Archaeology After Structuralism

Archaeology After Structuralism PDF Author: Ian Bapty
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317616618
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Book Description
Most practising archaeologists have preferred to leave the deep theories of what lies behind their methods and perceptions on one side. Now archaeologists have faced up to the difficult task of making (or not making) the connections between the past, interpretation and the present. The writers of this volumes address the problems of archaeology, sometimes warily and sometimes with enthusiasm. The connections are not easy to accomplish: a great deal of theory seems of little relevance to the everyday practice of archaeology, and much of post-structuralism refers exclusively back to itself rather than to the more specific concerns of a historical discipline. But where the junction between post-structuralism and archaeology can be made, the results are innovative and enriching. Originally published in 1990.

Archaeology After Structuralism

Archaeology After Structuralism PDF Author: Ian Bapty
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131761660X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 323

Book Description
Most practising archaeologists have preferred to leave the deep theories of what lies behind their methods and perceptions on one side. Now archaeologists have faced up to the difficult task of making (or not making) the connections between the past, interpretation and the present. The writers of this volumes address the problems of archaeology, sometimes warily and sometimes with enthusiasm. The connections are not easy to accomplish: a great deal of theory seems of little relevance to the everyday practice of archaeology, and much of post-structuralism refers exclusively back to itself rather than to the more specific concerns of a historical discipline. But where the junction between post-structuralism and archaeology can be made, the results are innovative and enriching. Originally published in 1990.

Reading Material Culture

Reading Material Culture PDF Author: Christopher Tilley
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631172857
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description
Central to any understanding of the significance of material objects, whether contemporary or prehistoric, is a discussion of the very nature of interpretation itself: how we 'read' artefacts and inscribe them into the present. This book examines the complex relations between material culture, social structures and social practices from structuralist, hermeneutical and post-structuralist viewpoints.

Symbolic and Structural Archaeology

Symbolic and Structural Archaeology PDF Author: Ian Hodder
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521244060
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
This volume presents a searching critique of the more traditional archaeological methodologies and interpretation strategies and lays down a firm philosophical and theoretical basis for symbolist and structuralist studies in archaeology. A variety of procedures, ranging from ethnoarchaeological studies and computing techniques to formal studies of artefact design variability, are utilized to provide models for archaeologists within the proposed framework and the theory and models are then applied to a range of archaeological analyses. This particular approach sees all human actions as being meaningfully constituted within a social and cultural framework. Material culture is not simply an adaptive tool, but is structured according to sets of underlying principles which give meaning to, and derive meanings from, the social world. Thus structural regularities are shown to link seemingly disparate aspects of material culture, from funerary monuments to artefact design, from the use of space in settlements, to the form of economic practices.

Reading the Past

Reading the Past PDF Author: Ian Hodder
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521528849
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Book Description
Table of contents

The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory

The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory PDF Author: Andrew Gardner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191750977
Category : Archaeology
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

Archaeological Semiotics

Archaeological Semiotics PDF Author: Robert W. Preucel
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 140519913X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
This interdisciplinary book examines archaeology’s engagement with semiotics, from its early structuralist beginnings to its more recent Peircian encounters. It represents the first sustained engagement with Peircian semiotics in archaeology, as well as the first discussion of how pragmatic anthropology articulates with anthropological archaeology. Its central thesis is that archaeology is a distinctive kind of semiotic enterprise; one devoted to giving meaning to the past in the present through the study of materiality. It compliments standard studies of linguistics and reformulates contemporary theories of material culture. Providing an introduction to Saussure and a review of his legacy across structural, symbolic, and cognitive anthropology, Preucel goes on to present the Peircian alternative and highlights its influence on pragmatic anthropology. Of special interest are the discussions of the interrelations of structuralism and processual archaeology, poststructuralism and postprocessual archaeologies, and cognitive science and cognitive archaeology. The author offers two original case studies demonstrating how material culture pragmatically mediates social relations- one focusing on the aftermath of the Pueblo Revolt from 1680-1694 and the other on the New England utopian community of Brook Farm from 1842-1846. Throughout his analysis, Preucel emphasizes the close links between archaeology and other social sciences. But he also contends that archaeology, by virtue of the powerful ideological character of the past, can open up new spaces for discourse and dialogue about meaning, and, in the process, make a valuable contribution to contemporary semiotics.

Archaeological Thought in America

Archaeological Thought in America PDF Author: C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521406437
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
American archaeology today encompasses a huge range of approaches and draws eclectically on a multitude of academic disciplines. Until now, however, there has been no book seeking to separate the main strands and traditions of research and present a rounded picture of American archaeological thought in all its diversity. The seventeen essays in Archaeological Thought in America describe recent theoretical advances and present substantive interpretations of prehistoric data drawn from a variety of cultures and time-frames, including Mesoamerica, Central Asia, India and China. The contributors include many of the leading North American archaeologists of this generation.

Experiencing the Past

Experiencing the Past PDF Author: Michael Shanks
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134936079
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
In Experiencing the Past Michael Shanks presents an animated exploration of the character of archaeology and reclaims the sentiment and feeling which are so often lost in purely academic approaches.

Archaeology

Archaeology PDF Author: Kevin Greene
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134569424
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
This fourth edition constitutes the most extensive reshaping of the text to date. In a lucid and accessible style Kevin Greene explains the discovery and excavation of sites, outlines major dating methods, gives clear explanations of scientific techniques, and examines current theories and controversies. New features include: a completely new user-friendly text design with initial chapter overviews and final conclusions, key references for each chapter section, an annotated guide to further reading, a glossary, refreshed illustrations, case studies and examples, bibliography and full index a new companion website built for this edition providing hyperlinks from contents list to individual chapter summaries which in turn link to key websites and other material an important new chapter on current theory emphasizing the richness of sources of analogy or interpretation available today. This new edition provides students with a sound introduction to the field of archaeology and guides them towards further study.