Digging Prehistoric America: Resources

The following lists of books and websites include a number of resources which may be useful both to instructors and to students who wish to learn more about the classical history of the ancient mediterranean world. They are intented only as a starting point but we feel that each of these resources adds value to the story of ancient Thessalonika.

Check back often, this list will continue to grow and, of course, if you have additional items that have worked well in your programs or that you believe should be included please email us.

Books for Young People

The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia
David Burnie. A comprehensive reference for young people with colour drawings and illustrations, clear and understandable text and a timeline.

Prehistoric World (World History (Usborne Books))
Chandler, Bingham, Taplin. An absorbing look at the prehistoric world from it's beginnings to the times of man's early ancestors.

Life in a Rock Shelter: Prehistoric Indians of the Lower Pecos
Elaine Acker. A look at what daily life was like for early inhabitants of North America.

Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard?: The World's Most Fascinating Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals
Spencer Christain & Antonia Felix. A lively and engaging look at fossils, rocks and minerals packed with facts and tips.

Reference Books

Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America : An Encyclopedia
Guy Gibbon. Pricey but extensive reference work. An extremely useful aid to teaching the history of Prehistoric America.

How the SunGod Reached America: A Guide to Megalithic Sites
De Jonge & Wakefield. An examination of the origins of Prehistoric Americans through petroglyphs and archaeological sites.

Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters
Donald Prothero: An analysis and explanation of fossil records and what they can tell us about prehistory.

Useful Websites

On-line Museums

Minnesota State University

Dickson Mounds Museum

Fieldmuseum Expeditions

Public Archeology

The Center for American Archaeology

The Society for American Archaeology

National Park Service

The National Archaeology Database

The National Park Service


Native Technology & Paleoindian Archaeology

Native Technology and Art

Paleoindian Archaeology

General Information

Archaeological Parks in th US

What's the Point? Identifying Flint Artifacts

ArchNet - The Virtual Library of Archaeology

Texas beyond History: Prehistoric Texas

 Facts & Trivia

Some short pieces of information provided to assist Program Instructors.

Catch a Prehistoric Fish

The coelacanths, which are related to lungfishes and tetrapods, were believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period, until the first Latimeria specimen was found off the east coast of South Africa, off the Chalumna River in 1938. As a group the coelacanths were once very successful with many genera and species that left an abundant fossil record from the Devonian to the end of the Cretaceous period.



Biggest and Smallest

The largest complete dinosaur we know of was Brachiosaurus ("arm lizard"); it reached 23 m in length and 12 m in height (about the length of two large school buses and the height of a four-story building). The smallest dinosaurs were just slightly larger than a chicken; Compsognathus ("pretty jaw") was 1 m (3 ft) long and probably weighed about 2.5 kg (about 6.5 lb). These two dinosaur types both lived during the Jurassic Period. Mussaurus ("mouse lizard") was claimed as the smallest dinosaur, but it is now known to be the hatchling of a dinosaur type that was much larger than Compsognathus when fully grown.



Timeline for Homo Sapiens

Homo sapiens reached the Near East by at least 90,000 years ago, Australia by at least 50,000 years ago, Europe by 40,000 years ago and the Americas by 12,000 years ago.



Dinosaurs and Humans Never Met

After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs. Many scientists who study dinosaurs (vertebrate paleontologists) now think that birds are direct descendants of one line of carnivorous dinosaurs, and some consider that they in fact represent modern living dinosaurs. This theory remains under discussion and shows that there is still much we don't know about dinosaurs.

© History in Hand, 2007, 2008 - Programs in Archaeology for Students.