Treasures of Time: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Prehistoric Ceramics of the Southwest

Rating:
Summary: An Extremely Useful Guide to Prehistoric Southwest Pottery
Review: "Treasures of Time" is a very versatile and compelling look at prehistoric Native American pottery in the Southwest. The book focuses on pottery unearthed at multiple digs at a single site in Arizona, covering centuries of time and the evolution of pottery and artistic techniques during the entire period.

The book describes each kind of pottery, and has nearly four dozen color photographs illustrating those types. Also included are maps, diagrams, drawings, a glossary, and an impressive eight page bibliography. This book truly contains everything a lay person could hope to know about this topic, and quite a bit more.

Written by an archeologist who excavates these sites, the book has a lot of information, but is written in a common vernacular, so you don't have to be a professional to understand it. I enjoyed this book a lot, but I'd note that it may be better as a reference or an introduction to the topic than for light bedtime reading. The good organization, easy language and great photographs earn it four stars from me.