Journey to the Ice Age
Discovering an Ancient World

Peter L. Storck (Author)

9780774810296

Paperback / softback, published 1 May 2006

376 pages, 41 b&w illustrations, 21 maps, 3 tables
25.4 x 17.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.64 kg

All too often archaeology is presented as the fabulous and dramatic discovery of a lost civilization. The truth is that it is a sometimes dreary and inescapably human pursuit, where much of the drama exists in the rivalry between archaeologists and the politics of the profession. In Journey to the Ice Age, Peter Storck marries these harsh realities to the excitement of discovery, and ties it all together with his own experience of both. - Jay Ingram, author, The Velocity of Honey, and host of the Discovery Channel's Daily Planet I love this book. If I had Peter Storck's writing skill and his introspective view of the world, this is the kind of book I would like to write. It is at once a compelling, personal narrative and an introduction to the process of hypothesis testing and revision that archaeologists use to keep their work oriented toward a problem they wish to solve ... informative ... evocative ...insight into, the past lifeways of Paleoindian people, as well as a thorough understanding of how difficult it is to explore such ancient lifeways through sutdy of the meagre remains fond in archaeological sites that are 10 000 or more years old ... the reader learns a lot about Paleoindians and the environments in which they lived and also a lot about prehistoric archaeology - Richard Morlan, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec (Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 28, 2004) This is two books in one, a journey through time to meet the people living on the beaches of ice age lakes, and a personal journey of the scientist who found them. Storck's narrative is a delightful tale of science in action and a lifetime dedicated to the people of long ago. It has forever changed my view of the Ontario landscape. - Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks This is an autobiographical account by a curator of the Royal Ontario Museum, relating his archaeological discoveries while tracing the peoples who came over to America from Siberia at the end of the Ice Age. It is an exciting and education read. A truly wonderful book. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Lower Island News) This book will open the consciousness of North Americans to the ancient world that surrounds their daily lives. Familiar landscapes will carry new significance as the settings for primeval iceberg-laden seas, exotic animals, and peoples whose way of life is totally alien to that of the modern world. - Robert McGhee, author of Ancient People of the Arctic

At the end of the Ice Age, small groups of hunter-gatherers crossed from Siberia to Alaska and began the last chapter in the human settlement of the earth. Many left little or no trace. But one group, the Early Paleo-Indians, exploded onto the archaeological record about 11,500 radiocarbon years ago and expanded rapidly throughout North America, sending splinter groups into Central and perhaps South America as well. Journey to the Ice Age explores the challenges faced by the Early Paleo-Indians of northeastern North America. A revealing, autobiographical account, this is at once a captivating record of Storck's discoveries and an introduction to the practice, challenges, and spirit of archaeology.

Maps, Tables, Illustrations, Photographs