The Archaeology Shelf

Archaeologies of Cosmoscapes in the Americas
J. Grant Stauffer, et al.
Oxbow Books
https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
9781789258448, $39.95, PB, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Archaeologies-Cosmoscapes-Americas-American-Landscap= es/dp/1789258448

Synopsis: "Archaeologies of Cosmoscapes in the Americas" examines how pre-C= olumbian societies in the Americas envisioned their cosmos and iteratively = modeled it through the creation of particular objects and places. It emphas= izes that American societies did this to materialize overarching models and=
templates for the shape and scope of the cosmos, the working definition of=
cosmoscape.

Noting a tendency to gloss over the ways in which ancestral Americans envis= ioned the cosmos as intertwined and animated, the contributors examine how = cosmoscapes are manifested archaeologically, in the forms of objects and ph= ysically altered landscapes. The chapters comprising "Archaeologies of Cosm= oscapes in the Americas" therefore, offer case studies of cosmoscapes that = present themselves as forms of architecture, portable artifacts, and transf= ormed aspects of the natural world. In doing so, it emphasizes that the cre= ation of cosmoscapes offered a means of reconciling peoples experiences of = the world with their understandings of them.

Critique: Compiled and co-edited by the team of J. Grant Stauffer (a PhD ca= ndidate in the Department of Anthropology at Washington University in St. L= ouis whose doctoral research is on landscape transformations, mound buildin=
g, and coalescence at the Cahokia site in Illinois;
Bretton T. Giles (Assistant Research Professor in the Sociology, Anthropolo=
gy and Social Work Department at Kansas State University who also serves as=
KSU supervisory archaeologist at the Fort Riley Army Installation in north= -central Kansas); and Shawn P. Lambert (Assistant professor of anthropology=
and senior research associate with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mi= ssissippi State University and who is also a co-editor of the book, New Met= hods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery), "Archaeologies of C= osmoscapes in the Americas" is illustrated throughout with line drawings an=
d black/white photographs. Comprised of thirteen erudite and informative co= ntributions, "Archaeologies of Cosmoscapes in the Americas" also includes a=
three page listing of the contributors and their credentials. An exception= ally well presented collection of scholarly research, "Archaeologies of Cos= moscapes in the Americas" is an especially and unreservedly recommended add= ition to personal, professional, college, and university library Contempora=
ry American Archaeology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lis= ts.

The Road to Kells
Fintan Walsh
Wordwell Books
https://wordwellbooks.com
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
9781911633266, $30.00, PB, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Kells-Fintan-Walsh/dp/1911633260

Synopsis: "The Road to Kells" is an archaeological study that begins with M= esolithic hunter-gatherers, who foraged in a forested, primeval landscape, = and left traces of a campsite on a gravel ridge in Cakestown Glebe, by the = River Blackwater. It continues, chapter by chapter, over a span of c. 5,000=
years, recording the homes, burial grounds, work and worship of Neolithic,=
Bronze Age and Iron Age communities.

The it brings us at last to the threshold of history, in the Iron Age/early=
medieval transition period, when we meet agricultural workers on tillage l= and in Kilmainham, stoking the cereal-drying kilns that would secure their = surplus grain harvest for the winter. Kells was not yet the seat of a famou=
s monastery at that time but had already become a central place in the regi= on, with a tribal capital at Commons of Lloyd, on the hill that overlooks t=
he town today.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively comprehensive study of=
prehistoric archaeology of the M3 Navan to Kells and N52 Kells Bypass road=
project, "The Road To Kells" is an extraordinary and highly recommended ad= dition to professional, college and university library Archaeology collecti= ons. Profusely illustrated throughout with full color photography, it shoul=
d be noted for personal and professional reading lists that "The Road To Ke= lls" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Fintan Walsh is a Board Member of the Institute of Archaeol= ogists of Ireland. (https://infrastructureandtransport.com/speaker/fintan-w= alsh-board-member-institute-of-archaeologists-of-ireland)

Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain
David R. Abram
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500024164, $45.00, HC, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Aerial-Atlas-Ancient-Britain-David/dp/0500024162

Synopsis: Drawing on years of travel around Britain's most extraordinary pr= ehistoric sites, David Abram's some 200 full color aerial photographs compr= ising his "Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain" reveal the ancient wonders hidi=
ng in plain sight around the country, from Neolithic tombs on the Wessex ch= alklands to Iron Age crannogs in Hebridean lochs.

Breathtaking photos reveal Neolithic enclosures, cairns, and stone circles;=
Bronze Age villages, farmsteads, tombs, and burial mounds; and Iron Age hi= llforts, all captured in spectacular bird's-eye-view detail. Stone cairns a=
nd circles evoke lost rituals and religious ceremonies; Iron Age ramparts h= int at former strongholds; and tangible geographical clues reveal the scars=
of real or mythical battles.

The eye-in-the-sky perspective unveils both the unseen forms of these ances= tral monuments as well as their relationship to their wider landscapes, cap= turing subtle symmetries and forgotten sight lines. Many of Abram's images = have an abstract quality that momentarily disrupts one's sense of perspecti= ve, allowing the shapes carved thousands of years ago to evoke an emotional=
resonance -- an experience at once pleasurable and instructive.

"Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain" is an inspiring way to discover the beaut=
y and history of the British landscape, revealing the visible traces of our=
ancestors, from such famous monuments as Stonehenge to little-known gems t= hat have never before been seen from the air.

Critique: Deftly organized into four major sections (The Palaeolithic & Mes= olithic; Neolithic Britain, The Cooper & Bronze Ages; Iron Age Britain), "A= erial Atlas of Ancient Britain" is further enhanced for the reader with the=
inclusion of a one page Further Reading bibliography; a one page listing o=
f Acknowledgments; a one page listing of Illustration Sources, and a three = page Index. Informative, fascinating, unique, "Aerial Atlas of Ancient Brit= ain" is a coffee-table style volume (9.8 x 1.1 x 10.6 inches, 3.76 pounds) = that would be a highly prized addition to personal, professional, community=
, and academic library British Archaeology collections.

Editorial Note: David Abram (http://www.davidabram.co.uk) is a writer and p= hotographer who has traveled the length and breadth of the British Isles, c= apturing views and researching his findings. He lives in the southwest of E= ngland, near some of the oldest sites of human habitation in the British Is= les.

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