National Geographic Investigates: Ancient Inca: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of the Inca's Past
Grade 3–7—These titles offer the beautiful photography and illustrations characteristic of the National Geographic Society, well-written texts and sidebars, and information on recent archaeological finds. The authors combine overview material on these cultures, interviews with working archaeologists, and "process" data about how archaeologists and other scientists handle present-day finds, and even finds long-past, to learn everything possible. Inca, for example, notes the information that has come down to us from the conquering Spanish, as well as such startling new finds as frozen mummies of several children, some so well preserved that the archaeologists could still see the hair on the children's arms. Greece introduces underwater archaeology in its treatment of two expeditions conducted by George Bass: the 1980s exploration of a ship that sank more than 3000 years ago as well as the exploration in 2000 of a ship that sank about 400 B.C.E. In Egypt, readers learn not only about Howard Carter's discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb more than 80 years ago, but also about Zahi Hawass's 2005 CT scan of Tut's mummy, which determined that the boy-king was not killed by a blow to the head. The books also expose the problems of the deterioration of sites (including cities sinking into rising water tables), looters, and the challenges of understanding the remains of nonliterate societies. Beautifully produced, these books have the potential both to please readers already fascinated by the past and to attract new fans to archaeology.—Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TXCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.