Isbister in the Orkneys is one of those extraordinary archaeological sites where the remains of Neolithic man and his works have been so well preserved that they give us an amazingly clear picture of the life and people of 5000 years ago. In Tomb of the Eagles John W. Hedges describes vividly the activities of a tribe which had as its totem the magnificent white-tailed sea eagle. For these people the building and use of the tomb was symbol and expression of their identity. It was here that the dead joined their ancestors–but only after the flesh had been stripped from their bones. It was here, too, that offerings were made. Here broken pots were piled; fish, eagles and joints of meat mouldered; and the hands of the living sorted the heaped bones of the dead.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Tomb of the Eagles is a masterpiece of combined research and theory. (Midwest Book Review )
Tomb of the Eagles is a masterpiece of combined research and theory. (Midwest Book Review )
The achievement of this study is that the people come alive, not by dramatic ploy or fantasy, but by the author's careful excavation of a Stone Age tomb..." (Explorers Journal )
"...A careful and convincing reconstruction of the organization of Stone Age society in the Orkneys. (The Atlantic )
Tomb of the Eagles is a masterpiece of combined research and theory. (Midwest Book Review )
The achievement of this study is that the people come alive, not by dramatic ploy or fantasy, but by the author's careful excavation of a Stone Age tomb..." (Explorers Journal )
"...A careful and convincing reconstruction of the organization of Stone Age society in the Orkneys. (The Atlantic )
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth reading again and again,
By "petersonreviews" (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tomb of the Eagles: Death and Life in a Stone Age Tribe (Paperback)
The distant human past is visible in the Orkneys, the low green islands in the sea north of Scotland. People who lived there five thousand years ago built fine stone tombs and henges older than the Pyramids.They watched the sky and kept calendars. And they used the right triangle of Pythagoras two thousand years before Pythagoras was born. It used to be thought that culture slowly radiated north from the Mediterranean to ignorant savages in northern Europe. But the people of the Orkneys turned our ideas about cultural diffusion upside down. Tomb of the Eagles is their enthralling story.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mighty Work,
By Joseph Fatula (San Jose, California United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tomb of the Eagles: Death and Life in a Stone Age Tribe (Paperback)
It's obvious - John Hedges knows his topic. In this book, he brings together an enormous amount of information on Neolithic Orkney and gives it summary and scholarly analysis. If you're looking for a book on life during the Neolithic, this is a definite! Worth every penny.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
