Art, artefacts, and chronology in classical archaeology /

An extraordinarily well-written, up-to-date account of the problems one encounters when trying to date objects or artefacts in archaeology. Biers covers the question in five chapters, dealing with the recording of time, relative dating, absolute dating, and interpreting the evidence. He offers numerous examples, with plates to illustrate his points, and dwells on a few problems to suggest the difficulties inherent in the field (the Vergina Tombs and Cadbury Castle, for example). Biers's footnotes are excellent and give a fine overview of the current bibliography. This is a superb, cogent, but expensive introduction (86 pages of text--the remainder is footnotes and index). The potential audience for this brief, fine study is not clear: certainly not undergraduates in a survey course (to whom it seems addressed). A mass market paperback priced intelligently would be welcome. Recommended for programs in archaeology serving advanced undergraduates and preprofessional students. J. Fischer; Wabash College