Archaeological sites often seem to be idyllic, even romantic, places where scientists recover and analyze fascinating data that can inform us of past times and the past lives of our recent historical and ancient prehistoric human forebears. Too often, however, unrecognized dangers lie within: bacterial and viral infections hidden in the soil, concealed in the animals that roam through our sites, or even lying in wait in organic remains we excavate; toxic substances produced by the historical technologies we study and that continue to poison the sites where people once worked; the bodies of people who died of historical scourges that once afflicted humanity and whose excavated mortal remains may still harbor the pathogens that killed them, dormant and lying in wait for an unsuspecting and largely no-longer immune modern population. It's enough to make an archaeologist swear off fieldwork!
The truth is, however, that archaeologists need to be alerted to the dangers present in fieldwork and advised of the reasonable precautions that should be taken to insure the safest possible working environment. Dangerous Places brings together an enormous body of information regarding the threats that archaeologists face every day, and the best ways of behaving proactively to avoid or mitigate these threats.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Dangerous Places: An Introduction by David A. Poirier and Kenneth L. Feder
Biological Hazards
Ticked Off: Lyme Disease and Archaeologists by Nicholas F. Bellantoni
Rabies: A Short Discourse by Tom Morganti and Nan Tartt
"The Fungus Among Us:" Coccidioidomycosis ("Valley Fever") and Archaelogists by T. Michael Fink and Ken K. Komatsu
"Of Mice and Men:" What Archaeologists Should Know About Hantavirus and Plague in North America by T. Michael Fink
Histoplasmosis: The Poop on Occupational Mycoses in Archaeological Contexts by Rob Ferguson
Nasty Little Things: Molds, Fungi and Spores by Paul S. Sledzik
Smallpox and Other Scourges of the Dead by Thomas A. J. Crist
Archaeologists and Parasites: The Real Scoop on Poop (and Other Worries) by Leslie Hunt Driscoll
America's Colonial and Industrial Legacy
Old Cemeteries, Arsenic, and Health Safety by John L. Konefes and Michael K. McGee
Former Manufactured Gas Plants and Other Coal-Tar Industrial Sites by Allen W. Hatheway
Beneath City Streets: Brief Observations on the Urban Landscape by Michael Roberts
Dig Fast and Die Young: Unexploded Ordnance and Archaeology by Dana Linck and Joe W. Vann III
Get the Lead Out by Cece Saunders and Susan R. Chandler
Chemical Soup: Archaeological Hazards at Western Ore Processing Sites by Ronald L. Reno, Stephen R. Bloyd and Donald L. Hardesty
A Final Forewarning: Practical Steps to Providing Archaeologists with Safe Working Environments by James C. Garman
