Anthropology 424: Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology

The book covers all relevant approaches to obtaining and analyzing archaeological data, including dating methods, quaternary paleoenvironments, human bioarchaeology, biomolecular archaeology and archaeogenetics, resource exploitation, archaeological prospection, and assessing the decay and conservation of specimens. Overview chapters introduce readers to the relevance of each area, followed by contributions from leading experts that provide detailed technical knowledge and application examples. Readers will also find a thorough introduction to human bioarchaeology, including hominin evolution and paleopathology , the use of biomolecular analysis to characterize past environments, novel approaches to the analysis of archaeological materials that shed new light on early human lifestyles and societies In-depth explorations of the statistical and computational methods relevant to archaeology.

In Digging Deeper, Cline answers the questions archaeologists are most frequently asked, such as: How do you know where to dig? How are excavations actually done? How do you know how old something is? Who gets to keep what is found? How do you know what people from the past ate, wore, and looked like? Adapted from Cline's acclaimed book Three Stones Make a Wall, this lively little volume is brimming with insights and practical advice about how archaeology really works.

Dictionary of Artifacts is an indispensable reference for anyone working within the field of archaeology. Entries detail artifact's classification and typology; raw materials; methods and techniques of creation; principles and techniques of examination and identification; and instructions for the care and preservation of specimens. Along with a headword and definition, pronunciations, synonyms, cross-references, and the category/categories also accompany each entry. Drawings, photographs, and extensive annnotated bibliography are included for more complete comprehension

Ethnoarchaeology first developed as the study of ethnographic material culture from archaeological perspectives. Over the past half century it has expanded its scope, especially to cultural and social anthropology. Three introductory chapters discuss the subject and its history, survey the theory, and discuss field methods and ethics. Ten topical chapters consider formation processes, subsistence, the study of artefacts and style, settlement systems, site structure and architecture, specialist craft production, trade and exchange, and mortuary practices and ideology. Ethnoarchaeology in Action concludes with ethnoarchaeology's contributions actual and potential, and with a look at its place within anthropology. It is generously illustrated, including many photographs of leading ethnoarchaeologists in action.

This is a guide for the design of archaeological experiments for both students and scholars. Experimental archaeology provides a unique opportunity to corroborate conclusions with multiple trials of repeatable experiments and can provide data otherwise unavailable to archaeologists without damaging sites, remains, or artefacts.

In December 2008, a session on Experimental Archaeology was held at TAG in Southampton. Although at first it seemed out-of-place to discuss a topic stemming from science at a theory conference, the contributions demonstrated that many of the best archaeological projects today are those which use methodology and interpretation from both the sciences and the arts. The contributions from the session, which focus on sites and material culture spanning from the Mesolithic to the Late Medieval periods, are presented in these proceedings. They range from the history of experimentation in archaeology and its place within the field today, to the theory behind 'the experiment', to several projects which have used controlled experimentation to test hypotheses about archaeological remains, past action, and the scientific processes we use.

This book focuses on the relationship between the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology. Both disciplines arose from a common project: a desire to understand human social and cultural diversity. However, in recent years, archaeologys interest in anthropology has remained largely unreciprocated. To date, the causes and consequences of this imbalance have received little attention, particularly within anthropology. Including papers by eminent thinkers within both disciplines, this book sheds new light on issues of disciplinary identity. The papers draw on a range of theoretical perspectives and empirical case-studies, but are unified in their concern to explore the ideological, practical and methodological commitments that mark each discipline as distinct.