This is the very first book-length biography of John Wesley Gilbert, a man famous as "the first black archaeologist." The book uses previously unstudied sources to reveal the triumphs and challenges of an overlooked pioneer in American archaeology.

John W.I. Lee is Associate Professor of History at the University of California at Santa Barbara. His previous publications include A Greek Army on the March (Cambridge University Press) and The Persian Empire (The Great Courses/The Teaching Company).

• Foreword: Dr. Mallory Millender, Paine College


• Acknowledgements


• Abbreviations


• List of Figures


• List of Maps


• Introduction: Out of the Ashes


• 1. Nursed in the Arms of Poverty


• 2. This Young Man Deserves Special Mention


• 3. Nothing Less Than Glorious


• 4. The American School


• 5. No Stone Unturned


• 6. The Demes of Athens


• 7. Excavating Eretria


• 8. A Humble Worker in the Colored Ranks


• 9. Mutombo Katshi


• 10. The Old Veteran


• Conclusion: Enduring Spirit


• Appendix 1: The Birthdates of Gilbert and his Family


• Appendix 2: John Wesley Gilbert and John Hope


• Bibliography