This book on Stonehenge by Mike Parker Pearson with Marc Aronson is about the process of discovery. What is Stonehenge? Every kind of answer has been proposed, from ancient calendar to Druid temple. In 1998, through the insight of an archaeologist-colleague from Madagascar, Mike Parker-Pearson realised that it was actually part of a kind of ancient machine. A parallel circle made of wood was a place of feasting, where the dead were sent off, taken down to the adjacent Avon River. Then, as part of the same ritual, people went up from the river to the stones, where the dead became the permanent ancestors. Within just the past 2 years Mike and his colleagues have revolutionised our understanding of Stonehenge, and are now revisiting the entire set of sites that surrounds it. In 1998, Mike and Ramilisonina, his Madagascarian colleague, made a set of predictions of what would be found in that landscape. One by one they are proving true. This winter they announced the finding of the largest Neolithic village ever found in England. Just this week a geophysicist has indicated that he believes he has found yet another circle, just where Mike and Ramilisonina said it should be. It shows how the views of a total outsider, a man from Madagascar, could transform how we see one of the most studied monuments in our world. It is a book about an 'aha' moment, a paradigm shift; it is book that gives young readers to exciting new discoveries going on right now; and it is the only book for young people that will give them the most current thinking about this World Historical Site.

About the Author

Mike Parker-Pearson is a Professor of Archaeology. He is an internationally renowned expert in the archaeology of death and also specializes in the later prehistory of Britain and Northern Europe and the archaeology of Madagascar and the western Indian Ocean. He has published more than 10 books and over 100 academic papers, on topics that range from architecture, food and warfare to ethnoarchaeology, archaeological theory and heritage management. He has worked on archaeological excavations in Britain, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Madagascar, Syria and the United States, and currently directs field projects in the Outer Hebrides, Madagascar and the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. He is a professor at the University of Sheffield in England. Marc Aronson is an awardwinning author and editor who earned his doctorate in American History at NYU.

Reviews

Gr 5-8-This title is not just an examination of recent breakthroughs at Stonehenge, but rather an essay on the process of archaeology and a hopeful reminder to future archaeologists that all the great sites are not yet dug or fully understood. In 2005, the Riverside Project, led by Mike Parker Pearson, made several significant discoveries that placed Stonehenge within a much larger Neolithic complex. Pearson began with a hypothesis, suggested by a retired archaeologist from Madagascar, that, as in Madagascar, the stone of Stonehenge was to honor ancestors and the dead, and that there would be a sister complex made of wood for the living. This idea was radically different from the previously accepted theory of Stonehenge being used as a temple. The ongoing work of the Riverside Project has revised the long-accepted dates of when Stonehenge was built and found much to support Pearson's hypothesis. Aronson writes in a casual style and addresses readers directly, which effectively conveys the excitement of this research, although it does occasionally assume some background knowledge that seems unlikely. The story of how Pearson became involved in archaeology and came to work at Stonehenge gets nearly as much attention as the work currently being done there and underscores one of Aronson's central themes-that we are constantly adding to our understanding of the past. Large, colorful photographs complement the text and several shots capture what archaeology-in-progress looks like. A useful, attractive, and highly readable book.-Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.