The range of subjects covered here is breath-taking - everything from the domestication of the camel, to Egyptian hieroglyphics, to luminescence dating, to the Mayan calendar, to Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge.

Readers will find extensive essays that illuminate the full history of archaeology - from the discovery of Herculaneum in 1783, to the recent finding of the "Ice Man," and the ancient city of Uruk - and engaging biographies of the great figures in the field, from Gertrude Bell, Paul Emile Botta, and Louis and Mary Leakey, to V. Gordon Childe, Li Chi, Heinrich Schliemann, and Max Uhle. The Companion offers extensive coverage of the methods used in archaeological research, revealing how archaeologists find sites (remote sensing, aerial photography, ground survey), how they map excavations and report findings, and how they analyze artifacts (radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, stratigraphy, mortuary analysis).

Of course, archaeology's great subject is humanity and human culture, and there are broad essays that examine human evolution - ranging from our early primate ancestors, to Australopithecus and the Cro-Magnons, to Homo erectus and the Neanderthals - and explore the many general facets of culture, from art and architecture, to arms and armor, to beer and brewing, to astronomy and religion. And perhaps most important, the contributors provide insightful coverage of human culture as it has been expressed in every region of the world. Here entries range from broad overviews, to treatments of particular themes, to discussions of peoples, societies, and particular sites.

Thus, anyone interested in North America would find articles that cover the continent from the Arctic to the Eastern Woodlands to the Northwest Coast; that discuss the Iroquois and Algonquian cultures, the hunters of the North American Plains, and the Norse in North America; and that describe sites such as Mesa Verde, Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Serpent Mound, and Poverty Point. Likewise, the coverage of Europe runs from the Paleolithic period, to the Bronze and Iron Ages, to the Post-Roman era; looks at peoples such as the Celts, the Germans, the Vikings, and the Slavs; and describes sites at Altamira, Pompeii, Stonehenge, Terra Amata, and dozens of other locales. The Companion offers equally thorough coverage of Africa, Europe, North America, Mesoamerica, South America, Asia, the Mediterranean, the Near East, Australia, and the Pacific.

And finally, the editors have included extensive cross-referencing and thorough indexing, enabling the reader to pursue topics of interest with ease; charts and maps providing additional information; and bibliographies after most entries directing readers to the best sources for further study.