Departments, July/August 1996 - Archaeology Magazine Archive


Departments	Volume 49 Number 4, July/August 1996

In This Issue Olympian Illusions	New studies challenge traditional notions about Greek athletes and why they competed. By Peter A. Young
From the President Kudos for Italian Archaeology	A year in Rome and a recent trip to the Bay of Naples have shown me how dynamic and productive today's Italian archaeologists are. By Stephen L. Dyson
Letters	Near Eastern Studies Crisis III; Old Mobile Correction; Diving Gas
Insight Space Missions and Ground Truth	Satellite imagery has played an unexpected role in the detection of archaeological sites in Greece, demonstrating the value of combing remote sensing from space with direct observation on the ground. By James Wiseman
At the Museums Ghosts of 'Ain Ghazal	Reassembled from thousands of fragments, the world's earliest plaster statues will be on display at the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., from July 28, 1996, until April 6, 1997. Discovered in 1985 at 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, the largest Early Neolithic settlement in the Near East, the statues date to ca. 6500 B.C. Reviewed by Angela M.H. Schuster
Books Palaeolithic Masterpieces	Two new books describe the Palaeolithic paintings of two caves in France: Chauvet, discovered in 1994, and Cosquer, whose paintings were first noticed in 1991. Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave. By Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel Deschamps, and Christian Hillaire. Epilogue by Jean Clottes. Translated by Paul Bahn. 135 pages. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. $39.95. ISBN 0-8109-3232-6. The Cave Beneath the Sea: Palaeolithic Images of Cosquer. By Jean Clottes and Jean Courtin. Translated by Marilyn Gamer. 200 pages. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. $60.00. ISBN 0-8109-4033-7. Reviewed by Brian Fagan
Multimedia Exposing the Holy Land	Four tapes provide an excellent overview of the history of archaeology in the Holy Land. The History of Palestinian Archaeology. 1991. A four-part video series produced by AAI/Our Gang with research by Jeffrey Blakely. Color, 30 minutes each. Purchase, $250 from Eisenbrauns, P.O. Box 275, Winona Lake, IN 46590-0275. Reviewed by Peter S. Allen.
Forum Murders Most Foul	A half-dozen staffers of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology conspired during a power failure to hold a symposium entitled "Murder at the Museum," where mystery writers engaged physical anthropologists and forensic specialists in discussions of murders most foul. By Spencer P.M. Harrington