The Seven Caves: Archaeological Explorations in the Middle East

by Carleton S. Coon

From the "This book is an experiment in archaeological writing. Nowadays the discovery of Paleolithic flints and bones in a Middle Eastern cave is front-page news. The public wants to know, within a reasonable length of time, what the flints and bones mean. Yet the procedure of Paleolithic archaeologists is still geared to public apathy, and archaeologists write principally for one another...."

Genres: Archaeology, History

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[مژگان · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب هفت غار رو یک باستان شناس-انسان شناس نوشته، ولی شرح حضورش و خاطراتش در کشورهای غرب آسیا و شمال آفریقاست و در سراسر کتاب خاطراتش از برخورد نزدیک با افراد بومی هر منطقه نوشته شده

چیزی که در کتاب بسیار واضحه، نوع نگاه قشر تحصیلکرده غربی به جوامع غرب آسیا در دهه پنجاه میلادیه. جایی در کتاب به مسئله کرامت (دیگنیتی) افراد بومی اشاره می کنه که تن به ظاهر غربی نداده بودند و اصالتشون رو در پوشش، خوراک و فرهنگ حفظ کرده بودند و تلاش نمی کردند مثل غرب زده ها توجه یک آمریکایی رو با بردنش به توالت های غربی و پختن غذاهای غربی جلب کنن و بخوان بهش ثابت کنن که کشورشون به اعتبار این «غربی شدگی» پیشرفته است و عقب مانده نیست. احترام عمیقی که نویسنده برای این اصالت قائله و درک این مسئله و احترام بهش از جانب یک پژوهشگر غربی به نظرم فصل الخطاب فهم آسیب شناسی مواجهه شرق با غربه.

هفت غار مختلف توسط نویسنده حفاری شده که در بخش هایی به توضیح فنی و باستان شناسانه یافته هاش می پردازه که به نظرم برای خواننده غیرمتخصص می تونه خسته کننده باشه.

نکته دیگه اینه که مقایسه آنچه درباره خلقیات مقامات رسمی و افراد بومی هر منطقه می گه با آنچه امروز می بینیم نشون میده آنچه در کشورهای غرب آسیا تغییر کرده شاید فقط سر و وضع و ظاهر زندگی ماها باشه، وگرنه دعوای بین خودی و غیر خودی و قبیله ای زندگی کردن و داستان درآوردن از هر چیزی انقدر در خاطرات نویسنده برای ما آشناست که انگار همین امروز برای خود ما می تونه اتفاق بیفته

اطلاعی ندارم از اینکه کتاب به فارسی ترجمه شده یا نه

[Steve R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mankind, as homo sapiens, supposedly evolved about 50,000 years ago. Agricultural practises began about 5,000 B.C. Written historical records, at the oldest, seem to go back to about 2,000 B.C. Thus, for well over ninety percent of human history, we have little concrete idea about what men were like and how they lived. This book, a summary of almost twenty years of research carried out by digging in caves, is attempt to shine a light into this largely impenetrable darkness. Also, it is a real delight to read.

Men used to live in caves. Digging surviving caves allows one to go down into the past, with the centuries unfolding the deeper one goes. The tools they used, largely flint artifacts, can be used to determine the technological level of activities; the animal bones they left give an idea as to their diet and their economic means of survival; the charcoal from their fires allow for Carbon14 dating of these remains, at least after 1951 when this process was discovered.

In digging caves three functions are performed: the first with a pickax, the second with a barrel, and the last with a sieve. One never swings a pickax; rather, one gently drags it through the soil, looking for artifacts. Then, the dug up earth is carried by bucket to the sieve where it is sifted looking for remains. Over Coon's twenty odd years and seven different caves from Tangiers to Afghanistan, he dug up over 150,000 flint pieces, and the partial remains of around fifteen people.

Other than the speculations on early human history, which often raised more questions than they answered, the most interesting element of the work is Coon's interminable stories of interactions with his labourers. They were always of the lowest, poorest class in the villages near where he dug, and their cultural, linguistic, religious and dietary peculiarities gave him both a lot of trouble and a lot of enjoyment. He also dealt with bureaucratic officials in Morocco, Iran, Afghanistan and Syria, never without difficulties and always with a necessarily high degree of patience. On every dig, the amount of time spent dealing with such red tape, coupled with the fact that most of his caves were in remote areas meant that far more time was spent on getting permission and then travelling to the sites than actually digging.

Mankind's role as a hunter/gatherer vastly outlasted his subsequent focus on farming. I feel we'll never really understand what our species was like for this first and longest period of our evolution. But works like this one represent a truly wonderful attempt to begin to see at least its vague and nebulous outline.

Highly recommended.

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the archaeology of caves. Goes through 7 digs by archaeologist Carleton Coon. The narrative is interesting and kept me hooked the whole book through, which is hard considering the nature of the work : ).