Search Results: Archaeology from Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA

(London: Jonathan Cape, 1996) 0224037714. Cover title reads: African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity. 8vo; original turquoise boards, lettered in cream on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. xiii + (v) + 267, incl. index; artwork, diagrams, charts and maps in text. Some fox spots to edges. Very good condition. "The theory of an African genesis for modern humanity is one of the most controversial in science. ... This is an exceptionally readable book. Chris Stringer's story of his own pioneering research in dusty museum collections should be required reading for sceptics who doubt the commitment and dedication of scientists at their best. No better introduction to a controversial field could be imagined." .

(Pietermaritzburg: The Natal Museum Council, 1986). 246 x 170 mm; card wrappers; pp. (viii) + [357-720]. Spine sunned. Very good condition. This issue is devoted to Archaeology and Natural Science, and includes the following articles: Mazel, A. D. - Mgede Shelter: a mid- and late Holocene observation in the western Biggarsberg, Thukela Basin, Natal, South Africa; Mazel, A. D. - Mbabane Shelter and eSinhlonhlweni Shelter: the last two thousand years of hunter-gatherer settlement in the central Thukela Basin, Natal, South Africa; Maggs, T., Oswald, D., Hall, M. and Rüther, H. - Spatial parameters of Late Iron Age settlements in the upper Thukela Valley; Maggs, T. - Hloma Mathonsi, the Zulu blacksmith: a record by the Reverend H. F. O. Dedekind in 1929; Cunningham, A. B. and Gwala, B. R. - Building methods and plant species used in Tembe-Thonga hut construction; Londt, J. G. H. - Afrotropical Asilidae (Diptera) 13. The genus Neolophonotus Engel, 1925. Part 2. The suillus species-group (Asilinae:… Read More

(Cape Town: Purnell, 1971) 36000105X. 8vo; original brown boards, lettered in white on spine and upper cover; price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 170, incl. index; many photographs, some of which in full colour. Dustwrapper sunned on spine panel; bump to top edge of upper board; earlier owner's name and inscription to front free endpaper; some tape marks to endpapers. Good to very good condition. "The fossilised man-apes of Makapansgat, the might of Monomotapa. The gold rhinoceros of Mapungubwe, the painted eland of the Drakensberg. The hand-axes of the Earlier Stone Age, the ritual burials of the Later Stone Age. Cosmetic mines in Swaziland, gold mines in Rhodesia. These are just a few of the intriguing subjects covered by this lively account of archaeology and prehistory in Southern Africa. From his practical fieldwork, his comprehensive reading and his personal acquaintance with most of the leading figures, Bert Woodhouse has compiled an absorbing story. It is written for the… Read More

(Bloemfontein: National Museum, 1939). 285 x 225 mm; original paper wrappers; pp. 79 - 97; 4 + 2 plates (one folding). English text. Wrappers somewhat soiled and splitting on spine; corners curled; staples rusting. Good condition. Holm: Bibliography of South African Pre- and Proto-Historic Archaeology, #1051-1053: "A survey of archaeological problems, with special reference to typology and technique, in which Van Hoepen expresses strong criticism of work done during the combined geological and archaeological investigation of the Vaal Basin. Instead of three climatic cycles in the Old Stone Age of the Vaal, he sees only one. He urges the adoption of his own terminology and separation of the cultures (though admitting his own earlier mistakes), in the place of that used by Van Riet Lowe and others." .

(Zürich, Orell Füssli Verlag, translation of the English original of 1960, 1964). Original cloth, marked, pp. 439, numerous plates. Light foxing and browning, heavier on the endpapers. .

(Berkeley, University of California Press, 1932). Large octavo, original wraps, a little sunned and chipped at the spine, pp. (vi) + 93, line illustrations, map in the text, plates in the pagination, folding chart. Largely unopened. 'The study here presented is based on observations in Sinaloa and Nayarit during the winter and spring of 1930. One of the purposes of the reconnaissance was to get evidence on the existence or non-existence of a prehistoric corridor between the Mexican highland and the Pueblo country of the American Southwest. ...' 25 .

(Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik, 1966). National Council for Social Research. Department of Education, Arts and Science. Publication Series No. 16. 8vo; original black boards with gilt titles; pp. 144. Very good condition. "The aim of the compilation is to provide professional and amateur archaeologists alike with a key to the past literature in the field of archaeology and to enable workers to refer quickly and readily to the voluminous writings on the subject of Early Man." Lists 1151 items, with commentary on each. .

(Johannesburg: The University of the Witwatersrand Press, 1935). 248 x 155 mm; original thin card wrappers; pp. 291 - 417. Wrappers a little browned. "In 1933 an Inter-University Committee for African Studies was appointed to report on published and unpublished material on archaeology. The ultimate form of the report is the outcome of an earlier independent 'Commentary and Bibliography' by the convenor, A.J.H. Goodwin, and consultations with Mrs A.W. Hoernle and C. van Riet Lowe who later joined the Committee. The fundamentally important paper, of great value in compiling this bibliography, is the counterpart to similar reports on Native languages and social anthropology (Doke, 1933; Schapera, 1934). It has six parts on: I. History of archaeological enquiry up to the introduction of the New terminology; II. The New Terminology; III. The present position of South African prehistory; IV. Correlations; V. The Future; VI. Bibliography (with short analysis of main bibliographical… Read More

(Johannesburg: The University of the Witwatersrand Press, 1935). 248 x 155 mm; original thin card wrappers; pp. 291 - 417. Wrappers somewhat browned, creased and frayed on spine; staples rusted. "In 1933 an Inter-University Committee for African Studies was appointed to report on published and unpublished material on archaeology. The ultimate form of the report is the outcome of an earlier independent 'Commentary and Bibliography' by the convenor, A.J.H. Goodwin, and consultations with Mrs A.W. Hoernle and C. van Riet Lowe who later joined the Committee. The fundamentally important paper, of great value in compiling this bibliography, is the counterpart to similar reports on Native languages and social anthropology (Doke, 1933; Schapera, 1934). It has six parts on: I. History of archaeological enquiry up to the introduction of the New terminology; II. The New Terminology; III. The present position of South African prehistory; IV. Correlations; V. The Future; VI. Bibliography (with… Read More

(Cape Town: South African Archaeological Society, 1962). South African Archaeological Society Bulletin Supplement to Vol. XVII, No. 65, March 1962. 4to; original tan cloth; pp. 37-84; frontispiece portrait. Cloth a little scratched; browning to endpapers. Very good condition. Contents: Biographical Sketch (B.D. Malan), Pleistocene Geology (H.B.S. Cooke), The Earlier Stone Age and the Transvaal (R.J. Mason), The Later Stone Age (J. Rudner), Prehistoric Art (A.R. Willcox), Post-Stone Age Studies (Roger Summers), Beyond South Africa (J. Desmond Clark), A Prehistorian's Approach to Prehistory (L.H. Wells) and Bibliography of C. van Riet Lowe. .

(Cape Town: John Malherbe, 1974) 0869660853. 8vo; original orange boards, lettered in white on spine; pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 170; line drawings; maps. Ex-library copy, with code sticker to tail of spine panel, and codes, hand-stamps and label/pocket scars elsewhere; edges rubbed; tape remnants to reverse of dustwrapper. Fair condition. Afrikaans text. "In 1940 het vier seuns en 'n hond eendag in 'n woud in die suidweste van Frankryk rondgeloop. Skielik het die hond in die niet verdwyn - asof die aarde hom ingesluk het. … Die seuns se vonds [die beroemde Lascaux-grot], wat hulle gesien het en wat aan hulle vertel is van die betekenis van hul ontdekking en van die lewe van die ystydmens, word met groot oorspronklikheid, ontsag en verbeelding deur die skrywer vertel. Dié verhaal word spannender as die beste storie. En saam met die seuns betree die leser 'n byna ongelooflike wêreld onder die aarde, om, soos die seuns, nooit weer dieselfde te kan wees wanneer… Read More

(Hove: Wayland, 1996) 0750214341. 4to; laminated pictorial boards; pp. 48; liberally illustrated with full-colour photographs and period artwork. Very good condition. "Two well-known legends; that of the Trojan Horse, used to break the siege of the city of Troy, and of the terrible Minotaur, the half-bull, half-man creature living in its Labyrinth, came from the wonderful Greek world that flourished after 2000 BC. This book recounts the fascinating stories behind the discovery of two fabulous sites in the Aegean region which are linked to these legends." .

(London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984) 0297785451. 8vo; original blue boards, lettered in gilt on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 224, incl. index; plates; map. Dustwrapper sunned on spine panel; trace of spotting to edges and endpapers. Very good condition. "In the summer of 1935, during her first visit to East Africa, Mary Leakey, then just 22 years old, drove down the rocky flank of Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania and found herself gazing spellbound at a view that was to come to mean more to her than any other in the world. That view was the vast Serengeti Plain, 'stretching away to the horizon like the sea ... always the same, yet always different'. Perhaps that was the moment when Africa took its hold on her, for despite journeys to many parts of the world, the gullies and stream-beds, cliffs and hillsides of this ancient landscape were to be her home for nearly half a century. Here, with her husband Louis, and for many years after his death in 1972, she was to be… Read More

(London, Ernest Benn, 1954). 8vo; original burgundy cloth; no dustwrapper; pp. 262; map; plans; line drawings; monochrome plates; colour frontis. Spine very slightly cocked; corners a little bumped; light spotting to endpapers. Good condition. "As long ago as 1854, Mr. J. E. Taylor, British Consul at Basra, was employed by the British Museum to investigate some of the southern sites of Mesopotamia, and chose for his chief work the Mound of Pitch. Here he unearthed inscriptions which for the first time revealed that the nameless ruin was none other than Ur, so-called 'of the Chaldees', the home of Abraham." .

(London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1957). Illustrated with Sketches and Photographs by the author. PLEASE NOTE: This book is accompanied by the author's original drawing of "Three dancers of Vizir Mehon at Sakkara", which provided the headpiece illustration for Chapter V of the account. 8vo; original blue boards, a bit worn and soiled; sunned on spine; no dustwrapper; ownership inscription and portrait of the author-artist (presumably from dustwrapper) mounted to front free endpaper; pp. 230; map; monochrome photographic plates; line drawings; endpapers rather foxed, scattered light foxing elsewhere. Fair condition. (A scan of the original picture is available, on request). A journey in pursuit of the archaeological treasures of Egypt and the Middle East. .

(Munich: Prestel, 2001) 3791525817. 4to; original red boards, lettered in black on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; decorative endpapers; pp. 128; lavishly illustrated. Dustwrapper somewhat rubbed and edgeworn. Very good condition. "This stunning volume examines jewels and gemstones over a period of over 8000 years. Presented here are outstanding works of art from all over the world accompanied by beautiful illustrations and detailed commentaries about the history and stories surrounding them. Included are: The Royal Tombs of the Sumerians; Treasures from the Tomb of Tutankhamun; Gemstones from the Roman Empire; Rubies and Sapphires of India; The Kaaba of Mecca; Crystal Skulls of the Toltecs and Mayas; The lost Amber Room from St Petersburg." .

(London: Evans Brothers, 1958). 8vo; original red cloth, lettered in silver gilt on spine; no dustwrapper; endpaper map; pp. 219, incl. index; plates; maps. Some foxing to endpapers and edges, and sporadic spotting elsewhere; gift inscription to half-title. Good condition. An account of the Roman invasion of Britain, with pointers to remains of their era. .

(Cape Town: Struik, 2006) 9781770072572. 208 x 147 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. 88, incl. index; full-colour artwork and photographs. Earlier bookseller's hand-stamp to title page; light wear; trace of foxing. Very good condition. "The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site tells us more about the history of our earliest ancestors than any place of comparable size elsewhere in the world. This book ... allows the reader to gain an understanding of the discoveries made in this World Heritage Site ..." .

(London: James Currey / Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1990) 0852550650. 231 x 155 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. vi + 378, incl. index; illustrations; maps. A little sunned on spine; earlier owner's bookplate inside upper cover; occasional fox spot. Very good condition. "This is the first history of the development of the subject which is the major source of information on Africa's past. Archaeologists have excavated in the continent for 200 years. The pace of this research has quickened over the last half-century. In this book some of the noted specialists pursue a regional approach and some examine particular periods of the continent's prehistory. Others chart the changing interrelationships between African archaeology and other disciplines. Particular features are the contributions by J.D. Clark, Thurstan Shaw and Peter Shinnie, archaeologists who have been in the forefront of the subject for almost fifty years." .

(Cape Town: South African Museum, 1987) 0868130176. 208 x 150 mm; pictorial wrappers; pp. (vi) + 71; photographs; line drawings; maps; diagrams. Wrappers very slightly rubbed; hand-stamp to title page; a little light foxing. Very good condition. "Today, the south-western coast of South Africa is dry and windswept, the vegetation stunted, and few wild animals inhabit the region. This was not always the case. The sediments of the region, and the fossils they contain, testify to periods of warmer temperature, higher rainfall, lush vegetation, and animal life of great abundance and variety. This book tells the story of the past 20 million years at Langebaanweg near Saldanha Bay, where one of the world's richest fossil sites provides a unique insight into a tropical wildlife paradise in decline." .