"Archaeomineralogy" provides a wealth of information for mineralogists,
geologists and archaeologists involved in archaeometric studies. The
first edition was very well-received and praised for its systematic
description of the rocks and minerals used throughout the world by our
ancestors and for its excellent list of over 900 references, providing
easy access to the fields of archaeomineralogy and geoarchaeology.
This second edition of "Archaeomineralogy" takes an updated and expanded
look at the human use of rocks and minerals from the Paleolithic through
to the 18th century CE. It retains the structure and main themes of the
original but has been revised and expanded with more than 200 new
references within the text, a bibliography of additional references not
included in the text, a dozen new figures (drawings and photos),
coverage of many additional important mineral, rock, and gem materials,
a broader geographic scope, particularly but not limited to Eastern
Europe, and a more thorough review of early contributions to
archaeomineralogy, especially those of Agricola.
From reviews of the first edition:
"... crammed full of useful information, is well-balanced using both new
and Old World examples of the archaeomaterials described. It also
provides a broad, but of necessity, all too brief overview of the
geological raw materials used in antiquity." -- Geoscientist
"...provides much interesting discussion of how particular names came to
be employed by archaeologists working in different regions of the
world.... much to offer for any geologist or archaeologist interested in
minerals and rocks and how they have been used in the past." --
Mineralium Deposita
"... a gem of a book, it's strength is that it is encyclopedic in
content, if not in layout, draws on a wealth of field experience and
almost every sentence contains a nugget of information" -- The Holocene
