The archaeology workbook / Steve Daniels & Nicholas David.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Daniels, Steve.

Contributor:

David, Nicholas, 1937-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Archaeology--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Archaeology.

Genre:

Handbooks and manuals.

Physical Description:

xii, 116 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

Summary:

It has been difficult to acquire a realistic introduction to problems of analysis and interpretation in archaeology, since literature on most topics is scattered in a variety of monographs and specialized journals. The Archaeology Workbook fills a significant gap in the training of archaeologists by supplying a set of inventive, often witty, fictionalized problems in archaeological research.

Following a preface for instructors and an introduction offering students some basic concepts and practical advice, thirteen problems are presented as a suite of exercises geared to a semester's length. The first problem includes a student's sample answer and an instructor's commentary. The remaining twelve problems stand alone. Directed not to the discovery of a unique "right" answer, they are instead designed to provoke intelligent inquiry and analysis. The seriation of pottery from "Petristan" reveals the effects of time, space, and other variables as well as problems of the method. A variety of modes of production and exchange influences the distributions of artifact types in the "Sierra de la Serenidad." The "Lon Gon" bronzes are a source of controversy in the world of art history. Ethnicity, age, sex, craft, and social status are all expressed in the cemetery of "Bilj." The archaeology of "New Frisia" complements the Europocentric historical record by revealing the contrasting impacts of early Spanish and Dutch colonists on the indigenous American Indian population. Several problems involve the use of stratigraphic, typological, locational, palaeontological, and other evidence in the construction of outline culture histories. While each problem is set in an imaginary region of the world, the data conform fairly closely to actual developments in their respective areas. Knowledge of neither world prehistory nor statistics is required to use the Workbook.

Innovative and delightfully written, The Archaeology Workbook may be used by itself or in conjunction with any standard textbook. Teachers of archaeology will find this a welcome means of enhancing their courses with exercises in analysis and data integration over a wide variety of cultural settings.

Contents:

1 Falasia (Southern Africa) 12

A Student's Answer with Instructor's Comments 18

An Instructor's Answer with Comments 21

2 The Hacienda Plain (Mesoamerica) 29

3 The Island of Coolay (North Atlantic Ocean) 33

4 The Kara Kavan (Central Asia) 38

5 Petristan (India) 43

6 The Sierra de la Serenidad Complex (South America) 48

7 The Adrar Abu (Sahara Desert) 55

8 The Pitts River Basin and the Wulliweela Range 63

9 Uhuru (East Africa) 70

10 The Lon Gon Bronzes (Southeast Asia) 79

11 The Kurgans of Nalevo (Southern USSR) 88

12 The Cemetery of Bilj (Balkan Europe) 98

13 Indians and Europeans in Early Colonial New Frisia (USA) 105.

ISBN:

0812211251

OCLC:

8033385