From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7 The stories of Howard Carter breaching the wall of Tutankhamen's tomb or Heinrich Schliemann unearthing ``Priam's'' gold have fired the imagination of many young readers, but modern archaeology is more likely to be made up of thorough, tedious investigation using technologically advanced methods. The results may seem less dramatic, but a more complete picture of how people carried on their lives often emerges from this kind of work. This is a description of a dig on St. Catherine's Island, Ga., searching for the remains of a 16th-Century Spanish mission. Anderson's emphasis on the painstaking science involved will help readers understand the difficulties in this kind of research, but little space is devoted to a reconstruction of what life must have been like on the island. The artifacts unearthed remain lifeless and unconnected to their former owners. No imaginative leap of writing is to be found here. The black-and-white photographs and drawings are helpful in understanding how the dig was conducted, but not in understanding its ultimate significance. David N. Pauli, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland, Wis.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
