The discovery of the past: the origins of archaeology.

The discovery of the past: the origins of archaeology. ALAIN SCHNAPP. The discovery of the past: the origins ofarchaeology. 384 pages, 257 colour and black-&-white illustrations.1999 London: British Museum British Museum,the national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ethnography. ; 0-7141-2732-9 paperback 14.99 [poundssterling]. Prof. BARKAN assesses the impact of the discoveries in 15th-centuryRome of Classical sculptures and architectural fragments. They affectedthinking about Classical culture in general and history in particular.Prof. BARKAN confirms that they were a critical stimulus for thesubsequent development of antiquarianism an��ti��quar��i��an?n.One who studies, collects, or deals in antiquities.adj.1. Of or relating to antiquarians or to the study or collecting of antiquities.2. Dealing in or having to do with old or rare books. -- not unlike the effect on theAztecs of visits to Teotihuacan (see CARRASCO et al. in `Americas',above). Prof. SCHNAPP'S history -- now out in paperback -- coversthe same ground more briefly and sets it in the context of Classical andMedieval thought about antiquities and the gradual emergence of modernarchaeology. Hindsight seems to show that archaeologists long groped towardprofessional standards. (See also Encyclopaedia of archaeology in`Reference', below.) Prof. KEHOE presents 10 case studies of 19th-and 20th-century US practitioners in the States, Mexico & Guatemalaand the Mediterranean and Near East plus a paper of her own on DanielWilson There are also several other people known by the name Dan Wilson For another Daniel Wilson, see Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta Sir Daniel Wilson et al. in Britain and North America North America,third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and one by N.A. Silberman onPetrie. Three of the papers are on women. L.G. Desmond argues that theestablishment's rejection of Le Plongeon's interpretation ofthe Maya illustrates the growth of orthodoxy. See too Communicatingarchaeology in `Presentation', below; and note the following titleon exchange and cooperation between archaeologists, and the effect ofbureaucratic context (cf. p. 255, above).