Archaeological Theory Today

Ian Hodder is Dunlevie Family Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University.

"A crucial addition to contemporary debates in social sciences. The way different methodological issues  are discussed, as well as the dialogue between different contributors serve as an exemplary way of promoting scholarship  of the highest standard."Social Anthropology "In Archaeological Theory Today, Ian Hodder has assembled a fine collection of papers that, taken together, present a vibrant and exciting overview of current theoretical trends. Reading this volume, one is struck not just by the diversity of archaeological theory today, but by its breadth, depth, and sheer intellectual vitality. This book is not just an overview of current thinking, but an eloquent statement of the importance of archaeology as a modern human science."Matthew Johnson, Northwestern University "Archaeology has changed dramatically since the early 1980s. It is more inclusive, more holistic, and more relevant to the modern world. These changes are the product of the interplay of internal debates about epistemology and external discussions regarding social and political factors in the context of knowledge production. This new edition interrogates standard assumptions underlying such oppositions as culture and agency, matter and materiality, individual and society, colonial power and indigenous resistance, and, in the process, offers exciting new ways forward."Robert W. Preucel, University of Pennsylvania"In this new edition, valuable chapters on cognition/symbolism, agency, landscape, and post-colonial archaeology are revised and carried on from the first edition. New chapters on materiality, behavioral ecology, complex systems, heritage, and indigenous knowledge (among others) are added. The new ATT admirably takes the pulse of major and progressive trends in social theory by leading archaeologists."Norman Yoffee, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• List of Figures and TablesList of Contributors1 Introduction: Contemporary Theoretical Debate in ArchaeologyIan Hodder2 Darwinian Cultural EvolutionStephen Shennan3 Human Behavioral EcologyDouglas W. Bird and James F. O'Connell4 Behavioral Archaeology Vincent M. LaMotta5 Complex Systems and ArchaeologyTimothy A. Kohler6 Towards a Cognitive Archaeology: Material Engagement and the Early Development of SocietyColin Renfrew7 Agency: A Revisionist AccountJohn C. Barrett8 Archaeologies of Place and LandscapeJulian Thomas9 MaterialityCarl Knappett10 Symmetrical ArchaeologyBjørnar Olsen11 The Social Life of HeritageLynn Meskell12 Post-Colonial ArchaeologyChris Gosden13 Archaeology and Indigenous CollaborationChip Colwell-Chanthaphonh14 Archaeological visualisation: early artefact illustration and the birth of the archaeological imageStephanie MoserIndex