Famous Finds and Finders: Searching for the Past

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

This engaging book for young adventurers features 40 historical discoveries, from tiny artifacts to entire cities, including the people and circumstances behind their uncovering.

In Famous Finds and Finders, young readers are taken on an adventurous journey back through time as they learn about the field of archeology and its role in uncovering the secrets of our past. Emphasizing the importance of preserving and recording moments in history, it encourages children to consider their own place in the ongoing story of humanity.

Kids will also learn about the tools and techniques (from crude to state-of-the-art) that archeologists and paleontologists use, as well as about the challenges they face in uncovering fragments of the past buried in the ground or under the ocean.

The discoveries are divided into 5 categories:

• People and Animals
• Towns and Cities
• Works of Art
• Under the Sea
• Underground

Sections include:

• Tutankhamun’s Tomb: An Ancient Egyptian burial chamber discovered by archeologist Howard Carter in 1922, famous for its magnificent treasures.

• Lascaux: A complex of caves in France containing some of the most well-preserved prehistoric cave paintings in the world, discovered in 1940 by exploring four teenagers.

• The Titanic: A British luxury passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg, resulting in the loss of many lives.

• Lucy: A partial skeleton of a female Australopithecus afarensis hominin, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 by a paleoanthropologist from the University of Cleveland.

• Ötzi the Iceman: The mummy of a man who lived around 3,300 BCE, discovered in 1991 in the Alps by hikers who thought he was a deceased modern climber.

• Whydah Gally: A pirate ship discovered by an underwater explorer off the coast of Cape Cod in 1984.

• Terracotta Army: A collection of earthen sculptures depicting the armies of the first Emperor of China, discovered by local farmers in 1974.

• Miss Ardi: The oldest known hominid skeleton, providing insights into human evolution.

• Chinchorro Mummies: The oldest artificially preserved human remains, found along the coast of present-day Chile and Peru.

• Altai Princess: The well-preserved mummy of a young woman who lived over 2,500 years ago in Siberia.

• Sue the Rex: The most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever discovered.

• Angkor Wat: A historic temple complex in Cambodia built in the 12th century – one of the largest religious monuments in the world.

• Pompeii: A Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, preserving it and providing insight into ancient Roman life.

• Troy: An ancient city in Turkey, best known for the Trojan War described in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad.

• Babylon: A city in ancient Mesopotamia, located in present-day Iraq, known for its legendary Hanging Gardens.

• Port Royal: A major center for piracy and commerce in the Caribbean, destroyed by an earthquake in 1692.

• Bust of Nefertiti: A sculpture of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, created in the 14th century BCE and discovered in 1912 by a German archeologist.

• The Venus de Milo: The Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue of Aphrodite, discovered by a poor farmer on the island of Milos in Greece in 1820.

• Lighthouse of Alexandria: One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, constructed in the 3rd century BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt.

This book highlights some of the most significant archeological discoveries of all time, introducing young readers to some of the key figures in the field. It provides a fun and engaging way for children to learn about historical discoveries and the people who made them, and will inspire them to continue exploring the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity.

Filled with evocative illustrations and informative content, Famous Finds and Finders is perfect for children aged 9–12 who are curious about history and the world around us. Whether they are a student of history, a budding archeologist, or simply curious about the world around us, this book is the perfect introduction to the fascinating world of archeology.

Tom Velcovsky is a graduate of Audiovisual Production from the Silesian University in Opava, Czech Republic, where he specialized in screenwriting and storyboards. Before switching to children’s books and the making of comic strips, he worked in advertising. 

Stepanka Sekaninova used to work as a TV reporter and in the production of children’s programs. Now she is a writer and an editor-in-chief, living in the Czech Republic. 

Adam Wolf is a self-taught artist with a wide range of artistic skills including analog and digital photography, tattooing, digital and classical illustration, and canvas painting. Having been interested in various creative activities since his early years, he studied photography at the Prague School of Photography, and these days he enjoys illustrating children’s books. He was born in Pardubice, Czech Republic in 1981.