
Philip L. Kohl is Associate Professor of culture in western Asia, or the expansion
Anthropologyat WellesleyCollege,Welles- of seaborne trade around A.D. 1500), is
questions, particularly the complex
ley,MA and is the editor of The BronzeAge only about 35 pages long. Part II comproblem of subdividing and dating the
Civilizationof Central Asia (M.E. S harpe,
so-called Late Bronze or Namazga VI
prises most of the book, and consists of
Armonk, NY 1981).
53 separate contributions by a total of
period, there seems to be some indication, at least by Masson, of the acceptsome 50 different authors who cover the
ance of the higher chronology long
human past from the origin of hominids
favored by western archaeologists workto approximately 500 b.p. Because such
The Cambridge Encyclopedia
of
enormous expanses of time and space
ing in adjacent regions. Gupta's volumes
edited by Andrew
are covered, the individual chapters seem
largely ignore these vexing questions
Archaeology,
Sherratt . 495 pages , 41 color photoand, as a result, may mislead readers
rather homogenized and monotonous in
less familiar with the arguments.
graphs, 71 black and white photographs ,
style, but this is ameliorated by the pho93 text figures , 39 plans, 114maps , bib- tographs, maps and charts that accomGupta, however, reasonably seeks to
evaluate the evidence for Soviet interliography. Crown Publishers, Inc./ Campany each capsule summary. In nearly
pretations of their data. His criticisms
bridge University Press, New York1980 every case these illustrations- a great
often are well-taken, as for example, his
$35.00
many in color- impart some liveliness
i critique of the economic self-sufficiency
to the otherwise uniformly sober and
of nuclear families at Djeitun, or his disscholarly summaries that range from "Ice
missal of an archaeologicallyidentifiable
In his introduction, Andrew Sherratt
Age Environments," "The Development
writes that the book is "an attempt to
of Human Culture," "The Emergence of
Aryan "ethnic identity." But he seems
summarize the present state of knowlCities in the Near East," and "The
overly concerned with the tiresome and
insoluble problem of the relative imporHellenistic World" to "The Growth of
edge over the whole field of archaeotance of diffusion versus independent
the Chinese Empire," "The Expansion
logical inquiry." Insofar as such a goal
can be realized, The Cambridge Encyof the Arabs," "The Rise of Temperate
development, generally opting for the
latter.
clopedia of Archaeology is quite sucEurope," "Holocene Australia," and
In a wide-ranging and peculiarly
continued on page 81
cessful, but it has a strong Old World
entitled final chapter, "The Polemics,"
Gupta downplays diffusion as an important agent for change, and considers the
Indus*Valley civilization "a really superior colleague" in any interregional I ANNOt
INTINr.interaction with Central Asia. He is
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE MOST EXHAUSTIVE
OF FOSSIL
unsparing in his criticisms of western
interpretations, particularly those of the
VERTEBRATE
IN EXKTENCE
LITERATURE
TODAY.
Italian scholar M. Tosi, but offers in
E.Leakey
that"Paleontolwrites
Order
two-volume
settoday!
1
your
exchange an almost mystical view of
as mucha partofI ThefirstGregory/Bacskai/Shkurkin/
ogyhasbecome
volume
covers
vertebrate
I
as
cultural development in which what
multi-disciplinary
investigations1Brya,nt literature
of1978.
ThepalesecmanvothersciencesThiscomnraontological
ond
v°>u™>
covers
1979.
You
can
order
is
as
"it
should
have
been"
"
h.n7h^^i^nr^i.
.n^ST
happened
hensive
isan
invalubibliography
a
two-volume
set
and
save
$15.
(
Simply
able referencefor any serious( complete
(volume II, page 141), and "whatever
the information
below
and
toAmerican
library."
¡ sendthiscoupon
Geologiwas achieved has to be attributed to the
Customer
Service
ÄM
R.E.Leakey
Institute,
i cal
Dept.
Falls
Pike,
Church,
Director/Chief
Executive I 182*5205Leesburg
genius and will of the people" (volume
National
Museum«
ofKenya¡
II, page 152).
continuation
ofthe
I
tradition.
I want
ä
Archaeology of Soviet Central Asia
toorder: 80-year
80yearsof
i
Culminating
and the Indian Borderlands suffers from
'
Ä^rt,0nh
JveÄ^8B«ChF0SSil
Publication
of theBibliography
tR.
an uneven descriptive and analytical
and
of Fossil
| Copiesof Bibliography
ofFossil
a
w-m
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»
Vertebrata
of
North
*
Catalog
1979
at$105.00*
each
| Vertebrates
j
j
As
a
of
Central
quality.
compendium
America
Oliver
Two-volume
sets
of
both
i
(1902)
by
Perry
Hay
bibliograx/' mwnrinwiilp
T TV1
fT
at$185.00*
Asian prehistory, it is presently without
I P^ies
thetradition.
C.L.Camp
inaugurated
perset
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for
shipping
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Vanderhoff
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*AdJ¡
$"J-75
in
western
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peer
any
language.
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scope
bibliogIXMipenaiUm
doubly unfortunate, then, that the mavertebrate
raphies
covering
paleonormoney
order
to
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payable
Af
literature
between
worldwide,
tological
terial described cannot be relied upon
III rAC,cJl
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institute)
F ilSSI I
Geological
1
928
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makes
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for accuracy, nor considered an up-tolatestadvance
thecurrent
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my MasterCard
through
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CMICUl dU/
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fortsofDr.Joseph
T.Gregory
date account. Recent discoveries in
working
card
number
is
withJudithA-BacskaiV.¡ My
George
DilkÜnn^AMfi
Margiana and Bactria (northwestern
Shkurkin
and
Laurie
J.
atthe itexpires
Bryant
on
1 UDIlCallOnS
Museum
ofPaieontology
oftheLíniAfghanistan and southern Uzbekistan),
¡M e
Essential
for
of
anyone
seriously
The
bib1
California,
versity
Berkeley.
and northern Baluchistan (northwestern
in:
interested
cover
theperiod
sincetheI Title
liographies
* Fossilman
Pakistan) show that the area was of
lastCamp/Vanderhoff
work.
With
an¡ institution
*
Prehistoric
exhaustive
index
archaeology
! Address
systematic (notavailexceptional importance for the evolution
* Functional
in
able
GeoRef
anatomy
online
or
Bibliography
,
of culture throughout West and South
* Paleobiology
andIndex
ofGeology),
State Zip
prepared
byi City
* Paleoecology
vertebrate
editors
at
the
I
Asia. Gupta is to be congratulated for
paleontologist
_LOoAmerican
* Geochronology
I
of
>°
California.
in
University
'% GEOLOGICAL
Coverage
* Functional
synthesizing a rich, important, and -in
thenewbibliographies
INSTITUTE
morphology
isvirtually
total¡ ¿ aJs *o
* Andmany
Servie®
otherrelated
fields providing
the West- still poorly appreciated prethegreatest
and¡ '
f Customer
flexibility
ease
of
access
available
to there-1 '
52(?5
historic sequence. One can only regret
Pike
Uesburg
searcher.
Falls
VA
|
22041
Church,
that more effort was not expended on
1982
May/June

Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1982

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1982