Funari / Zarankin / Stovel Global Archaeological Theory

Contextual Voices and Contemporary Thoughts
1. Auflage 2006
ISBN: 978-0-306-48652-4
Verlag: Springer US
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 380 Seiten

Archaeological theory has gone through a great upheaval in the last 50 years - from the processual theory, which wanted to make archaeology more 'scientific' to post-processual theory, which understands that interpreting human behavior (even of past cultures) is a subjective study. This subjective approach incorporates a plurality of readings, thereby implying that different interpretations are always possible, allowing us to modify and change our ideas under the light of new information and/or interpretive frameworks. In this way, interpretations form a continuous flow of transformation and change, and thus archaeologists do not uncover a real past but rather construct a historical past or a narrative of the past. Post-processual theory also incorporates a conscious and explicit political interest on the past of the scholar and the subject. This includes fields and topics such as gender issues, ethnicity, class, landscapes, and consumption. This reflects a conscious attempt to also decentralize the discipline, from an imperialist point of view to an empowering one. Method and theory also means being politically aware and engaged to incorporate diverse critical approaches to improve understanding of the past and the present. This book focuses on the fundamental theoretical issues found in the discipline and thus both engages and represents the very rich plurality of the post-processual approach to archaeology. The book is divided into four sections: Issues in Archaeological Theory, Archaeological Theory and Method in Action, Space and Power in Material Culture, and Images as Material Discourse.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zarankin, Andrés

Stovel, Emily

Funari, Pedro Paulo

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents;5
2;Global Archaeological Theory;8
3;Materiality and the Social;17
4;Archaeology and the Meanings of Material Culture;25
5;Why Is There Material Culture Rather than Nothing?;34
6;What Conditions of Existence Sustain a;48
7;Tension Found in the Use of Written and Material Documents in Archaeology?;48
8;The Reception of New Archaeology in Argentina;64
9;Network Theory and the Archaeology of Modern History;82
10;The Comparative Method in Archaeology and the Study of Spanish and Portuguese South American Materia lCulture;101
11;Bodies in Prehistory;111
12;Children’s Activity in the Production of the Archaeological Record of Hunter- Gatherers;125
13;The Archaeology of Identity Construction;148
14;Rethinking Stereotypes and the History of;170
15;Research on Je ˆ Populations in South Brazil;170
16;Traveling Objects and Spatial Images;194
17;The Materiality of Inka Domination;214
18;Walls of Domestication — Archaeology of the Architecture of Capitalist Elementary Public Schools;239
19;Enlightened Discourses, Representations, and Social Practices in the Spanish Settlement of Floridablanca, Patagonia 18th Century;267
20;Stylistic Units in Prehistoric Art Research;284
21;Water and Olive Oil;298
22;Between Motorcycles and Rifles;310
23;Footsteps of the American Race;338
24;Brazilian Archaeology;353
25;Discussion;364
26;Index;370