In recent years, postcolonial theories have emerged as one of the significant paradigms of contemporary academia, affecting disciplines throughout the humanities and social sciences. These theories address the complex processes if colonialism on culture and society-with repect to both the colonizers and the colonized-to help us understand the colonial experience in its entirety. The contributors to Archaeology and the Postcolonial Critique present critical syntheses of archaeologi...

Southwestern archaeology has long been fascinated with the scale and frequency of movement in Pueblo history, from great migrations to short-term mobility. By collaborating with Pueblo communities, archaeologists are learning that movement was—and is—much more than the result of economic opportunity or a response to social conflict. Movement is one of the fundamental concepts of Pueblo thought and is essential in shaping the identities of contemporary Pueblos.The Continuous Pat...

The second edition of Archaeological Ethics is an invitation to an ongoing and lively discussion on ethics. In addition to topics such as looting, reburial and repatriation, relations with native peoples, and professional conduct, Vitelli and Colwell-Chanthaphonh have responded to current events and news stories. Twenty-one new articles expand this ongoing discussion into the realm of intellectual property, public outreach, archaeotourism, academic freedom, archaeological concerns in times...

A powerful investigation into the chances for humanity's future from the author of the bestseller The World Without Us.In his bestselling book The World Without Us, Alan Weisman considered how the Earth could heal and even refill empty niches if relieved of humanity's constant pressures. Behind that groundbreaking thought experiment was his hope that we would be inspired to find a way to add humans back to this vision of a restored, healthy planet...

"This exciting saga crosses space and time to illustrate how humans, born of stardust, were shaped—and how they in turn shaped the world we know today." — Publishers WeeklyThis book offers "world history on a grand scale"—pulling back for a wider view and putting the relatively brief time span of human history in context. After all, our five thousand years of recorded civilization account for only about one millionth of the lifetime of our planet ( Kir...

To whom does the past belong? Is the archeologist who discovers a lost tomb a sort of hero -- or a villain? If someone steals a relic from a museum and returns it to the ruin it came from, is she a thief?Written in his trademark lyrical style, Craig Childs's riveting new book is a ghost story -- an intense, impassioned investigation into the nature of the past and the things we leave behind. We visit lonesome desert canyons and fancy Fifth Avenue art galleries, journey throughout t...

Our early ancestors lived in small groups and worked actively to preserve social equality. As they created larger societies, however, inequality rose, and by 2500 bce truly egalitarian societies were on the wane. In The Creation of Inequality, Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus demonstrate that this development was not simply the result of population increase, food surplus, or the accumulation of valuables. Instead, inequality resulted from conscious manipulation of the unique social ...

The Triangle of Trade in the Cradle of Civilization interestingly presents Mesopotamia as the supermarket of the ancient world. Although Sumeria was the nerve center for international trade, it had to import most everything from northern Mesopotamia, namely Armenia. Why have not the Armenians claimed their rightful place among the nations of Mesopotamia? The historical maze of humankind is fraught with mysteries, controversies, and inconsistencies.

Evil Paradises, edited by Mike Davis and Daniel Bertrand Monk, is a global guidebook to phantasmagoric but real places—alternate realities being constructed as “utopias” in a capitalist era unfettered by unions and state regulation. These developments—in cities, deserts, and in the middle of the sea—are worlds where consumption and inequality surpass our worst nightmares. Although they read like science fiction, the case studies are shockingly real. In Dubai, where child slavery e...

An award-winning, alarming account of "one of the central challenges facing civilization" ( The Washington Post Book World).Offering ecological, historical, and cultural perspectives, this "well-researched and thought-provoking book" (Minneapolis Tribune) explains how we are using, misusing, and abusing our planet's most vital resource.Reporting from hot spots as diverse as China, Las Vegas, and the Middle East, where swelling populations and unche...

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Yuval Noah Harari's book.Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader.This short summary and analysis of Sapiens includes:Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsChar...

Whether antiquities should be returned to the countries where they were found is one of the most urgent and controversial issues in the art world today, and it has pitted museums, private collectors, and dealers against source countries, archaeologists, and academics. Maintaining that the acquisition of undocumented antiquities by museums encourages the looting of archaeological sites, countries such as Italy, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and China have claimed ancient artifacts as state propert...