The History of Archaeology

Paul Bahn studied archaeology at the University of Cambridge and did his Ph.D. thesis (1979) on the prehistory of the French Pyrenees. Then he held post-doctoral fellowships, at Liverpool and London, plus a J. Paul Getty postdoctoral fellowship in the History of Art and the Humanities. He went freelance in the mid-80s, and since then has devoted himself to writing, editing and translating books on archaeology, plus occasional journalism and as much travel as possible. His main research interest is prehistoric art, especially rock art of the world, and most notably Palaeolithic art, as well as the archaeology of Easter Island. Among his many books are Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, sixth edition (with Colin Renfrew, 2012), Archaeology: The Key Concepts (with Colin Renfrew; Routledge, 2004) and The Cambridge World Prehistory (edited with Colin Renfrew, 2013).