RUBBISH! The Archaeology of Garbage. By William Rathje and Cullen Murphy. Illustrated. 250 pp. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. $23.

SINCE 1973, a group of anthropologists at the University of Arizona has been conducting a series of systematic archeological digs, minutely sifting, classifying and recording the contents of more than 14 tons of excavated material. The site of their investigation, however, has not been ancient burial grounds or prehistoric settlements, but urban landfills — in other words, garbage dumps.

The result of their work is documented in “Rubbish!” which, despite its sensational exclamation point, is neither a harangue on the environmental perils of a throwaway society nor a tongue-in-cheek history of trash. William Rathje, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona and director of the university’s garbage project, and Cullen Murphy, the managing editor of The Atlantic, have written a lucid and provocative book that steers well clear of self-righteousness — and bad jokes — and takes aim at several sacred cows along the way.