Murphy (archaeology, Queen's University Belfast, Ireland) and Whitehouse (palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Ireland) provide an introduction to the techniques, methodologies, approaches, and potential of environmental archaeology, focusing specifically within Ireland but including contributors from throughout the British Isles and Europe. Five sections deal with themes of dating, humans and animals, plants, approaches to environmental archaeology, and legislation; the portions on humans, animals, and plants carry the bulk of the book, with paper topics such as a study of fossil insect remains in environmental and archaeological investigations, human osteoarchaeology in Ireland, and pollen analysis and archaeology in Ireland. With essays ranging from the methodological to the technical, this title would prove useful to students studying these techniques though the range of subjects would also be useful to scholars studying Irish environmental archaeology. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)