This volume presents papers given at the 3rd and 4th scientific editions of the conference “Methodology and Archaeometry” held in 2015 and 2016 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, Croatia. It covers topics in archaeometry and archaeological methodology, which represent an essential part of collecting and processing data, which defines the validity of archaeological interpretation. Contributions explore non-destructive archaeology (geophysics and field survey), different aspects of artifact analysis, and experimental archaeology. The text brings together new research from scientists from various disciplines based on a range of methodological, analytical and theoretical perspectives, thus providing new insights and approaches, as well as new theoretical and methodological frameworks in contemporary archaeological science.
Archaeology, as with all of the social sciences, has always been characterized by competing theoretical propositions based on diverse bodies of locally acquired data. In order to fulfill local, regional expectations, different goals have been assigned to the practitioners of Archaeology in different regions. These goals might be entrenched in local politics, or social expectations behind cultural heritage research. This comprehensive book explores regional archaeologies from a sociological perspective—to identify and explain regional differences in archaeological practice, as well as their existing similarities. This work covers not only the currently-dominant Anglo-American archaeological paradigm, but also Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, all of which have developed their own unique archaeological traditions. The contributions in this work cover these "alternative archaeologies," in the context of their own geographical, political, and socio-economic settings, as well as the context of the currently accepted mainstream approaches.
In studying the past, archaeologists have focused on the material remains of our ancestors. Prehistorians generally have only artifacts to study and rely on the diverse material record for their understanding of past societies and their behavior. Those involved in studying historically documented cultures not only have extensive material remains but also contemporary texts, images, and a range of investigative technologies to enable them to build a broader and more reflexive picture of how past societies, communities, and individuals operated and behaved. Increasingly, historical archaeology refers not to a particular period, place, or a method, but rather an approach that interrogates the tensions between artifacts and texts irrespective of context. In short, historical archaeology provides direct evidence for how humans have shaped the world we live in today. Historical archaeology is a branch of global archaeology that has grown in the last 40 years from its North American base into an increasingly global community of archaeologists each studying their area of the world in a historical context. Where historical archaeology started as part of the study of the post-Columbian societies of the United States and Canada, it has now expanded to interface with the post-medieval archaeologies of Europe and the diverse post-imperial experiences of Africa, Latin America, and Australasia. The 36 essays in the International Handbook of Historical Archaeology have been specially commissioned from the leading researchers in their fields, creating a wide-ranging digest of the increasingly global field of historical archaeology. The volume is divided into two sections, the first reviewing the key themes, issues, and approaches of historical archaeology today, and the second containing a series of case studies charting the development and current state of historical archaeological practice around the world. This key reference work captures the energy and diversity of this global discipline today.
Presenting the results of the TransFER project, this study uses a wide-ranging methodology to examine the evidence for, and nature of, iron production in the lowland area of the central Drava River basin in Croatia during late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The results testify to the importance and longevity of iron production in the area.
Ten scholars whose specialties range from ethnohistory to remote sensing and lithic analysis to bioarchaeology chronicle changes in the way prehistory in the Southeast has been studied since the 19th century. Each brings to the task the particular perspective of his or her own subdiscipline in this multifaceted overview of the history of archaeology in a region that has had an important but variable role in the overall development of North American archaeology. Some of the specialties discussed in this book were traditionally relegated to appendixes or ignored completely in site reports more than 20 years old. Today, most are integral parts of such reports, but this integration has been hard won. Other specialties have been and will continue to be of central concern to archaeologists. Each chapter details the way changes in method can be related to changes in theory by reviewing major landmarks in the literature. As a consequence, the reader can compare the development of each subdiscipline. As the first book of this kind to deal specifically with the region, it be will valuable to archaeologists everywhere. The general reader will find the book of interest because the development of southeastern archaeology reflects trends in the development of social science as a whole. Contributors include: Jay K. Johnson, David S. Brose, Jon L. Gibson, Maria O. Smith, Patricia K. Galloway, Elizabeth J. Reitz, Kristen J. Gremillion, Ronald L. Bishop, Veletta Canouts, and W. Fredrick Limp
This volume gathers together the first 10 years of The European Archaeologist (ISSN 1022-0135), from Winter 1993 through to the 10th Anniversary Conference Issue, published in 2004 for the Lyon Annual Meeting.
This comprehensive, fully illustrated Companion answers the need for an in-depth archaeology reference that provides authoritative coverage of this complex and interdisciplinary field. The work brings together the myriad strands and the great temporal and spatial breadth of the field into two thematically organized volumes. In twenty-six authoritative and clearly-written essays, this Companion explores the origins, aims, methods and problems of archaeology. Each essay is written by a scholar of international standing and illustrations complement the text.
This volume celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Society for Medieval Archaeology (established in 1957), presenting reflections on the history, development and future prospects of the discipline. The papers are drawn from a series of conferences and workshops that took place in 2007-08, in addition to a number of contributions that were commissioned especially for the volume. They range from personal commentaries on the history of the Society and the growth of the subject (see papers by David Wilson and Rosemary Cramp), to historiographical, regional and thematic overviews of major trends in the evolution and current practice of medieval archaeology. All the publications are fully refereed with the aim of publishing at the highest academic level reports on sites of national and international importance, and of encouraging the widest debate. The series’ objectives are to cover the broadest chronological and geographical range and to assemble a series of volumes which reflect the changing intellectual and technical scope of the discipline.
The essays in this book present, for the first time in published form, a systematic comparative overview of cultural heritage policy and its impact – specifically in the field of immovable heritage such as archaeological and historic sites – in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. The studies focus on the decade from 2003 to 2013 that followed the traumatic and often violent upheavals associated with the breakdown of communism. That same period also saw a shift in the policy of the European Union and the Council of Europe in support of cultural heritage policies in the region, which led to the launching of the “Ljubljana Process: rehabilitating our common heritage”. The challenges gradually moved from encouraging professionals to adopt European standards and realising the potential of heritage to build bridges between peoples and to foster reconciliation, towards highlighting its wider benefits as a catalyst of economic development for the local economy and the quality of life of citizens. Theorists and practitioners will gain a better insight into the value of cultural heritage and the specificity of cultural heritage policies in South-East Europe, as well as the underlying facts, vision, context and impact of the Ljubljana Process. This will encourage questioning of existing public policies, as well as the promotion and affirmation of cultural heritage within a new “culture of development”.
Tools of data comparison and analysis are critical in the field of archaeology, and the integration of technological advancements such as geographic information systems, intelligent systems, and virtual reality reconstructions with the teaching of archaeology is crucial to the effective utilization of resources in the field. E-Learning Methodologies and Computer Applications in Archaeology presents innovative instructional approaches for archaeological e-learning based on networked technologies, providing researchers, scholars, and professionals a comprehensive global perspective on the resources, development, application, and implications of information communication technology in multimedia-based educational products and services in archaeology.
