Reviews for
Publishers Weekly
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In this charming romp through the world of experimental archaeology, bestseller Kean (The Icepick Surgeon) profiles the “lab geeks” and “screwball enthusiasts” who investigate the “sensory-rich” qualities of history, from the “crab-like odor of a deer hide as you tan it” to “the salty pinch of fermented Roman fish sauce.” Among those spotlighted is researcher Lyn Wadley, who studies “the first beds in human history”—200,000-year-old cliffside ledges in South Africa constructed of “layers of ash and plant matter” and “broad leaves from the aromatic Cape quince tree.” Recreating the beds and sleeping overnight in them in a cave, Wadley and a team of volunteers discover that the ancient accommodations are not only “comfortable,” but have “a fresh, fruity odor that keeps away mosquitos.” Another group of archeologists “skin and deflesh” an elephant—one that died of natural causes—with Stone Age tools; others brew ancient Egyptian beer that turns out tasting like kombucha. The most extreme of all are Egyptologists Bob Brier and Ronn Wade, who in 1994 mummified a human corpse—one donated to science—using “replicas of pharaonic-era tools.” (Kean wryly notes that their experiments “proved controversial.”) This idiosyncratic and impressively researched account takes readers to the fringes of knowledge production, revealing along the way that there is as much art as there is science to the study of history. It’s a delight. (July)
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Popular science writer Kean, who most recently delved into the exploits of sinister scientists in The Icepick Surgeon (2021), turns his sharp eye to experimental archaeology in this blend of lively factual chronicles that revive the past and fictional interludes depicting how our ancestors hunted, battled, and lived. Making his first foray into fiction, Kean illustrates how hunters of ages past stalked their prey, how warriors used various weapons to battle foes and even destroy entire villages, and how healers used alchemy and trepanation (digging a hole in the skull to reach the brain) to save lives. In the nonfiction sections, Kean gives some of these ancient mores and customs a try himself, from eating historical delicacies like ostrich eggs and various insects, to wielding ancient weaponry like deadly clubs and the destructive trebuchet (a massive catapult), to playing an Aztec ball game that leaves him bruised and battered. It’s all wildly entertaining, and Kean makes a powerful case for how vital the experimental archaeologists’ work is in giving us a better understanding of the past.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Reviving the past by reenacting the rituals of daily life. Fascinated by history but bored by dusty, tedious archaeological digs, science author Kean dives into the field of experimental archaeology. Some are real archaeologists, others are “screwball enthusiasts” or “hardcore lab geeks,” the author writes, but most, like him, simply yearn to connect with traditions that defined our ancestors. To do this, Kean learns certain skills, like brewing beer and baking bread as did the ancient Egyptians, making weapons out of rocks and obsidian as was done in Africa 75,000 years ago, and even tattooing in the methods of people who lived in 500 A.D. in what is now Northern California. In the process, the author expands our understanding of what life was like back then and raises questions about long-held assumptions. For instance, wood is less likely to survive with time at archaeological sites. “Maybe the stuff we don’t find”—like wood—“is the stuff they cared about,” one expert muses. “Maybe instead of the Stone Age, we should call it the Wood Age.” This kind of insight can only be gleaned from actually making weapons from rocks and sticks, Kean writes. Along the way, he mummifies his own fish as an experiment and learns a Mesoamerican ballgame in which players bat around rubber balls with their hips. Kean’s visits with experts make for fun reading and forge a factual framework for the book, but the most gripping parts are the fiction narratives he intersperses with the nonfiction sections. The author imagines characters that leap off the page. Their challenges are immense, whether it’s a hapless tomb thief or a man’s discovery that, while he went out to gather acorns, his pregnant wife was bludgeoned by a rival. Informed by what Kean has learned about the realities of life for the ancients, his riveting fictional sagas make this book very hard to put down. A fast-paced, vividly written tale that brings lost civilizations into sharp focus. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
