- Paperback: 136 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press (Oct 11 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674077326
- ISBN-13: 978-0674077324
- Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 18.9 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 399 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Radiocarbon dating has revealed that the Lindow Man, an ancient body discovered in a Cheshire, England, bog in 1984, is 2000 years old. Employing sophisticated technology, a group of scientists sought to answer questions about the death of the "bog man," his diet and his social status, among other matters, which the author, a reader in zooarchaeology at the University of London's Institute of Archaeology, discusses in detail. Brothwell also looks at Lindow Man in light of international research on other preserved bodies from many areas and times. "Our ancestors," Brothwell concludes, "are an integral part of our archaeology and history." Imported from the British Museum of Natural History, this unusual book's potential audience is not limited to scientistsgeneral readers will find Brothwell's account of the Lindow Man investigation a fascinating and absorbing prehistoric detective story. The 100 black-and-white illustrations include drawings, charts, diagrams and photos of mummies.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
[A] mesmerizing study of bog bodies...Brothwell's detective story centers on the respectful investigation of Lindow Man, the 2,000-year-old corpse reclaimed in 1984 from a Cheshire peat bog...Frankly, I couldn't put [this book] down.
--Peter Gorner (Chicago Tribune )
In 1984, mechanical peat extraction at Lindow Moss in Cheshire, England, led to the discovery of the well-preserved body of a man. Following initial police interest, the corpse was identified as another 'bog body,' an ancient human corpse preserved by chance or deliberate burial in an acidic peat bog...The discovery was timely, and this body of a young man who died around 300 B.C. became a testing ground for the many investigative and analytical procedures available to modern archaeology...A summary account of the Lindow Moss body is used as a taking-off point for a fascinating survey of bog bodies, Old and New World mummies, frozen Greenlanders and much more, a survey described by the author as a form of stocktaking on archaeological bodies in general...The Bog Man is a useful survey for archaeologists and anthropologists who wish to gain a knowledge of the archaeology of people, and to set the archaeology of artifacts in its proper context...[This is a] thoughtful and thought-provoking book, and Brothwell's endearing habit of posing research questions to which there is currently no answer adds a stimulating element to what is otherwise deliberately a text for the general reader.
--Terence O'Connor (American Journal of Archaeology )
Enjoyable...[Brothwell] shows how modern scientific techniques can be employed to conserve and analyze these unusual remains to determine varied matters: the causes of death; their health; the diet of individuals; the diseases from which they suffered; and the environment in which they lived. Indirectly, something may also be learned of the societies they belonged to...The book makes good, if somewhat morbid, reading. (Choice )
A fascinating and absorbing prehistoric detective story. (Publishers Weekly )
--Peter Gorner (Chicago Tribune )
In 1984, mechanical peat extraction at Lindow Moss in Cheshire, England, led to the discovery of the well-preserved body of a man. Following initial police interest, the corpse was identified as another 'bog body,' an ancient human corpse preserved by chance or deliberate burial in an acidic peat bog...The discovery was timely, and this body of a young man who died around 300 B.C. became a testing ground for the many investigative and analytical procedures available to modern archaeology...A summary account of the Lindow Moss body is used as a taking-off point for a fascinating survey of bog bodies, Old and New World mummies, frozen Greenlanders and much more, a survey described by the author as a form of stocktaking on archaeological bodies in general...The Bog Man is a useful survey for archaeologists and anthropologists who wish to gain a knowledge of the archaeology of people, and to set the archaeology of artifacts in its proper context...[This is a] thoughtful and thought-provoking book, and Brothwell's endearing habit of posing research questions to which there is currently no answer adds a stimulating element to what is otherwise deliberately a text for the general reader.
--Terence O'Connor (American Journal of Archaeology )
Enjoyable...[Brothwell] shows how modern scientific techniques can be employed to conserve and analyze these unusual remains to determine varied matters: the causes of death; their health; the diet of individuals; the diseases from which they suffered; and the environment in which they lived. Indirectly, something may also be learned of the societies they belonged to...The book makes good, if somewhat morbid, reading. (Choice )
A fascinating and absorbing prehistoric detective story. (Publishers Weekly )
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3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
3.0 out of 5 stars
good popular science, if a bit dry, Aug 29 2009
By Robert J. Crawford - Published on Amazon.com
This is a serious look at the Lindow man, a 2000-year old body that was pulled from the bottom of a bog. Scientists set upon him once found, to discover as much about him as they could, the process of which is the idea behind this book. The Lindow man is only one of the best preserved of about 700 such bodies, which the book covers as well in a general way. You get what they last ate, how they died, their taste in dress, their state of health, and some speculation on historical context that they came from. Unfortunately, as a whole the book is somewhat flat and slow, though the issues covered are extremely diverse. The writing is clear, at times almost philosophical, but a bit too technical for my taste.Recommended. You can skim a lot of the details, which include the kind of scholarly comparisons that make many books by scientists for popular audiences a bore. But if you stick with it, the book is a competent window into a recondite science.
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