Reconsidering Archaeological Fieldwork: Exploring On-Site Relationships Between Theory and Practice

192 Pages·2012·3.99 MB·English

by  Hannah Cobb

Reconsidering Archaeological Fieldwork

Hannah Cobb Oliver J.T. Harris Cara Jones
● ●
Philip Richardson
Editors
Reconsidering
Archaeological Fieldwork
Exploring On-Site Relationships
Between Theory and Practice
Editors
Hannah Cobb Oliver J.T. Harris
Archaeology, School of Arts School of Archaeology
Histories and Cultures and Ancient History
University of Manchester University of Leicester
Manchester, UK Leicester, UK
Cara Jones Philip Richardson
Archaeology Scotland Archaeology Scotland
Musselburgh, UK Musselburgh, UK
ISBN 978-1-4614-2337-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-2338-6
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-2338-6
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012932086
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
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Acknowledgements
Archaeological fi eldwork is often a painstaking process, and editing a book on
the subject is no different. This volume arises from two conference sessions in 2007,
one in Zadar, Croatia, at the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) conference
and one in York, UK, at the Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conference. The
editors would like to thank all those who came along to both sessions whether to
present papers or to engage in the lively debates that followed. Both were highly
stimulating and have added much to many of the papers published here. Our deepest
gratitude is also due to Teresa Krauss, Morgan Ryan and everyone at Springer for
their unstinting help and support over the intervening years, and the patience and
forbearance of all of our contributors during some unfortunate, but unavoidable,
hold ups.
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Contents
1 Reconsidering Fieldwork, an Introduction:
Confronting Tensions in Fieldwork and Theory .................................... 1
Hannah Cobb, Oliver J.T. Harris, Cara Jones, and Philip Richardson
2 How to Archaeologize with a Hammer ................................................ 15
Geoff Carver
3 Often Fun, Usually Messy: Fieldwork, Recording
and Higher Orders of Things ................................................................ 31
Reuben Thorpe
4 Where the Rubber Hits the Road: A Critical Analysis
of Archaeological Decision Making on Highways
Projects in Ireland .................................................................................. 53
Brendon Wilkins
5 An Archaeology of Many Steps............................................................. 67
Marianne Lönn
6 Stepping into Comfortable Old Shoes: ‘The Consequence
of Archaeological Comfortability’ ........................................................ 85
Cara Jones and Philip Richardson
7 Walking the Line Between Past and Present:
‘Doing’ Phenomenology on Historic Battlefi elds ..................................... 97
John Carman and Patricia Carman
8 The Struggle Within: Challenging the Subject/Object
Relationship on a Shoestring................................................................. 113
Members of the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project
9 Through Many Eyes: A Non-hierarchical Approach
to Interpreting a Site in New Brunswick, New Jersey ........................ 131
Rebecca Yamin
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viii Contents
10 The Archaeology of the Aesthetic ......................................................... 147
Mark Leone, Amelia Chisholm, Karen Engelke,
Amelia Harris, Genevieve Kaplan, Jessica Mundt,
and Wendi Perry
11 Commentary ........................................................................................... 167
Sarah May
Index ................................................................................................................ 181
Contributors
Members of the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project c/o Hannah Cobb,
Archaeology, School of Arts Histories and Cultures, Mansfi eld Cooper Building ,
University of Manchester , Manchester , UK
John Carman Bloody Meadows Project, Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity ,
University of Birmingham , Edgbaston, Birmingham , UK
Patricia Carman Bloody Meadows Project, Institute of Archaeology
& Antiquity , University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham , UK
Geoff Carver Archäologisches Institut und Sammlung der Gipsabgüsse
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen , Bensberg , Germany
Amelia Chisholm Formely of Brockington & Associates, Inc. , College Park ,
MD , USA
Hannah Cobb Archaeology, School of Arts Histories and Cultures ,
University of Manchester , Manchester , UK
Karen Engelke Former Special Project Coordinator for the City of Annapolis ,
College Park , MD , USA
Amelia Harris Formally Bannaker-Douglass Museum , College Park , MD , USA
Oliver J.T. Harris School of Archaeology and Ancient History ,
University of Leicester , Leicester , UK
Cara Jones Archaeology Scotland , Musselburgh , UK
Genevieve Kaplan Banneker-Douglass Museum , College Park , MD , USA
Mark Leone Department of Anthropology , The University of Maryland ,
College Park , MD , USA
Marianne Lönn Archaeological Excavations Department ,
Swedish National Heritage Board, Riksantikvarieämbetet , Mölndal , Sweden
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