A lighthearted account of fifty years of archaeological fieldwork, and a serious look at the worldwide role of ceramics in cultural understanding.

Husband and wife archaeologists Florence C. and Robert H. Lister and their two children traveled the archaeological world from 1940 to 1990. They produced numerous respected studies in the field of Southwestern archaeology and ceramics. "Pot Luck," however, takes the Lister bibliography in a new a direction. Written in the years following Robert Lister's death in 1990, "Pot Luck" describes professional archaeology in personal terms, offering lively portraits of premier archaeologists and archaeological expeditions alongside vignettes of the Lister children at play and the Lister marriage at work. "Pot Luck" follows the Listers on expeditions in Mexico, the Middle East, Spain, and the Southwest. Lister offers a happy mix of expert knowledge, professional experience, personal reflection, and wonderful writing.