Digging Up America by Frank Cumming Hibben (1910-2002) - 1961

237 pages with plates and index. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's green cloth with black lettering to spine. Fourth printing. It cannot be expected that any new book on archaeology will contain more than a small percentage of wholly new information. The rate of discovery in the early decades of this century was so great, and the published studies of that work so numerous, that recent developments dealt with one by one in current writings seem to move slowly by comparison. However, Digging Up America is stimulating and informative, and serves to give Americans a greater understanding of the physical history of many areas of our continent and hemisphere. Hibben mourns the loss of such irreplaceable information due to early careless excavations and ludicrous collecting habits, but he quickly goes on to point out that many commercial enterprises occasionally aided science by sending archaeologists to work in advance of road building and regional exploitation. The mystery of the Mound Builders is thoroughly discussed in two careful chapters. Descriptions of the latest methods of archaeological dating are perhaps the book's most valuable contribution to the lay literature, and add to the flavor of romance. The chapter on the Alaska region is particularly timely. Condition: Front cover damp stained, corners and spine ends lightly rubbed, previous owner's name on front end papers else a good.