Jun 27, 2006

Discovery of Ancient Civilizations - Brian Fagan

Posted by :: tulack | Date :: Jun 27, 2006 22:56:00

Brian M. Fagan
University of California at Santa Barbara
Ph.D., Cambridge University


Brian M. Fagan is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he
has taught since 1967. Born in England, Dr. Fagan earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in archaeology and
anthropology from Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Professor Fagan’s excavations in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from 1959-1965 earned him
recognition as a pioneer of multidisciplinary African history. He has served as Director of the Bantu
Studies Project of the British Institute for Eastern Africa, Visiting Associate Professor at the University of
Illinois at Urbana, and Visiting Professor at Whittier College and the University of Cape Town, South
Africa.

Professor Fagan is the recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of California at
Santa Barbara. His other awards include the Public Service Award of the Society of Professional
Archaeologists and the Public Education Award of the Society for American Archaeology. He was a
Guggenheim Fellow in 1973.

Dr. Fagan’s many books include People of the Earth and In the Beginning, two widely used university and
college textbooks in archaeology and prehistory. His other works include The Rape of the Nile, The

Adventure of Archaeology, and The Little Ice Age. He also edited The Oxford Companion to
Archaeology...



The biblical city of Nineveh. The Maya cities of Uxmal and Chichén Itzá. The site of Homeric Troy. King
Tut's tomb. At the time of their discovery, these archaeological finds astonished the world.

And their discoverers, individuals including Austen Henry Layard, John Lloyd Stephens, Heinrich
Schliemann, and Howard Carter, were archaeologists whose lives and travels were nearly as remarkable as
the discoveries themselves.

Who were these adventurers?
Archaeology's Great Discoverers: Part Adventure, Part Science

Professor Brian M. Fagan takes you on your own exploration—a journey into the stories of archaeology's
major historical figures and the ways they made their astonishing finds. It is a fascinating account: part
Hollywood action-adventure movie, part history and science.
On one hand, our understanding of pre-industrial societies results from efforts of adventuresome but
sometimes unethical and even violent men, tomb robbing, and crude excavation methods that destroyed
incalculable amounts of evidence.
On the other hand, it is the product of admirable and constant dedication, the painstaking improvement of
science and technique, and the steady and successful accumulation of pieces to the ongoing puzzle of who
we are.

Adventurers, Archaeologists, Scoundrels, and Geniuses

Part I of this series, "Adventurers and Archaeologists," focuses on dramatic and sensational discoverers of
the 19th century, a rough-and-tumble era of archaeology surprisingly reminiscent of the film, Raiders of
the Lost Ark.

Archaeologists of this period tended not to be academicians or scientists. Mostly they were diplomats,
members of the military, engineers, travelers, or businessmen.

But they were exceptional in a variety of invaluable field skills such as languages, administration, and
interpersonal communication.

And they had a passion, an obsession, for making new finds.

In these lectures, you will encounter such redoubtable personalities as:
Giovanni Belzoni: Egyptian Tomb Robber. A former circus strongman known as "The Patagonian
Samson," Belzoni's knowledge of gunpowder, hydraulics, and levers enabled him to transport statues and
other large artifacts. On collecting trips, he could influence local inhabitants either through conversation or,
if necessary, by simply picking them up and shaking them. Most of the artifacts in the Egyptian Room of
the British Museum are there through Belzoni's efforts.
Sir Austen Henry Layard: Old Testament Archaeologist. An English adventurer working almost
singlehandedly, Layard excavated and identified the biblical city of Nineveh, and the Royal Library and
Archives of the Assyrian King Assurbanipal. Layard made sensational finds, became a best-selling author
and popular hero, then grew tired and left archaeology—all by the age of 35.
Heinrich Schliemann: Homeric Adventurer. Born to poverty, Schliemann was a self-made millionaire who
was obsessed with proving that Homer's Iliad and Odyssey had a historical basis. Schliemann employed

brutal excavation methods that severely damaged his sites, and made outrageous claims about his finds.
Nevertheless, he was able to identify Homeric Troy and uncover Mycenaean civilization.
John Lloyd Stephens: Travel Adventure Writer. Encouraged by the success of his travel books, Stephens
journeyed to Central America with artist Frederick Catherwood, where they investigated major Maya cities
and concluded that Maya civilization was of indigenous origin. Stephens's two Incidents of Travel books
became bestsellers and are still in print.

Professor Fagan underscores the adventuresome nature of these early archaeologists with a variety of
anecdotes.
Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, referred to Belzoni's time as "the great days
of Egyptology, when, if you didn't like one of your opponents, you went for him with a gun."
George Smith, returning from an expedition to collect cuneiform tablets, died while crossing the Syrian
Desert. The last entry in his diary was, "The tablets are in the bottom of my leather boot."
Deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs was largely the work of one man: Jean François Champollion. It is said
that in 1822, when Champollion realized he had succeeded, he ran out of his apartment shouting, "I've got
it," and promptly fainted. In 1828, Champollion traveled up the Nile and became one of the first scholars
able to read inscriptions on temple and tomb walls.

Tomb Robbing Slowly Yields to Science

Despite its accomplishments, 19th-century archaeology was characterized by primitive excavation methods
and widespread looting.

A major theme of Part II, "Science and Civilization," is the gradual improvement in research techniques,
and in the ethical treatment of ruins and artifacts, that enabled archaeology to become a true professional
discipline.
In 1842 King Wilhelm IV of Prussia sponsored an expedition to Egypt led by Karl Lepsius. Carefully
collecting and recording over 15,000 artifacts, members of this expedition set a new standard of
archaeological reportage and scientific investigation.

Subsequent excavations in the 1870s evidenced a new archaeological conscience in the eastern
Mediterranean.
Flinders Petrie raised Egyptology to new heights and developed highly effective cross-dating methods still
used today.
Leonard Woolley refined ways of organizing large excavations using numerous workers and only a few
experts.
Robert Koldewey made a major scientific advance when he mastered the art of excavating unfired
mudbrick walls. Between 1899 and 1932, Koldewey reconstructed part of Nebuchadnezzar's city.

These developments culminated with the discovery of the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Beginning in 1922, this work was carried out under very primitive working conditions with minimal
technology. However, Egyptologists from around the world participated in the recovery effort in an
unprecedented show of cooperation. Afterward, archaeology's emphasis on making spectacular finds gave
way to slower, more deliberate research aimed at understanding the dynamics of early civilizations.

Dr. Fagan details other events including the:
decipherment of Maya glyphs, one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 20th century
discovery in China of the terracotta soldiers found in the burial mound of the Emperor Shi Huangdi
discovery of other early societies including the Hittites of what is now Turkey, the Inka of the Peruvian
Andes, the Nubia of Egypt, and the Harappan of present-day Pakistan.
Archaeology Today: A Mature Science

Archaeology as we know it dates from about 1940. In just over 60 years, the field has become a fully
mature science, one whose practitioners work closely with experts in humanities, social sciences, and
physical sciences.

No longer can you "just go out and dig," Professor Fagan explains. "Instead, you select a problem, and
apply to it such things as knowledge of architecture, agriculture, information from food supplies, etc. As an
archaeologist, you're just one part of a complicated, historical jigsaw."
About Your Teacher

Professor Fagan was born and educated in Britain and speaks with a British accent. He earned recognition
as a pioneer of multidisciplinary African history through excavations in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)
from 1959-1965.

He received his university's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000, and was awarded the Public Service
Award of the Society of Professional Archaeologists and the Public Education Award of the Society for
American Archaeology.

He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1973, edited The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, and has written
several books.

"Professor Fagan creates entertaining and unique lectures on the history of archaeology. The combination
of knowing interesting details of his subject, having a passionate interest in humanity's past, and being
skilled at forming spontaneous thoughts into near poetry rates this course a gold statue for best
performance and script in the classroom,'" states AudioFile® magazine.

http://www.oxyshare.com/get/154635139444a00d0bce644/Discovery of Ancient Civilizations - Brian
Fagan.rar.html

My other posts

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http://www.avaxhome.ru/ebooks/english/david_roochnik_introduction_to_greek_philosophy_2.html

Going next:

Govind Sreenivasan - Europe And The Wars Of Religion
Great Ancient Civilizations Of Asia Minor - Kenneth Harl
Great Figures of the Old Testament Amy-Jill Levine
History of Ancient Egypt - Bob Brier
King Arthur And Chivalry Bonnie Wheeler
Philosophy and Religion in the West - Phillip Cary
The Terror of History - Mystics, Heretics, and Witches in the Western Tradition
Ancient Near Eastern Mythology - Shalom Goldman
Rome and The Barbarians - Kenneth W. Harl
Practical Philosophy - Greco-Roman Moralists
History Of Ancient Rome Garrett G Fagan
Great.World.Religions-Judaism.-.Isaiah.M.Gafni
James Hall - Philosophy Of Religion
Bob Brier - Great Pharaohs Of Ancient Egypt
Plato's Republic - David Roochnik
Americas Religious History - Patrick N Allitt
Patrick Allitt - Victorian Britain
The High Middle Ages - Professor Philip Daileadeк
Kenneth Bartlett - Italian Renaissance
Jeremy Adams - Thomas Aquinas, The Angelic Doctor
History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts - Robert Bucholz
William Cook - Francis of Assisi
Philip Daileader - The Early Middle Ages

Gary W Gallagher - American Civil War
History of the United States Part 1,2,3 Allen C. Guelzo
Teofilo Ruiz - Medieval Europe
History of Russia - From Peter the Great to Gorbachev - Mark Steinberg
The Odyssey Of Homer - Professor Elizabeth Vandiver
The Iliad Of Homer - Professor Elizabeth Vandiver
Herodotus, The Father Of History - Elizabeth Vandiver
Posted by :: tulack | Date :: Jun 27, 2006 23:11:12
I posted the following links two times already and still they did not go through.

http://www.avaxhome.ru/ebooks/english/david_roochnik_introduction_to_greek_philosophy_2.html

http://www.avaxhome.ru/ebooks/english/david_roochnik_introduction_to_greek_philosophy.html
Posted by :: outvoter | Date :: Jun 28, 2006 03:06:15
Hello tulack! Thank you very much for the new excellent stuff. Yes, it looks that your greek_philosophy
postings got through with a delay. I think sometimes it may have simply banal, technical reasons. However
it may be, here it is, and it is great. Thanks God for you!
Posted by :: outvoter | Date :: Jun 28, 2006 10:06:53
tulack: Yes, the links to your Greek philosophy postings did not get through so they have not been
appeared on the avax list till now. I believe those interested are able to find the links as they are listed in
your other postings. I hope this sad error would not discourage you to continue posting of the great things
we anticipate.