Archaeological theory today / edited by Ian Hodder.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hodder, Ian.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Archaeology--Philosophy.

Archaeology.

Archaeology--Methodology.

Physical Description:

ix, 347 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; Malden. MA : Polity Press, 2012.

Summary:

Now in a revised and updated second edition, this volume provides an authoritative account of the current status of archaeological theory as presented by some of its major exponents and innovators over recent decades. It summarizes the latest developments in the field and looks to its future, exploring some of the cutting-edge ideas at the forefront of the discipline.

The volume captures the diversity of contemporary archaeological theory. Some authors argue for an approach close to the natural sciences, others for an engagement with cultural debate about representation of the past. Some minimize the relevance of culture to societal change, while others see it as central; some focus on the contingent and the local, others on long-term evolution. While few practitioners in theoretical archaeology would today argue for a unified disciplinary approach, the authors in this volume increasingly see links and convergences between their perspectives.

The volume also reflects archaeology's new openness to external influences, as well as the desire to contribute to wider, debates. The contributors examine ways in which archaeological evidence contributes to theories of evolutionary psychology, as well as to the social sciences in general, where theories of social relationships, agency, landscape, and identity are informed by the long-term perspective of archaeology.

The new edition of Archaeological Theory Today will continue to be essential reading for students and scholars in archaeology and in the social sciences more generally. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : contemporary theoretical debate in archaeology / Ian Hodder

Darwinian cultural evolution / Stephen Shennan

Human behavioral ecology / Douglas W. Bird and James F. O'Connell

Behavioral archaeology / Vincent M. LaMotta

Complex systems and archaeology / Timothy A. Kohler

Towards a cognitive archaeology : material engagement and the early development of society / Colin Renfrew

Agency : a revisionist account / John C. Barrett

Archaeologies of place and landscape / Julian Thomas

Materiality / Carl Knappett

Symmetrical archaeology / Bjørnar Olsen

The social life of heritage / Lynn Meskell

Post-colonial archaeology / Chris Gosden

Archaeology and indigenous collaboration / Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh

Archaeological visualization : early artifact illustration and the birth of the archaeological image / Stephanie Moser.

Notes:

Previous ed.: 2001.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9780745653068

0745653065

9780745653075

0745653073

OCLC:

768071893

Publisher Number:

99947523244