Theory in Archaeology PDF Download

Author: Peter J. Ucko
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113484347X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 413

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Book Description
A unique volume that brings together contributors from all over the world to provide the first truly global perspective on archaeological theory, and tackle the crucial questions facing archaeology in the 1990s. Can one practice without theory?

Author: Matthew Johnson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444360418
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Archaeological Theory, 2nd Edition is the most current and comprehensive introduction to the field available. Thoroughly revised and updated, this engaging text offers students an ideal entry point to the major concepts and ongoing debates in archaeological research. New edition of a popular introductory text that explores the increasing diversity of approaches to archaeological theory Features more extended coverage of 'traditional' or culture-historical archaeology Examines theory across the English-speaking world and beyond Offers greatly expanded coverage of evolutionary theory, divided into sociocultural and Darwinist approaches Includes an expanded glossary, bibliography, and useful suggestions for further readings

Author: John L. Bintliff
Publisher: Oxbow Insights in Archaeology
ISBN: 9781842174463
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Death of Archaeological Theory? addresses the provocative subject of whether it is time to discount the burden of somewhat dogmatic theory and ideology that has defined archaeological debate and shaped archaeology over the last 25 years. Seven chapters meet this controversial subject head on, also assessing where archaeological theory is now, and future directions. John Bintliff questions what theory is and argues that archaeologists should be freed from 'Ideopraxists', or those who preach that a single approach or model is right to the exclusion of all others. Marc Pluciennik again questions what we mean by archaeological theory and argues that the role of intellectual fashion is underestimated. He predicts pressure from outside archaeology to redirect our dominant theories towards genetic and human impact theory. Kristian Kristiansen argues that theory cannot die, but it can change direction and sees signs of a retreat from the present postmodern and postprocessual cycle towards a more science based, rationalistic cycle of revived modernity. To Mark Pearce the most striking thing about the present state of archaeological theory is that there is no emerging paradigm to be discerned; he proposes that Theory is not dead, but has instead become more eclectic and nuanced. Two papers offer a different perspective from other areas of the world; Alexander Gramsch examines the issue from the German tradition and shows that in Central and Eastern Europe not only has Anglo-American Theory had limited impact, but current discussions on the future of method and theory offer a broader view of the discipline in which older traditions are seen to form the foundation. Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus demonstrate that American archaeologists do not foresee the death of a genuinely archaeological theory (which they believe has never existed) but fear the real catastrophe would be the death of anthropological theory, because some anthropology today has become decidedly antiscientific, rejecting not only the controlled comparison and contrast of cultures, but also the use of generalization, both of which are crucial to theories and models and without which the longue durée will always be invisible.

Author: Ian Hodder
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134797338
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 499

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Book Description
In this latest collection of his articles, of which seven are written especially for this volume, Ian Hodder captures and continues the lively controversy of the 1980s over symbolic and structural approaches to archaeology. The book acts as an overview of the developments in the discipline over the last decade; yet Hodder's brief is far wider. His aim is to break down the division between the intellectual and the "dirt" archaeologist to demonstrate that in this discipline more than any other, theory must be related to practice to save effectively our rapidly diminishing heritage.

Author: K. R. Dark
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
ISBN: 9780715626702
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Archaeology uses material data to study the past, but material remains are unable to speak for themselves. They need to be interpreted. All archaeology depends upon the logical framework used to understand data: the theory which underlies interpretation. Yet archaeological theory often seems inaccessible or even irrelevant, wrapped up in jargon and filled with obscure allusions. Written especially for those with no previous knowledge of theory, this book aims to introduce the subject in a way which is both readable and which shows its relevance, and without a specific theoretical stance. The range of theoretical views on some of the themes and problems most often encountered in archaeology is outlined, introducing a wide variety of concepts and approaches equally relevant to the professional or amateur archaeologist, student, or non-specialist reader of archaeological work.

Author: Andrew Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139432044
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Is archaeology an art or a science? This question has been hotly debated over the last few decades with the rise of archaeological science. At the same time, archaeologists have seen a change in the intellectual character of their discipline, as many writers have adopted approaches influenced by social theory. The discipline now encompasses both archaeological scientists and archaeological theorists, and discussion regarding the status of archaeology remains polarised. In this 2001 book, Andrew Jones argues that we need to analyse the practice of archaeology. Through an analysis of archaeological practice, influenced by recent developments in the field of science studies, and with the aid of extensive case studies, he develops a new framework which allows the interpretative and methodological components of the discipline to work in tandem. His reassessment of the status and character of archaeology will be of interest to students, scholars and professionals.

Author: Robert W. Preucel
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444358510
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 665

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Book Description
The second edition of Contemporary Archaeology in Theory: The New Pragmatism, has been thoroughly updated and revised, and features top scholars who redefine the theoretical and political agendas of the field, and challenge the usual distinctions between time, space, processes, and people. Defines the relevance of archaeology and the social sciences more generally to the modern world Challenges the traditional boundaries between prehistoric and historical archaeologies Discusses how archaeology articulates such contemporary topics and issues as landscape and natures; agency, meaning and practice; sexuality, embodiment and personhood; race, class, and ethnicity; materiality, memory, and historical silence; colonialism, nationalism, and empire; heritage, patrimony, and social justice; media, museums, and publics Examines the influence of American pragmatism on archaeology Offers 32 new chapters by leading archaeologists and cultural anthropologists

Author: Nadia Durrani
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000505243
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
A Brief History of Archaeology details early digs and covers the development of archaeology as a multidisciplinary science, the modernization of meticulous excavation methods during the twentieth century, and the important discoveries that led to new ideas about the evolution of human societies. Spanning more than two thousand years of history, this short account of the discipline of archaeology tells of spectacular discoveries and the colorful lives of the archaeologists who made them, as well as of changing theories and current debates in the field. Early research at Stonehenge in Britain, burial mound excavations, and the exploration of Herculaneum and Pompeii culminate in the nineteenth-century debates over human antiquity and the theory of evolution. The book then moves on to the discovery of the world’s pre-industrial civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Central America; the excavations at Troy and Mycenae; the Royal Burials at Ur, Iraq; and the dramatic finding of the pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. The book concludes by considering recent sensational discoveries and exploring the debates over processual and post-processual theory that have intrigued archaeologists in the early twenty-first century. The third edition updates this respected introduction to one of the science’s most fascinating disciplines. A Brief History of Archaeology is a vivid narrative that will engage readers who are new to the discipline, drawing on the authors’ extensive experience in the field and classroom.

Author: Adrian Praetzellis
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 0759119597
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
This thoroughly updated version of an archaeological classic, featuring the fictional archaeologist Hannah Green and her shovelbum nephew, allows students to learn the basics of archaeological theory while puzzling out a mysterious turn of events.

Author: Deborah L. Nichols
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199996342
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 996

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Book Description
The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology. The first section of the Handbook provides an overview of recent history and trends of Mesoamerica and articles on national archaeology programs and practice in Central America and Mexico written by archaeologists from these countries. These are followed by regional syntheses organized by time period, beginning with early hunter-gatherer societies and the first farmers of Mesoamerica and concluding with a discussion of the Spanish Conquest and frontiers and peripheries of Mesoamerica. Topical and comparative articles comprise the remainder of Handbook. They cover important dimensions of prehispanic societies--from ecology, economy, and environment to social and political relations--and discuss significant methodological contributions, such as geo-chemical source studies, as well as new theories and diverse theoretical perspectives. The Handbook concludes with a section on the archaeology of the Spanish conquest and the Colonial and Republican periods to connect the prehispanic, proto-historic, and historic periods. This volume will be a must-read for students and professional archaeologists, as well as other scholars including historians, art historians, geographers, and ethnographers with an interest in Mesoamerica.