Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem [Paperback]

Adrian Praetzellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003 | ISBN-10: 0759104077 | ISBN-13: 978-0759104075

Dr. Hannah Green--heroine of Praetzellis's textbook-as-novel Death by Theory--has really gotten herself into trouble this time. The spunky archaeologist has been asked to manage the contract archaeology project at a historic site in New Zealand when the regular archaeological staff of University of Invercargill abruptly dies off. On the scene, Hannah discovers she needs to teach her team about research design, survey methods, archival research, professional ethics, curation, and especially field safety, if they are to complete the contract before young Mr. Wallace levels the site in favor of a golf course. With a cast of characters that includes Missy-Jojo-the-Dog-Faced-Girl as lab supervisor, erotic romance writer and field volunteer Elena Solara, the ghost of socialite Bunny Wallace, and shovelbum Rusty Spittle, Praetzellis' brief textbook-as-novel introduces students to the hows and whys of field methodology in an entertaining but informative way. Ideal for your introductory archaeology classes and probably the only textbook you'll enjoy reading yourself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Adrian Praetzellis' book Dug to Death...he describes in deeply affecting fashion some of the myriad things that go horribly awry on an archaeological dig...If you want to be an archaeologist, if you really want to know what being an archaeologist is all about, go on a field school. And take this book with you. (K. Kris Hirst Archaeology.About.Com / About, Inc. 2004 )

Praetzellis has succeeded in doing what many other archaeological writers have attempted and fallen short. In Dug to Death, he has found a way to present archaeology that is education and truly entertaining at the same time. By presenting serious archaeological concepts and issues in methodology in a fictional format, Praetzellis has developed what may be the most effective way to talk about archaeology to audiences not very familiar with how archaeology really works. . . Dug to Death is a fun introduction to the nitty-gritty details of archaeology, presenting a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of the discipline while still managing to communicate what archaeologists do, why they do it that way, and why archaeology itself is important. (Industrial Archeology )

The author provides clear and elementary definitions and introduces key points of ethical interest, accomplishing his purpose with a clear style and logical organization. (T.A. Floor Choice Reviews Online May 2004 )

About the Author

Adrian Praetzellis is Professor of Anthropology at Sonoma State University and author of the archaeological textbook-mystery novel Death by Theory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Altamira Press (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759104077
• ISBN-13: 978-0759104075
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh and Learn, October 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem (Paperback)

A comic novel-archaeology text book. This is even better than Death By Theory, his first book that we read semester at UCB. Its funnier and has many more of his strange illustrations.
The subject is archeological field methods and it's set on a historic period site in New Zealand thats staffed by a bunch of weird and wild characters. I'm guessing that its the only archeology methods book that has a Yiddish glossary. Would make a good intro archaeology text.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, November 8, 2004

By 

Joe Mcgough "Joner" (Rohnert Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem (Paperback)

This is a hilarious intro to archeology novel/text. Just killed me! i would recomend this to anyone who would like a good insight into the process of an archaeological dig.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Introduction, January 23, 2009

By 

James Tauber (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem (Paperback)

This author was recommended to me by a classmate to enhance the required text for a class. First and foremost this is a textbook. All of the theories, methods and processes for basic archaeology are presented as well as their history, context and reasons for selection. However, Adrian Praetzellis, goes beyond the dry presentation of the facts and creates an integrated application of the processes a field archaeologist utilize. The story is quaint but does provide a good vehicle for presenting the information to a new student. The author also shows how classroom processes fail when they meet up with the real world. I recommend this to anyone who is beginning Archaeology as a field of study.