Archaeological Theory: Who Sets the Agenda? (New Directions in Archaeology)

Since the l960s, archaeology has become increasingly taught in universities and practiced on a growing scale by national and local heritage agencies throughout the world. This book addresses the criticisms of postmodernist writers about archaeology's social role, and asserts its intellectual importance and achievements in discovering real facts about the human past. It looks forward to the creation of a truly global consciousness of the origins of human societies and civilizations. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 List of figures......Page 9 List of contributors......Page 10 Introduction: the sources of archaeological theory......Page 12 PART I - THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY......Page 22 1 - Limits to a post--processual archaeology (or, The dangers of a new scholasticism)......Page 24 2 - A proliferation of new archaeologies: "Beyond objectivism and relativism"......Page 31 3 - Ambition, deference, discrepancy, consumption: the intellectual background to a post--processual archaeology......Page 38 PART II - ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY FROM THE PALAEOLITHIC TO THE STATE......Page 48 4 - Ancestors and agendas......Page 50 5 - After social evolution: a new archaeological agenda?......Page 64 6 - Too many chiefs? (or, Safe texts for the '90s)......Page 71 PART III - CASE STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE......Page 90 7 - When is a symbol archaeologically meaningful?: meaning, function, and prehistoric visual arts......Page 92 8 - Re--fitting the "cracked and broken façade": the case for empiricism in post--processual ethnoarchaeology......Page 104 9 - Communication and the importance of disciplinary communities: who owns the past?......Page 116 PART IV - EPILOGUE......Page 128 10 - The relativity of theory......Page 130 11 - Archaeology: the loss of nerve......Page 142 Index......Page 145 This volume assesses the real achievements of archaeology in increasing an understanding of the past. Without rejecting the insights either of traditional or more recent approaches, it considers the issues raised in current claims and controversies about what is appropriate theory for archaeology. The first section looks at the process of theory building and at the sources of the ideas employed. The following studies examine questions such as the interplay between expectation and evidence in ideas of human origins, social role and material practice in the formation of the archaeological record, and how the rise of states should be conceptualised; further papers cover issues of ethnoarchaeology, visual symbols, and conflicting claims to ownership of the past. The conclusion is that archaeologists need to be equally wary of naive positivism in the guise of scientific procedure, and of speculation about the unrecorded intentions of prehistoric actors Since the 1960s, archaeology has become increasingly taught in universities and practiced on a growing scale by national and local heritage agencies throughout the world. This book addresses the criticisms of postmodernist writers about archaeology's social role, and asserts its intellectual importance and achievements in discovering real facts about the human past. It looks forward to the creation of a truly global consciousness of the origins of human societies and civilizations Post-processual archaeology is an amorphous phenomenon; it assumes many different shapes and forms, deriving inspiration from fields as diverse as contemporary literary criticism, women's studies, and human geography.