"In one ancient variation on the myth of Pandora's Box, there were two jars, one for Pandora and one for her sister, Anesidora. One contained all the blessings of the gods, the other all the world's curses. Now, in a subterranean city in Northern Iraq, archaeologist Sophie Durand has discovered a secret chamber covered in writing that confirms that version of the tale--a chamber which contains a single jar. "Weird shit" expert Ben Walker joins Sophie's...

Discusses the origins of America's Indians, their myths, and their culture in various regions of the continent up to the time of the conquest.

A light-hearted approach to the process of mummification in ancient Egypt.

A description of the Cardiff Giant mystery in which a man in upstate New York buried a ten-foot-tall., petrified model of a man, which was discovered by well diggers a year later, and set into motion a money-making spectacle.

The Maya has long been established as the best, most accessible introduction to the New World's greatest ancient civilization. Coe and Houston update this classic by distilling the latest scholarship for the general listener and student. This new edition incorporates the most recent archaeological and epigraphic research, which continues to proceed at a fast pace. Among the finest new discoveries are spectacular stucco sculptures at El Zotz and Holmul,...

Describes the formation, geography, ecology, and inhabitants of the isolated Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean.

Dilara, an archaeologist flies to Los Angeles to speak with Watson who claims to have information about her father, missing for three years. Upon arriving in L.A., Sam immediately begins talking about Noah's Ark and the possible death of billions. Does the fate of the world lay in finding Noah's Ark?

"In 1939, a team of workers beneath the Vatican unearthed an early Christian grave. This surprising discovery launched a secret quest that would last decades -- a quest to discover the long-lost burial place of the apostle Peter. From earliest times, Christian tradition held that Peter -- a lowly fisherman from Galilee, whom Christ made leader of his Church -- was executed in Rome by Emperor Nero and buried on Vatican Hill. But his tomb had been lost...

"Step into the world of ancient Rome and meet its emperors, gods, soldiers, and gladiators. Who were Rome's most famous emperors? What was everyday life like for a soldier in the Roman army? How did the citizens of ancient Rome live? Did gladiators really fight to the death in the mighty Colosseum? Find out the answers to all these questions, and many more, in Eyewitness Ancient Rome. Photographs of real artefacts and detailed illustrations will help...

An exuberant, hands-on fly-on-the-wall account that combines the thrill of canyoneering and rock climbing with the intellectual sleuthing of archaeology to explore the Anasazi. David Roberts describes the culture of the Anasazi-the name means "enemy ancestors" in Navajo-who once inhabited the Colorado Plateau and whose modern descendants are the Hopi Indians of Arizona. Archaeologists, Roberts writes, have been puzzling over the Anasazi for more than...