archeology | Book Girl & Little Bear

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

The daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh and the daughter of an English earl are the narrators of this dual timeline historical novel. I have read quite a few dual timeline novels, and I usually prefer the earlier timeline. In this case, I found the 1920s story of Eve, Lady Evelyn Herbert, more enthralling. It’s clear that author Marie Benedict has long been fascinated by ancient Egypt, and specifically Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut, a regent and co-pharaoh whose tomb was well hidden, had her name erased from many places in Egypt. Eve, the daughter of Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, loves spending time at excavations in the Valley of the Kings with her father and Howard Carter in the early 1920s, though her mother just wants her to find a suitable Englishman and get married.

Hatshepsut’s life in the 15^th century B.C., is full of ritual and ceremony, as she must praise the rising sun each day. Unexpectedly, she becomes the eldest living child of her father, Pharaoh Thutmose, and he prepares her to help lead Egypt after him, as regent for a young pharaoh. The Egyptian settings are vividly drawn in both time periods, and both young women have considerable challenges, expectations, and limitations. Carter makes an amazing discovery, and Eve and her father are there to enter what will become a world-famous tomb. The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis is a readalike, and The Collector’s Daughter by Gill Paul also tells Eve’s story. The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters may also appeal, along with Murder Among the Pyramids by Sara Rosett.

Brenda

Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America by Craig Childs

In this engaging combination of armchair travel and popular science, author Childs gives readers a glimpse into the Americas during the last Ice Age, from about 30,000 to 11,000 years ago. In his travels across the Americas, especially Alaska, to explore key archeological sites, he travels alone or with assorted companions, including his mother, archeology students and their professor, and his two children. He kayaks in the north Florida swamps, camps overnight in below zero temps and on the way to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert, finds mammoth footprints in the American West, and meets with scientists and Native scholars.

A number of questions are considered, not all of them answered. When and how did people arrive in the Americas? Did they walk across the Bering land bridge, and/or journey in skin boats along the coast? Did some people come from Iberia, now Portugal and Spain? What large animals did they encounter, and what did they eat? How did they travel during expanding and receding glaciers, and during sea rise? Tools and weapons were made from materials that were routinely carried for hundreds of miles, which indicated travel and trade. Mammoths and mastodons were common, then rare, and finally extinct as the climate changed. What was the significance of a mammoth hunt during different eras? Childs visits deserts, cliffs, caves, rivers, and coasts, describing how they look now, and what they probably looked like 11,000 to 25,000 years ago to early human travelers. Lots of research, amazing travels, and compelling writing make for a very appealing read. The illustrations by Sarah Gilman enhance the reading experience.

Readalikes include The Sun is a Compass by Caroline Van Hemert, Hudson Bay Bound by Natalie Warren, The High Sierra by Kim Stanley Robinson, and The River: A novel by Peter Heller.

Brenda