Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, vols. 1-2, 3d ed.

• Author: Liverani, Mario

The long awaited third edition of this chronological handbook (the first edition appeared in 1954 as Relative Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, the second in 1965 as Chronologies in Old World Archaeology) has finally been published. We have first of all to remember with sincere appreciation and gratitude the editor of the three successive editions, the late Robert W. Ehrich, who devoted a substantial part of his scholarly activity to an enterprise in the service of the scientific community at large. The book grew much bigger than the previous editions, resulting in two volumes, the first containing the text of twenty-eight chapters (the original had fifteen), the second, tables of the radiocarbon dates, maps, drawings of the materials, footnotes, and bibliography (so both volumes must be used together). Except for Japan, all of Eurasia and Africa is covered, including for the first time areas whose archaeological exploration and periodization are still in their infancy. The price grew with the work's size and complexity, and the two hard-cover (and elegantly printed) volumes are now aimed at the library market rather than at individual scholars and students, unlike the previous editions.

Over the last ten years, quotations from this work have appeared in the scholarly literature, raising great anticipation. It is now a real pleasure to have all the chapters officially published and generally available. But it is also sad to relate that the production, collection, and editing of the book took so long - too long! Just consider, for the sake of comparison, that in the very year all the chapters finally reached the editor, the volume by O. Aurenche, J. Evin, and F. Hours, Chronologies in the Near East: Relative Chronologies and Absolute Chronology 16,000-4,000 B.P., vols. 1 and 2 (Oxford: B.A.R., 1987) appeared (recording a conference held just a few months earlier), which dealt with the same topic (but was limited to the Near East, and more detailed). It was neither used nor mentioned by Ehrich's contributors. It seems that the theoretical deadline was 1982, but the final chapters arrived six years later; then it took another five years to produce the book. With the current pace of discoveries, chapters already eleven years old when published are almost useless, and even chapters five years old are of questionable value. It is particularly sad that some of the most outdated chapters cover areas, such as Africa and China, where archaeological investigation has recently produced a considerable increase of data. In a way, we already need a fourth, updated, edition! At any rate, here is a list of the authors, their chapters and dates of first delivery (and eventual reworking, if any); subjects covered...