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Description
Traces of the Past: Unraveling the Secrets of Archaeology Through ChemistryWhere Stonehenge's giant bluestones come from? Was the fall of the Roman Empire hastened by lead poisoning? How did amber get from the Baltic to Belize? In exploring these and other historical enigmas, Joseph Lambert expertly details the rich insights into ancient life that chemistry alone can provide. Using cutting edge scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, and elemental fingerprinting, acclaimed chemist Joseph Lambert expertly
Where Stonehenge's giant bluestones come from? Was the fall of the Roman Empire hastened by lead poisoning? How did amber get from the Baltic to Belize? In exploring these and other historical enigmas, Joseph Lambert expertly details the rich insights into ancient life that chemistry alone can provide. Using cutting-edge scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, and elemental fingerprinting, acclaimed chemist Joseph Lambert expertly details the rich insights into ancient life that chemistry alone can provide. He shows, for example, how investigators today can determine the diet of prehistoric Europeans, the geographical origin of the marble in a Greek statue, or the reason why the Liberty Bell cracked. He uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to reconstruct ancient trade routes, and X-ray diffraction, among other methods, to compare the color palettes of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians (the latter were apparently much more flamboyant). He explains how chemical analysis of DNA can be used to sort out human lineages and migratory patterns-demographic trends that affected, in turn, everything from language to the spread of disease. Chemistry takes center stage in this fascinating book, proving that it is not just an analyst of culture, it stands as one of its primary creators. Lambert offers us a unique glimpse into a form of technical progress hitherto unappreciated: the ever-increasing ingenuity of the Human race, as seen through the prism of its evolving chemical sophistication. We discover how primitive chemistry was initially used by ancient people as a tool to improve their daily lives, a feat that was achieved by reworking molecules of clay into pottery and minerals into metal alloys, and by turning grains into beer and pitch into sealants. By documenting the way ancient people manipulated their environment chemically, Lambert further refines the distinguishing feature of our species. Early humans were more than tool-makers. They were molecular transformers.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 09/23/1998
ISBN: 9780738200279
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 8.97h x 6.13w x 0.86d
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4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 30 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Anyone Can Do It!
Format: Paperback
My husband and I are hiking the PCT and this book has come in very helpful. We especially appreciate the areas we can park at the beginning and end of each section. It is making the trail very doable for two older people who could never make it otherwise. I tear out the section, make a copy and highlight some of the details for example a gate at 4.5 miles. It helps encourage us to continue when we know about how far we have left to go. Also the little map showing elevation gain and lost. The last 17 mile trip we did last week was predominantly up hill. Knowing that ahead of time prepares us mentally for a difficult hike. Our next section is 10 miles downhill so we will do that as a day hike and bring the dog. For anyone who thinks they can't do the PCT this is the perfect book. If I can do it Anyone Can Do It!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2022
★★★★★ 5
Best Section Books out there!
Format: Paperback
I plan to section hike the PCT in mostly small sections. Previous section books I'd found were called "PCT Section Hiking" but really were if you just wanted to get your feet on the PCT. THIS series of books is more than I could have hoped for and makes it so easy! I had previously spent hours and hours planning small sections, researching where to leave my car, which wilderness, what permits were needed, and on and on. This series (all different authors, but organized the same way, wonderful!) provides all the need to know info, plus very detailed commentary on each segment/leg. So grateful! So good!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020
★★★★★ 5
Excellent resource for anyone hiking the PCT
Format: Paperback
I bought this for my brother who will be hiking the PCT for a second time this summer. He has read many books on the PCT and he said this book is an excellent resource for anyone thinking about or hiking, planning to return to, the PCT. Very easy to follow and everything you need to know as you plan your hike.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2020
★★★★★ 5
Has me feeling prepared
Format: Paperback
Gearing up to hike the first section of the PCT. I got this book, my hiking buddy got a different book that covers the entire trail. While talking about our hiking plans he often says “my book didn’t mention that.” It’s clear this book is more detailed and up to date. I’m feeling very prepared and in the know about what to expect on the PCT.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2021
★★★★★ 4
The Best of the Modern Guides to the PCT.
Format: Paperback
This book is not an update of the Wilderness Press classics on which the trail was discovered and hiked by a couple generations from the 1970s to around 2010. It does however owe those books a heavy and unacknowledged debt. This is most notable in lettering sections which the author of this guide, Shawnte Salabert, attributes to the PCTA but in fact come from scarified, Schaffer, et all who wrote the original guides to California, Oregon, and Washington. Even the definition of sweat constitutes the Southern California trail, comes from those guides. (It starts at the Mexican Border near Campo California and ends in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite.). But alas, those books are long out of print, in part because today’s hikers prefer light weight apps with minimal trail information as opposed to detailed descriptions of the physical geography and varied ecosystems of the trail. I’m not sure the lost knowledge has equaled the reduced weight but I’m a bit old school.
And this book is as much a throwback to that kind of writing as it is a nod to recent demands of the hiking community. It does cover every mile of the route, suggest campsites along the way, and as much as possible provide an option for day and section hikes along the trail for just about anyone. The author provides good car descriptions to major trailheads for each section hike he recommends as well as available entry and exit options along the way. The writing is entertaining and the author has his own sense of humor that will become readily apparent as you read the text. Based on my experiences (and I’ve hiked 95% of the trail he describes at least once; sometimes multiple times) his mileage descriptions are accurate and you will easily be able to recognize the places he describes along the way. The book also features nice color photos and it’s availability in digital form will certainly please the gram counting hiker set. On the other hand, I miss seeing elevations along with miles at each major trail intersection, pass etc. Salabert does give total elevation gain and loss for each section of trail he describes but sometimes it’s nice to know just how much of a climb to expect.
Ultimately, this book fulfills it’s purpose. You should want to hike the PCT after reading a few pages if you hadn’t already when you purchased the book. And if you are like many people with only a weekend or a few days to spare hiking the trail, this book will make planning short sections easier. It offers a lot. But it reminds me of an era when guidebooks offered even more.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2020