Reading the Past: Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archaeology

313 Pages·2004·2.13 MB·English

by  Ian Hodder

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Readingthepast
Thethirdeditionofthisclassicintroductiontoarchaeologicaltheory
andmethodhasbeenfullyupdatedtoaddresstheburgeoningoftheo-
reticaldebatethroughoutthediscipline.IanHodderandScottHutson
argue that archaeologists must bring to bear a variety of perspectives
in the complex and uncertain task of constructing meaning from the
past. While remaining centred on the importance of hermeneutics,
agencyandhistory,theauthorsexplorecutting-edgedevelopmentsin
areas such as post-structuralism, neo-evolutionary theory and whole
new branches of theory such as phenomenology. With the addition
oftwocompletelynewchapters,thethirdeditionofReadingthePast
presentsanauthoritative,state-of-the-artanalysisofcontemporaryar-
chaeologicaltheory.Alsoincludingnewmaterialonfeministarchae-
ology, historical approaches such as cultural history, and theories of
discourseandsigns,thisbookrepresentsessentialreadingforanystu-
dentorscholarwithaninterestinthepast.
ProfessorIanHodderisDunlevieFamilyProfessorintheDepartment
of Cultural and Social Anthropology at Stanford University, and a
FellowoftheBritishAcademy.
Scott Hutson is affiliated with the Archeological Research Facility,
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.

Reading the past
Currentapproachestointerpretationinarchaeology
Third edition
Ian Hodder
and
Scott Hutson
  
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
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First published in print format 2003
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To Meg

Contents
Prefacetothefirstedition xi
Prefacetothesecondedition xv
Prefacetothethirdedition xvii
1 Theproblem 1
Culturalmeaningsandcontext 2
Individualsandagents 6
Historicalcontext 10
Conclusion 13
2 Processualandsystemsapproaches 20
Amaterialistapproachtoculture? 22
Agency 30
Historyandtime 31
Behaviouralarchaeology 33
Measuringandpredictingmind:cognitiveprocessual
archaeology 36
Neo-evolutionaryarchaeologyandmind 39
Conclusion 42
3 Structuralist,post-structuralistandsemioticarchaeologies 45
Formalanalysisandgenerativegrammars 47
Structuralistanalysis 52
Critique 59
Post-structuralism 65
Verification 68
Conclusion:theimportanceofstructuralist
archaeology 72
4 Marxismandideology 75
Marxistarchaeology 75
vii
Contents
Ideology 79
Ideologyandpower:conclusions 88
5 Agencyandpractice 90
Practiceandstructuration 90
Resistance 96
Agency 99
6 Embodiedarchaeology 106
Materialityandmalleability 107
Fromanarchaeologyofthebodytoembodiment 112
Thelimitsofthebody 121
Conclusion 123
7 Archaeologyandhistory 125
Historyofthelongterm 130
Historicaltheoryandmethod:Collingwood 145
Someexamples 150
Conclusionandcritique 152
8 Contextualarchaeology 156
Meaningandunderstanding 157
Meaninginarchaeology 162
Readingmaterialculture 166
Context 170
Similaritiesanddifferences 173
Relevantdimensionsofvariation 183
Definitionofcontext 187
Explanationanddescription 191
Criticalhermeneutics 195
Conclusion 203
9 Post-processualarchaeology 206
Variabilityandmateriality 207
Processandstructure 214
Historicalmeaningcontent:theidealandthematerial 215
Archaeologyandsociety 217
Conclusion 234
viii