Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World : Unlocking the Secrets of Past Civilizations

King Arthur and the Holy Grail, the lost tomb of Alexander the Great, ancient scripts, and the story of Atlantis: the human past is full of unsolved mysteries. The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World draws on modern science and the latest research to explore some of archaeology's most baffling controversies and enigmas, from our origins and evolution to the mysterious collapse of once-powerful civilizations. Leading authorities discuss the key questions, beginning with the truth behind myths and legends. Was there ever a Garden of Eden? Did the flood in Genesis actually occur? What became of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? And what is the significance of the Aboriginal Dreamtime? The book then examines mysteries of the Stone Age: the beginnings of language, the fate of the Neanderthals, and the meaning of cave paintings. The enigma of the European megaliths is addressed, and the question of whether there was ever a mother goddess cult. The ancient civilizations present equally fascinating puzzles: were the Egyptians black Africans, and how did Tutankhamun die? And mysteries are found in all parts of the globe: did the Olmecs originate in Africa, were the Bog People of northern Europe murder victims, why did the Incas sacrifice children, and what was the purpose of the world-famous Nazca lines? The book pays close attention to puzzling sepulchers like Tomb 55 in Egypt's Valley of the Kingspossibly the pharaoh Akhenaten's burial placeand to undeciphered scripts, from Cretan Linear A to Etruscan, runes, and rongorongo. Finally, it examines the controversies surrounding the collapse of such civilizations as the Minoan, the Maya, and the Moche of lowland Peru. Packed with diagrams, photographs, plans, and maps, The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World is a unique guide to some of the most contentious issues of the human past, offering a completely up-to-date account of mysteries that fascinate us all. 431 illustrations, 177 in color. With contributions by: Christopher Chippindale Richard Diehl Aidan Dodson Esther Eidinow Carol Ellick Brian M. Fagan Kenneth Feder Roberta Harris John Haywood Charles Higham Mark Humphries Lawrence Keppie David Lewis-Williams James Mallory Simon Martin Steven Mithen Michael Molnar Colin Pardoe Konstantinos Politis Andrew Robinson Chris Scarre Ian Shaw Christopher Snyder Charles Stanish James Strange Jo Anne Van Tilburg Richard Townsend Roger Wilson

Brian M. Fagan is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a leading archaeological writer Christopher Chippindale, a curator in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Richard A. Diehl is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the University of Alabama. Aidan Dodson is a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Bristol Esther Eidinow is researching aspects of uncertainty among the ancient Greeks for a D.Phil. in Ancient Greek history at Magdalen College, Oxford Carol J. Ellick is founding director of the public programmes department at Statistical Research Inc Kenneth L. Feder is an archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut Roberta Harris lectures on the archaeology of the Ancient Near East, specializing in the biblical period John Haywood is an Honorary Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Lancaster and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain Charles Higham is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He has been undertaking research in Thailand and Cambodia for the past 31 years Mark Humphries is a lecturer in the Department of Ancient Classics at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth Lawrence Keppie, a professor based at the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow David Lewis-Williams is Professor Emeritus and Senior Mentor in the Rock Art Research Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg J.P. Mallory is Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Queen's University, Belfast Simon Martin is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London Steven Mithen is Professor of Early Prehistory at the University of Reading Michael R. Molnar is an astronomer and a specialist on astral symbolism on ancient coins Colin Pardoe is a consultant in archaeology and biological anthropology Konstantinos Politis is a special assistant curator in the Department of Medieval and Modern Europe at the British Museum Andrew Robinson is the author of The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs and Pictograms (1995). He is Literary Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement Chris Scarre is Deputy Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and editor of the Cambridge Archaeological Journal Ian Shaw is Lecturer in Egyptian Archaeology at the University of Liverpool Christopher Snyder is Associate Professor of European History and Chair of the Department of History and Politics at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia Charles Stanish is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles James F. Strange is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa Jo Anne Van Tilburg is Director of the on-going Easter Island Statue Project. She is a Research Associate of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, where she is Director of the Rock Art Archive Richard F. Townsend is Curator of the Department of African and Amerindian Art at The Art Institute of Chicago Roger Wilson is Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham