Theory and Practice in Archaeology

ISBN-13: 9780415127776 / Angielski / Miękka / 1995 / 298 str.

Ian Hodder;Hodder Ian

Opis

The new developments in archaeological theory and its application to archaeological data are explored in this text. The author aims to break down the separation of theory and practice and to reconcile the division between the intellectual and the dirt archaeologist. Through a series of examples - from excavation and heritage issues to site reports - the book demonstrates that an interpretive archaeology must be applied to archaeological data in order to contribute to modern social practice. Faced with a rapidly diminishing past, archaeology urgently needs a clear image of itself, able to gain funding, win public confidence and save the heritage quickly and professionally. This image, however, is often clouded by the theory/practice debate, a division all too often encouraged by the separation of universities and heritage management, Hodder emphazises the importance of finding the right balance.

Spis treści

Preface; 1. Theory practice and praxis; PART A. SYMBOLIC AND STRUCTURAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2. Symbolism, meaning and context 3. Symbols in action (1982) 4. Burials, houses, women and men in the European Neolitihic (1984); PART B. SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW IDEAS 5. Post-processual archaeology 6. Theoretical archaeology: a reactionary view (1982) 7. Archaeology in 1984 (1984) 8. Politics and archaeology in the World Archaeological Congress 1986 (1986); PART C. DEBATE AND RE-EVALUATION 9. The processual reaction: You have gone too far 10. Towards radical doubt: a dialogue 11. The post-processual reaction: You haven't gone far enough 12. Towards a coherent archaeology.

O autorze

Ian Hodder