Archaeology: A Brief Introduction

by Fagan, Brian M.

• ISBN13: 9780131928114
• ISBN10: 0131928112
• Edition: 9th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

For introductory level courses in Archaeology and as a supplement for courses in Physical Anthropology where the instructor would like to integrate archaeology. This introduction to the fundamental principles of method and theory in archaeology, is the only book that also exposes students to archaeology as a career.The book begins with the goals of archaeology, then goes on to consider the basic concepts of culture, time, and space, and the finding and excavation of archaeological sites.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Author's Note	xv
About the Author	xvii
chapter one Fossils, Cities, and Civilizations: The Birth of a Science	1	(25)
What Is Archaeology?	4	(1)
The Beginnings of Archaeology	4	(5)
The Discovery of the Ancient Civilizations	9	(5)
Early American Archaeology	14	(4)
Diversity, Diffusion, and Human Progress	18	(1)
The Development of Modern Scientific Archaeology	19	(3)
"From Them to Us": Contemporary Archaeological Theory	22	(2)
Summary	24	(2)
chapter two Introducing Archaeology and Prehistory	26	(26)
The Tourist, the Collector, and the Archaeologist	27	(6)
Who Needs and Owns the Past?	33	(1)
What Do Archaeologists Do?	34	(3)
Many Sites, Many Archaeologists	37	(1)
Why Is Archaeology Important?	38	(8)
The Prehistory of Humankind According to Archaeologists	46	(5)
Summary	51	(1)
chapter three Culture and Context	52	(21)
Human Culture	53	(3)
Cultural Systems	56	(5)
Culture Change	61	(2)
The Goals of Archaeology	63	(3)
The Archaeological Record	66	(4)
Context	70	(2)
Summary	72	(1)
chapter four Explaining the Past	73	(22)
Interpretation of Culture History	74	(6)
Ecological/Environmental (Processual) Archaeology	80	(2)
Historical Materialist Approaches	82	(2)
Cognitive-Processual Archaeology	84	(4)
Archaeological Theory Today and Tomorrow: "Processual Plus"	88	(6)
Summary	94	(1)
chapter five Space and Time	95	(26)
Space	96	(5)
Time	101	(2)
Relative Chronology	103	(6)
Absolute Chronology	109	(2)
Chronometric Chronology	111	(9)
Summary	120	(1)
chapter six Finding Archaeological Sites	121	(23)
The Process of Archaeological Research	122	(5)
Stages of Archaeological Fieldwork	127	(1)
Accidental Discovery	127	(3)
Archaeological Survey	130	(2)
Sampling and Archaeological Survey	132	(2)
Remote Sensing	134	(5)
Assessing Archaeological Sites	139	(1)
Subsurface Detection Methods	140	(2)
Summary	142	(2)
chapter seven Excavation	144	(25)
Planned Excavation: Research Design	145	(3)
Types of Excavation	148	(6)
Digging, Tools, People	154	(2)
Recording	156	(1)
Stratigraphic Observation	156	(3)
Excavation Problems	159	(8)
Reburial and Repatriation	167	(1)
Summary	168	(1)
chapter eight Classification and Technology	169	(31)
Back from the Field	170	(1)
Classification and Taxonomy	171	(2)
Typology	173	(1)
Archaeological Types	174	(10)
What Do Assemblages and Artifact Patternings Mean?	184	(1)
Units of Ordering	185	(3)
Ancient Technologies	188	(10)
Summary	198	(2)
chapter nine The Present and the Past	200	(24)
The Archaeological Record Again	202	(1)
Site-Formation Processes	203	(3)
Preservation	206	(8)
Middle-Range Theory and the Archaeological Record	214	(1)
The Living Past	215	(1)
Ethnographic Analogy	216	(1)
Living Archaeology (Ethnoarchaeology)	217	(4)
Experimental Archaeology	221	(2)
Summary	223	(1)
chapter ten Ancient Climate and Environment	224	(21)
Short- and Long-Term Climatic Change	225	(1)
Long-Term Climate Change: The Great Ice Age	226	(6)
Pollen Analysis	232	(3)
Short-Term Climatic Change: The Holocene	235	(1)
Short-Term Climatic Change: El Niño	236	(7)
Geoarchaeology	243	(1)
Summary	244	(1)
chapter eleven Come Tell Me How You Lived	245	(19)
Evidence for Subsistence	246	(1)
Ancient Diet	247	(2)
Animal Bones	249	(8)
Plant Remains	257	(3)
Birds, Fish, and Mollusks	260	(2)
Rock Art	262	(1)
Summary	263	(1)
chapter twelve Settlement, Landscape, and Trade	264	(24)
Settlement Patterns	266	(12)
Population	278	(1)
The Archaeology of Landscapes	279	(1)
Trade and Exchange	280	(6)
Summary	286	(2)
chapter thirteen The Archaeology of People	288	(23)
Individuals	290	(2)
Groups	292	(7)
Gender	299	(3)
Wider Society: Prestate and State Societies	302	(2)
Religious Beliefs	304	(6)
Summary	310	(1)
chapter fourteen Archaeology and You	311	(12)
Archaeology as a Profession	312	(4)
Academic Qualifications and Graduate School	316	(1)
Thoughts on Not Becoming a Professional Archaeologist	317	(2)
Our Responsibilities to the Past	319	(2)
A Simple Code of Archaeological Ethics for All	321	(1)
Summary	322	(1)
Sites and Cultures Mentioned in the Text	323	(6)
Glossary of Technical Terms	329	(10)
Guide to Further Reading	339	(11)
References	350	(1)
Credits	351	(2)
Index	353