Contemporary Archaeology in Theory
A Reader
1st Edition
Published on 9. November 1996
Book
Hardback
704 pages
978-0-631-19559-7 (ISBN)
Description
This Reader presents an easily accessible collection of seminal articles in contemporary Anglo-American archaeological theory for use in introductory undergraduate classes as well as graduate level seminars. It focuses upon the period from 1980 to the present, emphasizing the far-reaching effects of recent internal and external critiques of processual archaeology. The central purpose of the reader is to assist students in thinking about the inter-relationships between theory and practice for different theoretical approaches. An extensive introductory chapter provides a clear account of the main lines of theoretical development within archaeology indicating current areas of debate and controversy. The book is then divided into seven sections each of which is prefaced by an introduction evaluating the nature of the selective contributions in the light of the history of the field. These sections are as follows: cultural ecology; political economy; evolutionary theory; symbolic and structuralist approaches; critical theory; engendering approaches; and archaeology and politics.
The book contains 26 substantial readings divided equally between the sections and each prefaced by a headnote. The book concludes with recommendations for further reading and an index. It will be a vital resource for students and teachers of archaeology throughout the world.
The book contains 26 substantial readings divided equally between the sections and each prefaced by a headnote. The book concludes with recommendations for further reading and an index. It will be a vital resource for students and teachers of archaeology throughout the world.
Reviews / Votes
"Contemporary Archaeology in Theory makes a valuable contribution to contemporary archaeological theory by making it accessible to students and archaeologists generally, in a structured and comprehensive way. This book would provide a good basis for an advanced level archaeological theory course." (Australian Archaeology, Number 44, 1997) "... by all means adopt this Reader as a text to go with your own reader. Its framework is catholic, broad-ranging and reasonably balanced with respect to developments in archaeological theory over the last two decades."--Roger C. Green, Dept of Anthropology, University of Auckland "It is an excellent source for advanced and graduate seminars in archaeological theory. The editors are to be congratulated for completing a monumental and controversial task with such authority and equanimity."--Patty Jo Watson, Washington University (American Antiquity, 1998) "Preucel's and Hodder's pieces, covering a total of almost 100 pages of text - a small monograph - constitute the real strength of the book. They are humane, intelligent, well-read, balanced and critical guides to the proliferation of processual and interpretive theoretical positions that archaeologists espouse." (Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology)More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 176 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
1312 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-631-19559-7 (9780631195597)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
04/2010
2nd Edition
Wiley
€103.24
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Persons
Robert W. Preucel is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Curator of North American Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught previously at Southern Illinois University and Harvard University and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge. His publications include Seasonal Circulation and Dual Residence in the Pueblo Southwest (1990) and, as editor, Processual and Postprocessual Archaeologies (1991).
Ian Hodder is Reader at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Amsterdam, Sorbonne, Stanford Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioural Sciences, Minnesota, SUNY (Binghamton) and the University of California, Berkeley. His publications include Symbols in Action (1982), The Present Past (1982), Reading the Past (1986), The Domestication of Europe (1990) and Theory and Practice in Archaeology (1992).
Ian Hodder is Reader at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Amsterdam, Sorbonne, Stanford Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioural Sciences, Minnesota, SUNY (Binghamton) and the University of California, Berkeley. His publications include Symbols in Action (1982), The Present Past (1982), Reading the Past (1986), The Domestication of Europe (1990) and Theory and Practice in Archaeology (1992).
Content
List of Contributors. Preface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Prologue: Communicating Present Pasts.Part II: Ecological Relations: Nature and Culture. 1. Willow Smoke and Dogs' Tails: Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems and Archaeological Site Formation (Lewis R. Binford, Southern Methodist University, Texas).2. Understanding Changing People/Plant Relationships in the Prehispanic Andes (Christine A. Hastorf and Sissel Johnnessen, University of California, Berkeley and US Army Corps of Engineers, Minnesota) 3. Ecological Interpretations of Palaeolithic Art (Steven J. Mithen, University of Reading) Part III: Political Economy: The Production of Value.4. Peer Polity Interaction and Socio-Political Change (Colin Renfrew, Cambridge University)5. The Ancient Economy, Transferable Technologies and the Bronze Age World-System: A View from the Northeastern Frontier of the Ancient Near East (Phillip L. Kohl, Wellesley College) 6. Specialization and the Production of Wealth: Hawaiian Chiefdoms and the Inka Empire (Timothy K. Earle, Northwestern University)7. Beneath the Material Surface of Things: Commodities, Artifacts, and Slave Plantations (Charles E. Orser, Jr, Illinois State University)Part IV: Social and Cultural Evolution: Process, Structure and History.8. Explaining the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution (Antonio Gilman, Northridge University). 9. Braudel and North American Archaeology: An Example from the Northern Plains (Philip Duke, Fort Lewis College)10. The Power of Prestige: Competitive Generosity and the Emergence of Rank Societies in Lowland Mesoamerica (John E. Clark and Michael Blake, Brigham Young University and University of British Columbia)11. Cultural Transmission and Cultural Change (Stephen Shennan, University College, London)Part V: Meaning and Practice: Material Symbols.12. The Symbolic Divisions of Pottery: Sex-Related Attributes of English and Anglo-American Household Pots (Anne Yentsch, Armstrong State College). 13. Cognitive Archaeology (Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, both University of Michigan)14. Style and the Design of a Perfume Jar from an Archaic Greek City State (Michael Shanks, University of Wales, Lampeter)15. The Living, the Dead and the Ancestors: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Mortuary Practices (John C. Barrett, University of Sheffield)Part VI: Feminist and Gender Archaeologies: Understanding Sex and Gender.16. The Interplay of Evidential Constraints and Political Interests: Recent Archaeological Research on Gender (Alison Wylie, University of Western Ontario)17. Gender, Space, and Food in Prehistory (Christine A. Hastorf, University of California, Berkeley). 18. What this Awl Means: Toward a Feminist Archaeology (Janet D. Spector, University of Minnesota)19. Dorothy Hughes Popenoe: Eve in an Archaeological Garden (Rosemary A. Joyce, University of California, Berkeley)Part VII: The Past as Power: Representations and Antirepresentations. 20. Public Presentations and Private Concerns: Archaeology in the Pages of National Geographic (Joan Gero and Delores Root, University of South Carolina and New England Science Unit)21. The Past as Propaganda: Totalitarian Archaeology in Nazi Germany (Bettina Arnold, University of Minnesota)22. Archaeological Annapolis: A Guide to Seeing and Understanding Three Centuries of Change (Mark P. Leone and Parker B. Potter, Jr, University of Maryland and Plymouth State College)Part VIII: Responses of the 'Other': Constructing Identities.23. Alternative Archaeologies: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist (Bruce G. Trigger, McGill University)24. History and Prehistory in Bolivia: What about the Indians? (Carlos Mamani Condori, Institute of Historical Research, La Paz and Universidad Mayor de San Andres)25. Inuit Perceptions of the Past (Jack Anawak, Kivallia Consulting)26. Bone Courts: the Rights and Narrative Representation of Tribal Bones (Gerald Vizenor, University of California, Berkeley)Part IX: Dialogue.Theoretical Archaeological Discourse.