Why read Facts on the Ground?

Book cover of Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society

Book description

Archaeology in Israel is truly a national obsession, a practice through which national identity-and national rights-have long been asserted. But how and why did archaeology emerge as such a pervasive force there? How can the practices of archaeology help answer those questions? In this stirring book, Nadia Abu El-Haj addresses…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Facts on the Ground as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Allison Mickel

Author

This book is one of my absolute favorites for expressing how archaeology really works on a macro level. As a student, I learned that archaeology has often been co-opted to serve political and nationalist purposes.

But the hows and whys of that process weren’t clear until I started doing archaeology. I love how Nadia Abu El Haj makes extremely clear why archaeology as a science lends itself so well to solidifying claims about identity, history, and land. I really admire how Abu El Haj captures what happens between the direct, tangible encounter of a person with an artifact and the…

From Allison's list on The best books about how archaeology really works.

Ilan Pappé

Author

The Israeli narrative is particularly strong among Christain and Jewish communities due to a tale full of fabrications that stretches back to ancient times. This methodical and erudite research exposes the role of archeology in providing "scientific" scaffolding for that tale.

From Ilan's list on The best books to understand modern Palestine.