Topic
Contemporary archaeology
About: Contemporary archaeology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 199 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3777 citations.
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Book•
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: Sian Jones as mentioned in this paper argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation, and presents a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences.
Abstract: The question of ethnicity is highly controversial in contemporary archaeology. Indigenous and nationalist claims to territory, often rely on reconstructions of the past based on the traditional identification of 'cultures' from archaeological remains. Sian Jones responds to the need for a reassessment of the ways in which social groups are identified in the archaeological record, with a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences. In doing so, she argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation.
816 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: Archaeologies of the Contemporary Past as mentioned in this paper examines a variety of contexts including: * Art Deco * landfills * miner strikes * college fraternities * an abandoned council house.
Abstract: Archaeologies of the Contemporary Past turns what is usually seen as a method for investigating the distant past onto the present. In doing so, it reveals fresh ways of looking both at ourselves and modern society as well as the discipline of archaeology. This volume represents the most recent research in this area and examines a variety of contexts including: * Art Deco * landfills * miner strikes * college fraternities * an abandoned council house.
246 citations
Book•
22 Jul 2010
TL;DR: Rodney Harrison and John Schofield as discussed by the authors summarized archaeological approaches to the contemporary past, and suggested a new agenda for the archaeology of late modern societies, and drew together cross-disciplinary perspectives on contemporary material culture studies.
Abstract: This book summarizes archaeological approaches to the contemporary past, and suggests a new agenda for the archaeology of late modern societies. The principal focus is the archaeology of developed, de-industrialized societies during the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. This period encompasses the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the 'internet age', a period which sits firmly within what we would recognize to be a period of 'lived and living memory'. Rodney Harrison and John Schofield explore how archaeology can inform the study of this time period and the study of our own society through detailed case studies and an in-depth summary of the existing literature. Their book draws together cross-disciplinary perspectives on contemporary material culture studies, and develops a new agenda for the study of the materiality of late modern societies.
187 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an alternative class-analytical approach for archaeological interpretation is discussed, and the approach is illustrated using case material from the Mississippian archaeological record of the midcontinental United States.
124 citations
TL;DR: A review of the intellectual positions of both groups, with a brief discussion of the history of archaeological theory and an appraisal of its current trajectory, is given in this paper, where the authors discuss how and why contemporary theoretical perspectives have fundamentally diverged from the perspectives of archaeological scientists and how the recent theoretical emphasis upon materiality offers a rapprochement between theoreticians and archaeological scientists.
Abstract: Due to the diversity of contemporary archaeology, the aims and approaches of archaeological scientists and archaeological theorists are often at odds. I suggest that this position is problematic, both intellectually and methodologically, as both groups are fundamentally engaged in the same task: an understanding of past societies through the medium of material culture. This paper offers a review of the intellectual positions of both groups, with a brief discussion of the history of archaeological theory and an appraisal of its current trajectory. I will discuss how and why contemporary theoretical perspectives have fundamentally diverged from the perspectives of archaeological scientists and how the recent theoretical emphasis upon materiality offers a rapprochement between theoreticians and archaeological scientists.
110 citations