Book Report: Archaeology Magazine

If I hadn't become what I have, I think I'd have loved being an archaeologist. I don't mean the "Indiana Jones" kind of grave robber, but the "I divided the field into 1' grids, and I've just unearthed a pottery shard at about the 12th century level" type. There's a thrill to uncovering the leavings of a civilization, wondering what they did and why, how they lived, what kind of people they were, that appeals to me.

Thus, every once in a while I pick up a copy of Archaeology. This one had articles about crystal skulls (for obvious reasons - the tie to the 4th Indiana Jones film), the preservation of Chinese alleys and the caves of Lascaux. As a whole, the magazine balances the accessibility of a "Popular Science" approach with the more rigorous and academic "Scientific American" approach. You can read it as a layman and feel that you're getting a bit of an education in the academics as well.

It's also great fodder for the imagination of anyone looking for non-epic fantasy settings.