DESSEl.:INSEARCHOFTHEGOOD1l00K 89millenniumII.C.E.,aswell<IShistoricalgeography.Theenvironmentisabo
consideredinabriefbutremarkablythoroughf:tshion,includinga discus-
sionofthetopography,climate,andgeology,withseveralusefulmapsand
charts.Chapter 3 isyetanotherbriefbutthoroughhistoryofthediscipline,
discussingboth the explorationofthe regionandthedevelopmentof
archaeological researchandmethodology,includinganextremelyuseful
discussionofsurveywork.Fritzalsomentionsthemostprominentcxcwa-
tion projects, theirdates,excavators,and methodology.Chapter 4 isa
moredetailedlookatexcavationmethodology,explainingaboutroutine
fieldobservations,excavationtechniques,theprocessoffielddocumenta-
tion, and the variety of scientific analyses (e,g., animal bones, plant
remains,pOllery,andmetal)thatarccommonon mostprojects. Lastly,
Fritzdiscusses thepuhlication processand anextremelyuseful how-to
guideforreadingsiterepons.Thefinal introductolychapterreviewsthe
chronologyofthesouthernLevant,Egypt.andMesopotamia.Includedare
someusefulchronologycharts,withonecomparingtheschemesofFritz,
Kenyon,G.E.Wright,ancltheHI/cyclo/JediaoIExcaoaliol1s.C:/.)Itisa shame
Fritz did not select more current and frequently used chronological
schemes,suchasthosefoundin~'Iazar,Ben-Tor,orLevy.6"7
Atthecoreofthebookarcperiodchapters.Someoftheperiodshave
beencombined:theNeolithicandChalcolithic,andtheMiddleandLate
BronzeAges.The[ronAgeispresentedintwochapters,withcoverage
dividedgeographicallybetweenIsraelandJudahinoneandIsrael'sneigh-
borsinanother.Afteran awkwardgap,there isa finalchapteronthe
HellenisticandHomanperiods,Obviously,due 10 theirlenglhsthesechap-
terscancoveronlysomuchmaterial.Th:llbeingsaid.Fritzisjudiciousin
hisselectionofmaterialandnicely presentsthenutsand boltsofthe
archaeology,whiletouchingonboththehistoricalandbiblicalcontexts.
Thereisalsoa poslscriptentitled"BiblicalArchaeologyandBiblicalStud-
ies,"whichnicelysummarizesFritz'sthinkingreg:udingthesecular/biblical
splitinthediscipline.
ThisbookhllSanimpressive:llnountofillustralivcmateri~tl:fony-
twofigurescomprisedofmaps.linedrawingsofartifactsandpOllery,
architectural plans, andcharts;andsixteen platesofblackand white
pholOgraphsofsites,artifacts,andceramicassemblages,Ofspecialnote
66 Thesourc~sfor[lw~d;Hin~schemesarenol..;recifkallycik-d.IhOlll-:hFritzdocs
includea bibliography;H thecndoftheCh;lpl~r.I'rc,;ul1lablythesource.;;lre:G.Ernest
Wri~hl.'/JJt!PotleryofPale~'Uliefrom(beEarliestTimes 10 /beElldoftbeIlllr(l'/Jronze~e
(Newtt:llfcn:Amcric;mS<.:hol)l~ofOrio.:llialI{c.;cardl.1957):Kenyoll.I1rcl)(I{'(,lo).{l'ill/JJ('Noly
Laml:andSlcrn,NliA!;'IIL
67 M;\Z;If,Archaeolo).{I'oftheUlJldoft!Je/Jlb/e;Ben-Tor.ArchaeologyoJA /leiI'mIsrael.
Levy,ArchaeologyofSoc;e{I'11/1/)('ll(>(~'Ullld