Bernard A. Knapp
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199237371
- eISBN:
- 9780191717208
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199237371.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The search for culturally bound artefacts, architecture, and other aspects of material culture reveals little about the lives, mindsets, identities, or social concerns of prehistoric or historical ...
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The search for culturally bound artefacts, architecture, and other aspects of material culture reveals little about the lives, mindsets, identities, or social concerns of prehistoric or historical people. This chapter discusses at length the various theoretical issues that firstly provide a framework for a social interpretation of the archaeological and documentary evidence, and secondly form central themes in the book. The issues in question are: island archaeology/history, insularity, connectivity, islandscapes, islanders' social identity, ethnicity, habitus, migration, acculturation, and hybridization. Each is defined straightforwardly and then treated, first, from a general, social science perspective, and second by considering how it has been applied, or misapplied, in the field of archaeology. Numerous archaeological examples from around the world are provided to elaborate and exemplify the discussion of each issue, and to evaluate their usefulness in attempting to understand better the Mediterranean archaeological record.Less
The search for culturally bound artefacts, architecture, and other aspects of material culture reveals little about the lives, mindsets, identities, or social concerns of prehistoric or historical people. This chapter discusses at length the various theoretical issues that firstly provide a framework for a social interpretation of the archaeological and documentary evidence, and secondly form central themes in the book. The issues in question are: island archaeology/history, insularity, connectivity, islandscapes, islanders' social identity, ethnicity, habitus, migration, acculturation, and hybridization. Each is defined straightforwardly and then treated, first, from a general, social science perspective, and second by considering how it has been applied, or misapplied, in the field of archaeology. Numerous archaeological examples from around the world are provided to elaborate and exemplify the discussion of each issue, and to evaluate their usefulness in attempting to understand better the Mediterranean archaeological record.
Nathan Richards
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813032573
- eISBN:
- 9780813039541
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813032573.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology
This chapter outlines the theories about abandonment that are used in this study. It also extends an argument that endorses the benefits of comparative approaches to the remains of watercraft, with ...
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This chapter outlines the theories about abandonment that are used in this study. It also extends an argument that endorses the benefits of comparative approaches to the remains of watercraft, with specific reference to site formation processes and the systematic analysis of discard activities.Less
This chapter outlines the theories about abandonment that are used in this study. It also extends an argument that endorses the benefits of comparative approaches to the remains of watercraft, with specific reference to site formation processes and the systematic analysis of discard activities.
Mary C. Beaudry
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061559
- eISBN:
- 9780813051468
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061559.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
In chapter 1, Beaudry explores how household archaeology has grown into a vibrant area of archaeological research and provides an overview of the history of household archaeology, its major themes, ...
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In chapter 1, Beaudry explores how household archaeology has grown into a vibrant area of archaeological research and provides an overview of the history of household archaeology, its major themes, theoretical approaches, and emerging trends. More than the study of architecture, household archaeology provides an avenue through which scholars may address issues of gender, power, and inequality in different societies. Beaudry points out that these themes can be addressed by employing practice theory to investigate the object worlds that households create, the material habitus that develops within particular households, and the ways in which objects in those worlds affect household members’ identity and self-presentation within and beyond the household. Beaudry suggests that archaeological theory focusing on refuse and midden analysis is key for comprehending the emotional taphonomy of discard and its relationship to episodes of household upheaval. She sees the case studies in this volume as contributions to a historical archaeology of households that affords insight into the ways that individual households are enmeshed in wider social issues and processes.Less
In chapter 1, Beaudry explores how household archaeology has grown into a vibrant area of archaeological research and provides an overview of the history of household archaeology, its major themes, theoretical approaches, and emerging trends. More than the study of architecture, household archaeology provides an avenue through which scholars may address issues of gender, power, and inequality in different societies. Beaudry points out that these themes can be addressed by employing practice theory to investigate the object worlds that households create, the material habitus that develops within particular households, and the ways in which objects in those worlds affect household members’ identity and self-presentation within and beyond the household. Beaudry suggests that archaeological theory focusing on refuse and midden analysis is key for comprehending the emotional taphonomy of discard and its relationship to episodes of household upheaval. She sees the case studies in this volume as contributions to a historical archaeology of households that affords insight into the ways that individual households are enmeshed in wider social issues and processes.
Bjørnar Olsen, Michael Shanks, Timothy Webmoor, and Christopher Witmore
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520274167
- eISBN:
- 9780520954007
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274167.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The “science of old things,” archaeology is marked by its care, obligation, and loyalty to things, from ancient cities in the Mexican heartland and megalithic monuments in Britain to the perfume jars ...
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The “science of old things,” archaeology is marked by its care, obligation, and loyalty to things, from ancient cities in the Mexican heartland and megalithic monuments in Britain to the perfume jars of the ancient Greek city-state and Leica cameras. This book seeks to understand the diverse practices that arise through this disciplinary commitment to things.Less
The “science of old things,” archaeology is marked by its care, obligation, and loyalty to things, from ancient cities in the Mexican heartland and megalithic monuments in Britain to the perfume jars of the ancient Greek city-state and Leica cameras. This book seeks to understand the diverse practices that arise through this disciplinary commitment to things.
Cynthia Robin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044996
- eISBN:
- 9780813046730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044996.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This introductory chapter establishes the importance of understanding everyday life. It considers why everyday life has traditionally been considered a mundane and trivial domain. It then elaborates ...
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This introductory chapter establishes the importance of understanding everyday life. It considers why everyday life has traditionally been considered a mundane and trivial domain. It then elaborates upon the potentially complex, active, and productive nature of everyday life and the critical role that everyday life can play in furthering our understanding of organization, power, and change in human societies. It also introduces the Chan site, the ancient Maya farming community in Belize, that forms the core case study for this book.Less
This introductory chapter establishes the importance of understanding everyday life. It considers why everyday life has traditionally been considered a mundane and trivial domain. It then elaborates upon the potentially complex, active, and productive nature of everyday life and the critical role that everyday life can play in furthering our understanding of organization, power, and change in human societies. It also introduces the Chan site, the ancient Maya farming community in Belize, that forms the core case study for this book.
Cynthia Robin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044996
- eISBN:
- 9780813046730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044996.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Chapter 3 explores how archaeologists through the study of the materials and spaces of everyday life have furthered broader discussions of everyday life. It examines the intersecting dimensions of ...
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Chapter 3 explores how archaeologists through the study of the materials and spaces of everyday life have furthered broader discussions of everyday life. It examines the intersecting dimensions of household, space, gender, and historical archaeology research in archaeology. Household archaeology draws attention to how past peoples organized and made meaningful their domestic spaces. Space, place, and landscape research expands this agenda to understand how all living spaces are meaningfully constructed and experienced by people across their daily lives. Feminist and gender archaeology have drawn explicit attention to the importance of incorporating all social groups into archaeological analyses--not just different genders, but different class, ethnic, and age groups. By studying the material remains of past societies that also produce historical records, historic archaeology draws particular attention to the material dimensions of past everyday life.Less
Chapter 3 explores how archaeologists through the study of the materials and spaces of everyday life have furthered broader discussions of everyday life. It examines the intersecting dimensions of household, space, gender, and historical archaeology research in archaeology. Household archaeology draws attention to how past peoples organized and made meaningful their domestic spaces. Space, place, and landscape research expands this agenda to understand how all living spaces are meaningfully constructed and experienced by people across their daily lives. Feminist and gender archaeology have drawn explicit attention to the importance of incorporating all social groups into archaeological analyses--not just different genders, but different class, ethnic, and age groups. By studying the material remains of past societies that also produce historical records, historic archaeology draws particular attention to the material dimensions of past everyday life.
Karina Croucher
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199693955
- eISBN:
- 9780191804847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199693955.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter discusses some of the theoretical means by which the evidence is approached with regards to the mortuary practices of the Neolithic Near East. It first provides a brief history of ...
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This chapter discusses some of the theoretical means by which the evidence is approached with regards to the mortuary practices of the Neolithic Near East. It first provides a brief history of archaeological theory, specifically in relation to mortuary archaeology, with particular emphasis on the main theoretical trends in archaeological practice such as culture-history, New Archaeology, processualism and post-processualism, as well as the impact of these theoretical approaches on the study of the Neolithic Near East. It then turns to an analysis of mortuary practices in the Near East.Less
This chapter discusses some of the theoretical means by which the evidence is approached with regards to the mortuary practices of the Neolithic Near East. It first provides a brief history of archaeological theory, specifically in relation to mortuary archaeology, with particular emphasis on the main theoretical trends in archaeological practice such as culture-history, New Archaeology, processualism and post-processualism, as well as the impact of these theoretical approaches on the study of the Neolithic Near East. It then turns to an analysis of mortuary practices in the Near East.
Cynthia Robin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044996
- eISBN:
- 9780813046730
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044996.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This book is about everyday life and why it matters. Both today and in the past, the things people do in their daily lives are not as mundane as they first appear. They can be quite extraordinary and ...
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This book is about everyday life and why it matters. Both today and in the past, the things people do in their daily lives are not as mundane as they first appear. They can be quite extraordinary and they have an effect on society. Archaeology’s attention to the material and spatial dimensions of everyday life make it well suited to contribute to broader studies of everyday life. Bridging archaeology and social theory Everyday Life Matters develops theories and methods for a critical analysis of everyday life in the past through the study of the ordinary events of prehistory. In the study of the world’s ancient civilizations, temples and tombs are traditional research foci, but a substantial part of the archaeological record comprises what people did on a day-to-day basis. The book draws upon the author’s archaeological research on the 2000-year history (800 B.C. – A.D. 1200) of the ancient Maya farming community of Chan in Belize. By using an ancient farming community as its case study, this book is also about ordinary people and the importance of their everyday lives. While nearby Maya cities rose and fell, Chan’s farmers developed socially and environmentally sustainable practices that allowed their community to endure. Everyday Life Matters argues that prehistory’s most important lessons about human societies and the importance of social and economic sustainability may be learned from studying everyday life at a seemingly unremarkable place such as Chan.Less
This book is about everyday life and why it matters. Both today and in the past, the things people do in their daily lives are not as mundane as they first appear. They can be quite extraordinary and they have an effect on society. Archaeology’s attention to the material and spatial dimensions of everyday life make it well suited to contribute to broader studies of everyday life. Bridging archaeology and social theory Everyday Life Matters develops theories and methods for a critical analysis of everyday life in the past through the study of the ordinary events of prehistory. In the study of the world’s ancient civilizations, temples and tombs are traditional research foci, but a substantial part of the archaeological record comprises what people did on a day-to-day basis. The book draws upon the author’s archaeological research on the 2000-year history (800 B.C. – A.D. 1200) of the ancient Maya farming community of Chan in Belize. By using an ancient farming community as its case study, this book is also about ordinary people and the importance of their everyday lives. While nearby Maya cities rose and fell, Chan’s farmers developed socially and environmentally sustainable practices that allowed their community to endure. Everyday Life Matters argues that prehistory’s most important lessons about human societies and the importance of social and economic sustainability may be learned from studying everyday life at a seemingly unremarkable place such as Chan.
Silvia Tomášková
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520275317
- eISBN:
- 9780520955318
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520275317.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
Wayward Shamans tells the story of an idea—the idea that humanity’s first expression of art, religion, and creativity found form in the figure of a proto-priest known as a shaman. Tracing this ...
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Wayward Shamans tells the story of an idea—the idea that humanity’s first expression of art, religion, and creativity found form in the figure of a proto-priest known as a shaman. Tracing this classic category of the history of anthropology back to the emergence of the term in Siberia, the book follows the trajectory of European knowledge about the continent’s eastern frontier. The ethnographic record left by German natural historians engaged in Russian colonial expansion in the eighteenth century includes a range of shamanic practitioners, varied by gender and age. Later accounts by exiled Russian revolutionaries noted transgendered shamans. All this variation vanished, however, in the translation of shamanism into archaeology theory, where a male sorcerer emerged as the key agent of prehistoric art. More recent efforts to provide a universal shamanic explanation for rock art via South Africa and neurobiology likewise gloss over historical evidence of diversity. By contrast, this book argues for recognizing indeterminacy in the categories we use and for reopening them by recalling their complex history.Less
Wayward Shamans tells the story of an idea—the idea that humanity’s first expression of art, religion, and creativity found form in the figure of a proto-priest known as a shaman. Tracing this classic category of the history of anthropology back to the emergence of the term in Siberia, the book follows the trajectory of European knowledge about the continent’s eastern frontier. The ethnographic record left by German natural historians engaged in Russian colonial expansion in the eighteenth century includes a range of shamanic practitioners, varied by gender and age. Later accounts by exiled Russian revolutionaries noted transgendered shamans. All this variation vanished, however, in the translation of shamanism into archaeology theory, where a male sorcerer emerged as the key agent of prehistoric art. More recent efforts to provide a universal shamanic explanation for rock art via South Africa and neurobiology likewise gloss over historical evidence of diversity. By contrast, this book argues for recognizing indeterminacy in the categories we use and for reopening them by recalling their complex history.
Cynthia Robin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044996
- eISBN:
- 9780813046730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044996.003.0002
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Chapter 2 explores the social theoretical literature on the everyday, an explicitly eclectic and polyglot group of theoreticians who draw from a wide range of theoretical perspectives such as ...
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Chapter 2 explores the social theoretical literature on the everyday, an explicitly eclectic and polyglot group of theoreticians who draw from a wide range of theoretical perspectives such as Marxism, phenomenology, feminist theory, developmental biology, critical theory, and subaltern studies, among others, but without a dogmatic alliance to a particular theoretical perspective. Loosely speaking, these scholars can be seen as working through ideas put forward by pioneering everyday life thinkers Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau and include Mikhail Baktin, Pierre Bourdieu, Fernand Braudel, André Breton, Sigmund Freud, Michael Gardiner, Erving Goffman, Agnes Heller, Ben Highmore, Tim Ingold, Alice Kaplan, Alf Lüdtke, Daniel Miller, Kristin Ross, James Scott, Hans Medick, Michael Sheringham, Dorothy Smith, Raymond Williams, and Susan Willis, among others. Many of the most prominent social theorists discussed in contemporary thought are missing from this list, and this is intentional. Everyday life scholarship highlights the overlooked, not just in human life, but also in the scholarly literature.Less
Chapter 2 explores the social theoretical literature on the everyday, an explicitly eclectic and polyglot group of theoreticians who draw from a wide range of theoretical perspectives such as Marxism, phenomenology, feminist theory, developmental biology, critical theory, and subaltern studies, among others, but without a dogmatic alliance to a particular theoretical perspective. Loosely speaking, these scholars can be seen as working through ideas put forward by pioneering everyday life thinkers Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau and include Mikhail Baktin, Pierre Bourdieu, Fernand Braudel, André Breton, Sigmund Freud, Michael Gardiner, Erving Goffman, Agnes Heller, Ben Highmore, Tim Ingold, Alice Kaplan, Alf Lüdtke, Daniel Miller, Kristin Ross, James Scott, Hans Medick, Michael Sheringham, Dorothy Smith, Raymond Williams, and Susan Willis, among others. Many of the most prominent social theorists discussed in contemporary thought are missing from this list, and this is intentional. Everyday life scholarship highlights the overlooked, not just in human life, but also in the scholarly literature.
Francesco Menotti
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199571017
- eISBN:
- 9780191804427
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199571017.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Despite being one of the most successful branches of mainstream archaeology, wetland archaeology, as an academic discipline, is still relatively unknown. We might have all heard of the wonderfully ...
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Despite being one of the most successful branches of mainstream archaeology, wetland archaeology, as an academic discipline, is still relatively unknown. We might have all heard of the wonderfully preserved organic artefacts and ecofacts found in waterlogged conditions, but do we really know how they were preserved, found, retrieved, and conserved for us to admire and study? This book covers the fascinating biography of wetland archaeology, from the dawn of the discipline to its remarkable achievements. Through a discussion of a large variety of worldwide wetland archaeological sites and their material culture, the book offers an appreciative study of the people who occupied these sites and who created the archaeological artefacts. The book also includes an explanation of the procedures and research processes involved in archaeological practice and theory. Focusing on the relationship between archaeological experts and the general public, the book highlights the importance of this relationship for the future of the discipline as wetland ecosystems continue to disappear at an inexorable rate — and with them our invaluable cultural heritage.Less
Despite being one of the most successful branches of mainstream archaeology, wetland archaeology, as an academic discipline, is still relatively unknown. We might have all heard of the wonderfully preserved organic artefacts and ecofacts found in waterlogged conditions, but do we really know how they were preserved, found, retrieved, and conserved for us to admire and study? This book covers the fascinating biography of wetland archaeology, from the dawn of the discipline to its remarkable achievements. Through a discussion of a large variety of worldwide wetland archaeological sites and their material culture, the book offers an appreciative study of the people who occupied these sites and who created the archaeological artefacts. The book also includes an explanation of the procedures and research processes involved in archaeological practice and theory. Focusing on the relationship between archaeological experts and the general public, the book highlights the importance of this relationship for the future of the discipline as wetland ecosystems continue to disappear at an inexorable rate — and with them our invaluable cultural heritage.
Silvia Tomášková
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520275317
- eISBN:
- 9780520955318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520275317.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
The brief introduction provides an entrée to the book as a whole. It sets out the general question: where did the concept of shamans come from in relation to its current prominence in both New Age ...
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The brief introduction provides an entrée to the book as a whole. It sets out the general question: where did the concept of shamans come from in relation to its current prominence in both New Age culture and archaeological theory. It also outlines the author’s research methods and motivations in approaching this problem, and it gives a sense of the book’s structure.Less
The brief introduction provides an entrée to the book as a whole. It sets out the general question: where did the concept of shamans come from in relation to its current prominence in both New Age culture and archaeological theory. It also outlines the author’s research methods and motivations in approaching this problem, and it gives a sense of the book’s structure.
Chris Gosden
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199696697
- eISBN:
- 9780191804878
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199696697.003.0023
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter discusses the archaeology of the colonised within the context of global archaeological theory. It stresses the need to avoid making a dichotomy between the coloniser and colonised, or ...
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This chapter discusses the archaeology of the colonised within the context of global archaeological theory. It stresses the need to avoid making a dichotomy between the coloniser and colonised, or Incomers and Indigenous. It also considers how colonialism alters people, values, and relations with other people and with things before concluding with a reflection on the gap in the broad general area of materiality and social ontologies.Less
This chapter discusses the archaeology of the colonised within the context of global archaeological theory. It stresses the need to avoid making a dichotomy between the coloniser and colonised, or Incomers and Indigenous. It also considers how colonialism alters people, values, and relations with other people and with things before concluding with a reflection on the gap in the broad general area of materiality and social ontologies.
Cynthia Robin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044996
- eISBN:
- 9780813046730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044996.003.0008
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Chapter 8 concludes this book by reinforcing the three assertions suggested by the title of this book: (1) everyday life matters because what people do on a daily basis is critical in the ...
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Chapter 8 concludes this book by reinforcing the three assertions suggested by the title of this book: (1) everyday life matters because what people do on a daily basis is critical in the construction of their societies; (2) everyday life is the matter of much of the archaeological record; and (3) studying everyday life matters for archaeologists’ interpretations of human societies. With the Chan case study as an exemplar, theorists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and other scholars can appreciate how some of prehistory’s most important lessons are gleaned from studies of everyday life.Less
Chapter 8 concludes this book by reinforcing the three assertions suggested by the title of this book: (1) everyday life matters because what people do on a daily basis is critical in the construction of their societies; (2) everyday life is the matter of much of the archaeological record; and (3) studying everyday life matters for archaeologists’ interpretations of human societies. With the Chan case study as an exemplar, theorists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and other scholars can appreciate how some of prehistory’s most important lessons are gleaned from studies of everyday life.
