Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations

by Sam Kean Narrated by Derek Shetterly

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Fascinating, fulfilling and, above all else, fun. This utterly eye-opening (and nose- and mouth-opening) exploration of the history of practically everything is an enriching and endlessly entertaining read.

From “one of America's smartest and most charming writers” (NPR), an archaeological romp through the entire history of humankind-and through all five senses-from tropical Polynesian islands to forbidding arctic ice floes, and everywhere in between.

Whether it's the mighty pyramids of Egypt or the majestic temples of Mexico, we have a good idea of what the past looked like. But what about our other senses: The tang of Roman fish sauce and the springy crust of Egyptian sourdough? The boom of medieval cannons and the clash of Viking swords? The frenzied plays of an Aztec ballgame...and the chilling reality that the losers might also lose their lives?

History often neglects the tastes, textures, sounds, and smells that were an intimate part of our ancestors' lives, but a new generation of researchers is resurrecting those hidden details, pioneering an exciting new discipline called experimental archaeology. These are scientists gone rogue: They make human mummies. They investigate the unsolved murders of ancient bog bodies. They carve primitive spears and go hunting, then knap their own obsidian blades to skin the game. They build perilous boats and plunge out onto the open sea-all in the name of experiencing history as it was, with all its dangers, disappointments, and unexpected delights.

Beloved author Sam Kean joins these experimental archaeologists on their adventures across the globe, from the Andes to the South Seas. He fires medieval catapults, tries his hand at ancient surgery and tattooing, builds Roman-style roads-and, in novelistic interludes, spins gripping tales about the lives of our ancestors with vivid imagination and his signature meticulous research.

Lively, offbeat, and filled with stunning revelations about our past, Dinner with King Tut sheds light on days long gone and the intrepid experts resurrecting them today, with startling, lifelike detail and more than a few laughs along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

No writer ranks higher than Sam Kean on the ‘You Will Learn Something New and Weird on Every Page’-o-meter.”—Ken Jennings, host of Jeopardy!

"A visceral, exhilarating, and sweeping tour de force that will tantalize all five of your senses, and some you never knew you had.This is an essential—and sensual—read for anyone who would relish a hands-on experience with the past."—Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Facemaker and The Butchering Art

"The science writer Sam Kean’s all-in approach to research is evident not only from the ink on the pages of his books but from the ink on his skin...'Above all,' he writes, 'I hope this book can reveal what unites us today with people from long ago, and help us understand that they were just people, no different than us.' That’s a lofty goal, but one fully in keeping with the empathy Mr. Kean is quick to show not only his historical subjects, but the sometimes quirky researchers he meets in our own era."—The Wall Street Journal

“Kean, the bestselling author of Caesar’s Last Breath, makes history come alive, looking at the fledgling field of experimental archaeology, where researchers immerse themselves in the past — carving primitive spears or going to sea on rudimentary boats — to better understand it.”—The New York Post

"[V]ery hard to put down. A fast-paced, vividly written tale that brings lost civilizations into sharp focus."—Kirkus (starred review)

"[A] charming romp through the world of experimental archaeology...This idiosyncratic and impressively researched account takes readers to the fringes of knowledge production, revealing along the way that there is as much art as there is science to the study of history. It’s a delight."—Publishers Weekly

"Popular science writer Kean, who most recently delved into the exploits of sinister scientists in The Icepick Surgeon (2021), turns his sharp eye to experimental archaeology in this blend of lively factual chronicles that revive the past and fictional interludes depicting how our ancestors hunted, battled, and lived….Kean makes a powerful case for how vital the experimental archaeologists' work is in giving us a better understanding of the past."—Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2025-04-17
Reviving the past by reenacting the rituals of daily life.

Fascinated by history but bored by dusty, tedious archaeological digs, science author Kean dives into the field of experimental archaeology. Some are real archaeologists, others are “screwball enthusiasts” or “hardcore lab geeks,” the author writes, but most, like him, simply yearn to connect with traditions that defined our ancestors. To do this, Kean learns certain skills, like brewing beer and baking bread as did the ancient Egyptians, making weapons out of rocks and obsidian as was done in Africa 75,000 years ago, and even tattooing in the methods of people who lived in 500 A.D. in what is now Northern California. In the process, the author expands our understanding of what life was like back then and raises questions about long-held assumptions. For instance, wood is less likely to survive with time at archaeological sites. “Maybe the stuff we don’t find”—like wood—“is the stuff they cared about,” one expert muses. “Maybe instead of the Stone Age, we should call it the Wood Age.” This kind of insight can only be gleaned from actually making weapons from rocks and sticks, Kean writes. Along the way, he mummifies his own fish as an experiment and learns a Mesoamerican ballgame in which players bat around rubber balls with their hips. Kean’s visits with experts make for fun reading and forge a factual framework for the book, but the most gripping parts are the fiction narratives he intersperses with the nonfiction sections. The author imagines characters that leap off the page. Their challenges are immense, whether it’s a hapless tomb thief or a man’s discovery that, while he went out to gather acorns, his pregnant wife was bludgeoned by a rival. Informed by what Kean has learned about the realities of life for the ancients, his riveting fictional sagas make this book very hard to put down.

A fast-paced, vividly written tale that brings lost civilizations into sharp focus.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193713203
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/08/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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