General Pitt-Rivers, a founder of scientific archaeology in Britain, applies his idea of the evolution of artefacts to locks and keys. Drawing on specimens he had collected since 1851, he follows wooden tumbler locks, latches and bolts from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome to India, Burma and beyond, with detailed plates and the etymology of the words.
A small classic of the history of technology and of the comparative method in anthropology. Download the free EPUB.