European Archaeology as Anthropology : Essays in Memory of Bernard Wailes / Pam J. Crabtree, Peter Bogucki.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bogucki, Peter.

Crabtree, Pam J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prehistoric peoples--Europe.

Prehistoric peoples.

Antiquities, Prehistoric--Europe.

Antiquities, Prehistoric.

Anthropology, Prehistoric--Europe.

Anthropology, Prehistoric.

Social archaeology--Europe.

Social archaeology.

Ethnoarchaeology--Europe.

Ethnoarchaeology.

Europe.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (286 pages) : illustrations, map

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia, Pa. : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Since the days of V. Gordon Childe, the study of the emergence of complex societies has been a central question in anthropological archaeology. However, archaeologists working in the Americanist tradition have drawn most of their models for the emergence of social complexity from research in the Middle East and Latin America. Bernard Wailes was a strong advocate for the importance of later prehistoric and early medieval Europe as an alternative model of sociopolitical evolution and trained generations of American archaeologists now active in European research from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Two centuries of excavation and research in Europe have produced one of the richest bodies of archaeological data anywhere in the world. The abundant data show that technological innovations such as metallurgy appeared very early, but urbanism and state formation are comparatively late developments. Key transformative process such as the spread of agriculture did not happen uniformly but rather at different rates in different regions. The essays in this volume celebrate the legacy of Bernard Wailes by highlighting the contribution of the European archaeological record to our understanding of the emergence of social complexity. They provide case studies in how ancient Europe can inform anthropological archaeology. Not only do they illuminate key research topics, they also invite archaeologists working in other parts of the world to consider comparisons to ancient Europe as they construct models for cultural development for their regions.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures

Tables

Contributors

Introduction: Remembering Bernard Wailes: European Archaeology in North America

1. "Disruptive Technologies" and the Transition to Agriculture in Scandinavia and the British Isles

2. Archaeology and Language: Why Archaeologists Care about the Indo-European Problem

3. Materiality of Performance and Diversity of Practice: Comparing Bronze Age Pits in Southern Bavaria

4. Archaeological Manifestations of Religious Belief in Southern Iberia from the Neolithic to the Iron Age

5. Dún Ailinne: Then and Now

6. Ghosts of Chiefdoms Past: Kings, Complexity, and Resistance at the Edge of European History

7. Socioeconomic Change in Early Medieval Ireland: Agricultural Innovation, Population Growth, and Human Health

8. Ceremonial Complexity: The Roles of Religious Settlements in Medieval Ireland

9. New Archaeology from Old Coins: Antioch Re-examined

10. State Formation in Anglo-Saxon England

Conclusion: European Archaeology in North America.

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed Apr. 18, 2017)

Title from PDF title page (viewed 6/19/18).

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781934536902

1934536903

OCLC:

1002252291