School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-These titles offer the beautiful photography and illustrations characteristic of the National Geographic Society, well-written texts and sidebars, and information on recent archaeological finds. The authors combine overview material on these cultures, interviews with working archaeologists, and "process" data about how archaeologists and other scientists handle present-day finds, and even finds long-past, to learn everything possible. Inca, for example, notes the information that has come down to us from the conquering Spanish, as well as such startling new finds as frozen mummies of several children, some so well preserved that the archaeologists could still see the hair on the children's arms. Greece introduces underwater archaeology in its treatment of two expeditions conducted by George Bass: the 1980s exploration of a ship that sank more than 3000 years ago as well as the exploration in 2000 of a ship that sank about 400 B.C.E. In Egypt, readers learn not only about Howard Carter's discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb more than 80 years ago, but also about Zahi Hawass's 2005 CT scan of Tut's mummy, which determined that the boy-king was not killed by a blow to the head. The books also expose the problems of the deterioration of sites (including cities sinking into rising water tables), looters, and the challenges of understanding the remains of nonliterate societies. Beautifully produced, these books have the potential both to please readers already fascinated by the past and to attract new fans to archaeology.-Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
This series discusses how archaeologists' work helps us learn about ancient cultures. Each volume highlights major sites and finds; the text touches on the impact of modern history (the Iraq war, pollution) on priceless artifacts and discusses controversies (Elgin marbles). Sidebars and well-captioned photos expand on the information, as does an interview with a working archaeologist. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these National Geographic Investigates titles: Ancient Inca, Ancient Iraq, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Africa.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
