Just Finished Reading: Archaeology – a Very Short Introduction by Paul Bahn



Yet again I’m using the VSI series to broaden and deepen my understanding of a subject I have a passing knowledge of. Archaeology is, understandably, a huge topic. After all it covers all of human history and, indeed, pre-history.


What this small, and admittedly brief, volume attempt to cover were the highlights. Starting with its developments (in any systematic form) in the 19th Century, the author quickly moves onto the central question of accurately dating artefacts, the uses (and limitations) of new technology, a discussion regarding questions of how people lived in by-gone ages, the difficulty in reconstructing ways of thinking in ancient times (especially when only physical evidence is present), a brief tour of the idea of settlement and society, a discussion on how things change over time (and how this can be assessed), issues of gender and race bias (and how they can be addressed), how archaeology is presented to the public (a major reason for ‘doing’ archaeology in the first place) and finally a look towards the future of the past.


Told throughout in a light-hearted manner this was a fun and informative read. The author didn’t take himself too seriously and in so doing probably slipped through quite a lot of potentially ‘boring’ information in bite sized chunks. I think I found the sections on the difficulties – if not impossibilities – of attempts to discover how our ancestors thought most intriguing. Our knowledge of such things will forever remain imperfect at best (unless we eventually invent time travel) but such things are certainly worth the attempt – however unsatisfactory the result turns out to be. The other section I found almost as fascinating was how the attitudes of archaeologists have changed as more women and non-Anglo-American archaeologists have entered the field. Their attempts to address deficiencies in previous studies (either consciously or unconsciously sexist or racist) have provided new insights into whole ranges of questions. Despite being a mere 105 pages long this gives the casual reader much food for thought and many avenues to follow up. I for one will be doing such a follow up in the New Year. Recommended.