As a child I would often wonder when I saw an illustration of a stone tablet, and ask myself: What did the inscription mean? How did these people sound when they talked? What would that piece of clay say if it could speak! The enigma of the Phaistos Disc is revisited here in the light of new findings. From the various interpretations of the origin of the symbols depicted on the disc. Kober, Ventris, Chadwick and Bennett, the cryptologists are remembered for paving the way for us to understand the language and culture of early societies. Archaeological excavations, archaic languages and Myths are explored, together with theories of archaic Cretan relations as far away as the Black Sea. If this book enthuses just one person to forge ahead to uncover new information to allow “The Stones to Speak,” then I will be satisfied.

Explores the mysterious monument of Stonehenge and reveals some of its secrets and history.

Stone inscriptions are the most important written source for 5th-7th century western-British history. Against a background for Old World prehistory and the classical civilizations, this book focuses on the inscribed memorial stones of Demetia (south-west Wales, modern-day Dyfed) and Dumnonia (Devon, Cornwall and part of Somerset). The author looks at cultural change after AD 400 by analyzing the evidence or "messages" left on memorial stones. The invention of the ogam script in Ireland and its use, with implications for both paganism and Christianity, on such stones is examined. A group of chapters is devoted to a praticular reconstruction of events in south-west Wales between AD 400 and 600 - the establishment of an Irish-decended kingdom of Dementia. The author demonstrates that the Dementians adopted first Latinity (use of Roman names, ets) and only then Christinity, influenced by sub-Roman native kingdoms to the east. The author then traces a remarkable "venture to the interior" - the foundation of a small Dementian kingdom in the upper Usk valley, and examines documentary evidence for the first settler-king - Brychan - and, as monk and saint, his connection with Lundy Island (in the Bristol Channel) and north Devon. Evidence for a post-Roman native kingdom in Cornwall, Devon and part of Somerset is next considered, as is minor Irish settlement in west Cornwall around the year 400, and an isolated introduction of Christianity from 5th-century Gaul. Inscribed stones show that the conversion of Dumnonia to Christianity - though field-work has revealed that, far from being a Land of Saints, the deep south-west did not become Christian until well into the 6th century.

In this dramatic reconstruction of the daily lives of the earliest tool-making humans, two leading anthropologists reveal how the first technologies-- stone, wood, and bone tools-- forever changed the course of human evolution. Drawing on two decades of fieldwork around the world, authors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth take readers on an eye-opening journey into humankind's distant past-- traveling from the savannahs of East Africa to the plains of northern China and the mountains of New Guinea-- offering a behind-the-scenes look at the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of early prehistoric sites. Based on the authors' unique mix of archaeology and practical experiments, ranging from making their own stone tools to theorizing about the origins of human intelligence, "Making Silent Stones Speak" brings the latest ideas about human evolution to life.

"A collection of meditations like polished stones--painstakingly worded, tough-minded, yet partial to mystery, and peerless when it comes to injecting larger resonances into the natural world." — Kirkus Reviews Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings. Veering away from the long, meditative studies of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or Holy the Firm, Annie Dillard explores and celebrates moments of spirituality, dipping into descriptions of encounters with flora and fauna, stars, and more, from Ecuador to Miami.

Published in association with North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California.