Synopses & Reviews
Honor Award, 2012 NZ Post Children's Book AwardsWhat do moa eggs, seeds chewed by rats, and 600-year-old footprints have in common? Archaeologists in New Zealand deal with artifacts like these every day to determine how people lived years ago. This fascinating book chronicles the work of these patient scientists as they dig up the past, journeying to the top of volcanoes, beneath city streets, and within Māori pā and explorers huts. Sharing their discoveries—obsidian adzes, enamel cups, and the carved prow of a canoe, for example—this account narrates the remarkable, uncovered stories of Polynesian voyagers and Pākehā sealers, Māori gardeners and Chinese storekeepers. Engaging and informative, it offers great insight into the science of archaeology while encouraging readers to do some excavating of their own.
Review
"I actually defy anyone . . . not to be captivated by this. . . . Reading it's a bit like an archaeological dig in itself. I never knew what I was going to find and you keep wanting to dig on. I uncovered lots of really interesting stuff and I was left wiser by the experience." —John McIntyre, Children's Book Review, Radio New Zealand National (November 18, 2011)
Review
"I certainly under any classification couldn't be called young and I found it a really good read. A good straight book which is very well presented, very well laid out, very lively reading and, I think, would hold a lot of people's attention because you are in no danger of being bored." —Harry Broad, Nine to Noon, Radio New Zealand National (November 24, 2011)
Review
"This is an excellent book for young readers, linking some of our own important stories to 'how we know,' and including some of the interesting technical stuff." —Nigel Prickett, New Zealand Association of Archaeologists (November 1, 2011)