Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology

Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology PDF Author: Joana Alves-Ferreira
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443878979
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Although comparative exercises are used or applied both explicitly and implicitly in a large number of archaeological publications, they are often uncritically taken for granted. As such, the authors of this book reflect on comparison as a core theme in archaeology from different perspectives, and different theoretical and practical backgrounds. The contributors come from different universities and research contexts, and approach themes and objects from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages, presenting case studies from Western Europe, the Near East and Latin America. The chapters here also relate archaeology with other disciplines, like art studies, photography, cinema, computer sciences and anthropology, and will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not only archaeologists and those interested in the area of social sciences, but for all those interested in how we construct the past today.

Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology

Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology PDF Author: Joana Alves-Ferreira
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443878979
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although comparative exercises are used or applied both explicitly and implicitly in a large number of archaeological publications, they are often uncritically taken for granted. As such, the authors of this book reflect on comparison as a core theme in archaeology from different perspectives, and different theoretical and practical backgrounds. The contributors come from different universities and research contexts, and approach themes and objects from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages, presenting case studies from Western Europe, the Near East and Latin America. The chapters here also relate archaeology with other disciplines, like art studies, photography, cinema, computer sciences and anthropology, and will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not only archaeologists and those interested in the area of social sciences, but for all those interested in how we construct the past today.

Rethinking Colonialism

Rethinking Colonialism PDF Author: Craig N. Cipolla
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 081306533X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Historical archaeology studies once relied upon a binary view of colonialism: colonizers and colonized, the colonial period and the postcolonial period. The contributors to this volume scrutinize imperialism and expansionism through an alternative lens that rejects simple dualities and explores the variously gendered, racialized, and occupied peoples of a multitude of faiths, desires, associations, and constraints. Colonialism is not a phase in the chronology of a people but a continuous phenomenon that spans the Old and New Worlds. Most important, the contributors argue that its impacts—and, in some instances, even the same processes set in place by the likes of Columbus—are ongoing. Inciting a critical examination of the lasting consequences of ancient and modern colonialism on descendant communities, this wide-ranging volume includes essays on Roman Britain, slavery in Brazil, and contemporary Native Americans. In its efforts to define the scope of colonialism and the comparability of its features, this collection challenges the field to go beyond familiar geographical and historical boundaries and draws attention to unfolding colonial futures.

Labyrinth Revisited

Labyrinth Revisited PDF Author: Yannis Hamilakis
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
`Minoan' Crete is one of the most intensively investigated archaeological cultures in the world, and one that has often captured the public imagination. It is a Bronze Age Aegean society, but it has been intimately connected with the Classical Greek myth of King Minos and his Labyrinth since Sir Arthur Evans excavated and restored (some would say `rebuilt') the important site of Knossos, more than a century ago. Yet many archaeological interpretations of this fascinating culture are still largely traditional in focus and often anachronistic. This collection of papers, challenging and re-examining many conventional and established versions of 'Minoan' history is thus long overdue. How have modern preconceptions and socio-political developments shaped archaeological interpretations of 'Minoan' society? What were the gender roles and attitudes of the inhabitants of Bronze Age Crete? How can data such as the puzzling architecture, the stunning wall-paintings, the elaborate and abundant pots, the landscape and the way it is perceived by humans, help us understand the nature and the negotiations of power and the role of the so-called palaces? These are some of the questions that this book addresses, considering 'Minoan' archaeology from a variety of interpretive angles, and situating 'Minoan' archaeology in the mainstream of archaeological thinking and practice.

An Archaeology of the Cosmos

An Archaeology of the Cosmos PDF Author: Timothy R. Pauketat
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415521289
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
An Archaeology of the Cosmos seeks answers to two fundamental questions of humanity and human history. The first question concerns that which some use as a defining element of humanity: religious beliefs. Why do so many people believe in supreme beings and holy spirits? The second question concerns changes in those beliefs. What causes beliefs to change? Using archaeological evidence gathered from ancient America, especially case material from the Great Plains and the pre-Columbian American Indian city of Cahokia, Timothy Pauketat explores the logical consequences of these two fundamental questions. Religious beliefs are not more resilient than other aspects of culture and society, and people are not the only causes of historical change. An Archaeology of the Cosmos examines the intimate association of agency and religion by studying how relationships between people, places, and things were bundled together and positioned in ways that constituted the fields of human experience. This rethinking theories of agency and religion provides readers with challenging and thought provoking conclusions that will lead them to reassess the way they approach the past.

Comparison in Anthropology

Comparison in Anthropology PDF Author: Matei Candea
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108474608
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407

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Book Description
Presents a systematic rethinking of the power and limits of comparison in anthropology.

Rethinking the Ancient Druids

Rethinking the Ancient Druids PDF Author: Miranda Aldhouse-Green
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1786837986
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Ancient Classical authors have painted the Druids in a bad light, defining them as a barbaric priesthood, who 2,000 years ago perpetrated savage and blood rites in ancient Britain and Gaul in the name of their gods. Archaeology tells a different and more complicated story of this enigmatic priesthood, a theocracy with immense political and sacred power. This book explores the tangible ‘footprint’ the Druids have left behind: in sacred spaces, art, ritual equipment, images of the gods, strange burial rites and human sacrifice. Their material culture indicates how close was the relationship between Druids and the spirit-world, which evidence suggests they accessed through drug-induced trance.

Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces

Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces PDF Author: Michael L. Galaty
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
Eleven anthropological contributions aim to define more accurately the term "palace" in light of both recent archaeological research in the Aegean and current anthropological thinking on the structure and origin of early states. Arguing that regional centers interacted with more extensive sociopolitical systems, the authors claim that the concept of palace must be made more in tune with a model which more completely integrates palaces with their networks of regional settlement and economy.

Rethinking Case Study Research

Rethinking Case Study Research PDF Author: Lesley Bartlett
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317380517
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
Comparative case studies are an effective qualitative tool for researching the impact of policy and practice in various fields of social research, including education. Developed in response to the inadequacy of traditional case study approaches, comparative case studies are highly effective because of their ability to synthesize information across time and space. In Rethinking Case Study Research: A Comparative Approach, the authors describe, explain, and illustrate the horizontal, vertical, and transversal axes of comparative case studies in order to help readers develop their own comparative case study research designs. In six concise chapters, two experts employ geographically distinct case studies—from Tanzania to Guatemala to the U.S.—to show how this innovative approach applies to the operation of policy and practice across multiple social fields. With examples and activities from anthropology, development studies, and policy studies, this volume is written for researchers, especially graduate students, in the fields of education and the interpretive social sciences.

Diversity in Archaeology

Diversity in Archaeology PDF Author: Elifgül Doğan
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1803272821
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
30 papers explore a wide range of topics such as women’s voices in archaeological discourse; researching race and ethnicity across time; use of diversified science methods in archaeology; critical ethnographic studies; diversity in the archaeology of death, heritage studies, and archaeology of ‘scapes’.

The Comparative Archaeology of Complex Societies

The Comparative Archaeology of Complex Societies PDF Author: Michael E. Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139502034
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
Part of a resurgence in the comparative study of ancient societies, this book presents a variety of methods and approaches to comparative analysis through the examination of wide-ranging case studies. Each chapter is a comparative study, and the diverse topics and regions covered in the book contribute to the growing understanding of variation and change in ancient complex societies. The authors explore themes ranging from urbanization and settlement patterns, to the political strategies of kings and chiefs, to the economic choices of individuals and households. The case studies cover an array of geographical settings, from the Andes to Southeast Asia. The authors are leading archaeologists whose research on early empires, states, and chiefdoms is at the cutting edge of scientific archaeology.