Theory in Archaeology

A World Perspective

Peter J. Ucko

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2005
• Print ISBN:
  9780415514934
  9780415106771
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134843466
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Theory in Archaeology tackles important questions about the diversity in archaeological theory and practice which face the discipline in the 1990s. What is the relationship between theory and practice? How does `World' archaeological theory differ from `European'? Can one be a good practitioner without theory?
This unique book brings together contributors from many different countries and continents to provide the first truly global perspective on archaeological theory. They examine the nature of material culture studies and look at problems of ethnicity, regionalism, and nationality. They consider, too, another fundamental of archaeological inquiry: can our research be objective, or must `the past' always be a relativistic construction?
Theory in Archaeology is an important book whose authors bring together very different perceptions of the past. Its wide scope and interest will attract an international readership among students and academics alike.

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT
• ILLUSTRATIONS
• CONTRIBUTORS
• GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION: ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION IN A WORLD CONTEXT
• CHAPTER ONE: GREAT ZIMBABWE AND THE LOST CITY: THE CULTURAL COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN PAST
• CHAPTER TWO: ‘THE HUN IS A METHODICAL CHAP’: REFLECTIONS ON THE GERMAN TRADITION OF PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
• CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL TRENDS IN INDONESIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
• CHAPTER FOUR: THEORY, PRACTICE AND CRITICISM IN THE HISTORY OF NAMIBIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
• CHAPTER FIVE: EUROPEAN ENCUMBRANCES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELEVANT THEORY IN AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
• CHAPTER SIX: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
• CHAPTER SEVEN: THE ‘ABORIGINALIZATION’ OF AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ABORIGINAL STUDIES TO THE INDIGENOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE DISCIPLINE
• CHAPTER EIGHT: PREHISTORY IN A MULTICULTURAL STATE: A COMMENTARY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANADIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
• CHAPTER NINE: THE SOCIO-POLITICS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN HlSPANIC SOUTH AMERICA
• CHAPTER TEN: MIXED FEATURES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY IN BRAZIL
• CHAPTER ELEVEN: THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF PORTUGUESE ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
• CHAPTER TWELVE: THEORY AND PRACTICE IN IRISH ARCHAEOLOGY
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN: WHO POSSESSES TARA?: POLITICS IN ARCHAEOLOGY IN IRELAND
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY IN JAPAN
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ARCHAEOLOGY AGAINST THE STATE: ROOTS OF INTERNATIONALISM
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ARCHAEOLOGY IN RUSSIA AND ITS IMPACT ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: WHERE ARE WE NOW?: ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY IN THE 1990Ss
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: FRENCH TRADITION AND THE CENTRAL PLACE OF HISTORY IN THE HUMAN SCIENCES: PREAMBLE TO A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ROBINSON CRUSOE AND HIS MAN FRIDAY