ADVENTURES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology takes second place to history in this overview of ancient civilizations beginning with Mesopotamia and ending with Rome and Greece. In describing the obscure Sumerians, the reign of King Sargon I, as well as better known civilizations of Egypt, Phoenicia, Babylonia, the worlds of the Mayas, the Aztecs and ancient Hindus, mention is made of important excavations such as the Botta diggings, the work of Petrie and Evans, the excavation of Mohenjo-Daro and Thompson's discovery of Chichen-Itza. The author's preoccupations with these various cultures detracts from the actual archaeological achievements. In each case, she is off on a tangent of description abruptly ended by the inclusion of some biographical material on the next archaeologist. The whole thing is poorly organized, too broad in scope and written without the flair and zest that distinguish Suggs' Modern Discoveries in Archaeology.