Maybe it's kind of gruesome, but I always like a good archaeology book with lots of pictures of skeletons and bodies. It's fascinating what the combination of archaeology, forensics and cultural anthropology can tell us about people and cultures that lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. And, as science and technology continue to advance, we get to learn even more about the people who came before us. Two books I always pull from the shelves for those who share my love of preserved people are Bodies From the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii and Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland.
Bodies from the Ash is always a hit with kids and adults alike. After a brief introduction about the eruption of Vesuvius, the author really starts digging into the good stuff like how, exactly, archaeologists made all those incredible plaster casts of the volcano's victims in Pompeii. Details from jewelry and clothing provide all sorts of clues into the identity of some of the people who were excavated and, because the disaster happened so quickly, we have learned quite a bit about the daily life of people living in Pompeii.
Written in Bone is an incredibly fascinating read that will appeal to both fans of archaeology and early American history. Through careful and extensive excavation of cemeteries, homes and other sites throughout the James Fort area in Jamestown, Virginia, readers get a very intimate glimpse into the lives of some of the people who lived in the Chesapeake Bay area in the 1600s and 1700s. Clues such as copper pins and coffin materials provide insight into whose remains have been found buried in grave sites. When excavations are compared to various journals and logs from the era, it is possible to pinpoint exactly who many of these people were. Not all of the excavations were so benign, however. One skeleton was found under a hearth, and scientists were able to determine from the arrangement of the bones that he was hastily buried, and they even found evidence of the digging tools!
Bodies from the Ash is always a hit with kids and adults alike. After a brief introduction about the eruption of Vesuvius, the author really starts digging into the good stuff like how, exactly, archaeologists made all those incredible plaster casts of the volcano's victims in Pompeii. Details from jewelry and clothing provide all sorts of clues into the identity of some of the people who were excavated and, because the disaster happened so quickly, we have learned quite a bit about the daily life of people living in Pompeii. 
Written in Bone is an incredibly fascinating read that will appeal to both fans of archaeology and early American history. Through careful and extensive excavation of cemeteries, homes and other sites throughout the James Fort area in Jamestown, Virginia, readers get a very intimate glimpse into the lives of some of the people who lived in the Chesapeake Bay area in the 1600s and 1700s. Clues such as copper pins and coffin materials provide insight into whose remains have been found buried in grave sites. When excavations are compared to various journals and logs from the era, it is possible to pinpoint exactly who many of these people were. Not all of the excavations were so benign, however. One skeleton was found under a hearth, and scientists were able to determine from the arrangement of the bones that he was hastily buried, and they even found evidence of the digging tools!
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