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Awesome Archaeology by Nick Arnold, Scholastic Children鈥檚 Books, 拢3.99,
ISBN 0439999081

DO IT YOURSELF . . . make your own mummy. How about your very own dig?
Perhaps eat like a cave person? Every parent or teacher knows the fascination of
the average 8 to 13-year-old for the gruesome, the putrid and the disgusting. In
archaeology, Nick Arnold has found the ideal source material.

His coverage is anything but parochial鈥攆rom the deserts of ancient
Egypt to marine archaeology, and from Mayan inscriptions to 脰tzi the iceman.
It鈥檚 a lot to cram into 160 pages, so don鈥檛 expect much in-depth treatment. But
if this book sparks your children鈥檚 interest maybe they鈥檒l get a textbook
next.

Archaeological anecdotes and trivia are well researched (do you know which
American president was an archaeologist?), and the presentation should appeal to
the target audience.

There are a few errors: breathing pure oxygen while ascending from a deep
dive is a bad idea. Oxygen becomes toxic at high partial pressures鈥攁s
every underwater archaeologist knows鈥� and pure oxygen should never be
breathed at depths of more than 6 metres. Then again, this isn鈥檛 meant to be a
diver鈥檚 training manual.

Most people who work in archaeology do so for love of the subject (they
certainly don鈥檛 do it for the money). If this book inspires your children to
become archaeologists, at least they will have been warned. 鈥淎rchaeology is only
hard work 99 per cent of the time鈥攂ut there are . . . moments that make it
all worthwhile.鈥� My sentiments exactly.