John E. Mylroie and Ira D. Sasowsky' Caves occupy incongruous positions in both our culture and our science. The oldest records of modem human culture are the vivid cave paintings from southern France and northern Spain, which are in some cases more than 30,000 years old (Chauvet, et ai, 1996). Yet, to call someone a "caveman" is to declare them primitive and ignorant. Caves, being cryptic and mysterious, occupied important roles in many cultures. For example, Greece, a country with abundant karst, had the oracle at Delphi and Hades the god of death working from caves. People are both drawn to and mortified by caves. Written records ofcave exploration exist from as early as 852 BC (Shaw, 1992). In the decade of the 1920's, which was rich in news events, the second biggest story (as measured by column inches of newsprint) was the entrapment of Floyd Collins in Sand Cave, Kentucky, USA. This was surpassed only by Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic (Murray and Brucker, 1979).

In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.

Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology goes beyond a mere review of current literature and features the most up to date contributions from numerous scientists working in the field. The book represents a groundbreaking and comprehensive resource covering the plethora of applications of micromorphology in archaeology. Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology offers researchers, students and professionals a systematic tool for the interpretation of thin sections of archaeological contexts. This important resource is also designed to help stimulate the use of micromorphology in archaeology outside Europe, where the technique is less frequently employed. Moreover, the authors hope to strengthen the proper application of soil micromorphology in archaeology, by illustrating its possibilities and referring in several cases to more specialized publications (for instance in the field of plant remains, pottery and phytoliths). Written for anyone interested in the topic, this important text offers: Contributions from most of the world's leading authorities on soil micromorphology A series of chapters on the major topics selected among the most recurrent in literature about archaeological soil micromorphology Systematic descriptions of all important micromorphological features Special analytical tools employed on thin sections, such as SEM/EDS, image analysis, fluorescence microscopy, mass spectrometry, among others Numerous cross-references 400 illustrated full-colour plates The resource provides the most current and essential information for archaeologists, geoarchaeologists, soil scientists and sedimentologists. Comprehensive in scope, Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology offers professionals and students a much-needed tool for the interpretation of thin sections of archaeological contexts.

The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science contains 350 alphabetically arranged entries. The topics include cave and karst geoscience, cave archaeology and human use of caves, art in caves, hydrology and groundwater, cave and karst history, and conservation and management. The Encyclopedia is extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, diagrams, and tables, and has thematic content lists and a comprehensive index to facilitate searching and browsing.

Namen knjige je predstaviti rezultate 10 let trajajočih slovensko-čeških raziskav, ko smo predvsem z različnimi paleomagnetnimi metodami intenzivno raziskovali kraške površinske in jamske sedimente v različnih geografskih in geoloških območjih Slovenije. Paleomagnetne raziskave sedimentov so prinesle presenetljive rezultate glede starosti sedimentov v jamah in na površju in s tem tudi prve podrobne informacije o starosti jam in posredno tudi našega krasa. Pri vzorčevanju sedimentov za paleomagnetne analize smo v nekaterih primerih našli fosilne ostanke favne, njihova najdba je zelo pomembna ker, smo tako lahko rezultate paleomagnetnih in magnetostratigrafskih analiz postavili v točno določen čas.

Almost every artifact in archaeological analysis originates in or on the ground. While there are elaborate methods for extracting and analyzing artifacts, treatment of the matrix within which they are located is often unsophisticated and does not include systematic analysis. Sediments in Archaeological Context concerns the analysis of this matrix and the potential use of sediments to answer archaeological questions. Describing sediments and sampling them in appropriate ways do not replace the study of artifacts, but they can provide additional, useful information regarding a site complex, its physical environment, and the relations of artifacts to each other. Each chapter in the volume considers sediments within a specific context. Topics include sediments found in a variety of environments: cultural environments, rockshelter and cave environments, dryland alluvial environments, humid alluvial environments, lake environments, shoreline environments, and spring and wetland environments. Sediments in Archaeological Context is intended for every archaeologist who investigates sites in depositional contexts.

"This book by Lisa Tauxe and others is a marvelous tool for education and research in Paleomagnetism. Many students in the U.S. and around the world will welcome this publication, which was previously only available via the Internet. Professor Tauxe has performed a service for teaching and research that is utterly unique."—Neil D. Opdyke, University of Florida