The Present Past

An Introduction to Anthropology for Archeologists

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I
Cover of the book The Present Past by Ian Hodder, Pen and Sword
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Author: Ian Hodder ISBN: 9781473819542
Publisher: Pen and Sword Publication: November 5, 2012
Imprint: Pen and Sword Archaeology Language: English
Author: Ian Hodder
ISBN: 9781473819542
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication: November 5, 2012
Imprint: Pen and Sword Archaeology
Language: English

This updated edition of Professor Ian Hodder’s original and classic work on the role which anthropology must play in the interpretation of the archaeological record.

There has long been a need for archaeologists and anthropologists to correlate their ideas and methods for interpreting the material culture of past civilisations. Archaeological interpretation of the past is inevitably based on the ideas and experiences of the present and the use of such ethnographic analogy has been widely adapted – and criticised, not least in Britain.

In this challenging study, Ian Hodder questions the assumptions, values and methods which have been too readily accepted. At the same time, he shows how anthropology can be applied to archaeology. He examines the criteria for the proper use of analogy and, in particular, emphasises the need to consider the meaning and interpretation of material cultures within the total social and cultural contexts. He discusses anthropological models of refuse deposits, technology and production, subsistence, settlement, burial, trade exchange, art form and ritual; he then considers their application to comparable archaeological data.

Throughout, Professor Hodder emphasises the need for a truly scientific approach and a critical self-awareness by archaeologists, who should be prepared to study their own social and cultural context, not least their own attitudes to the present-day material world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This updated edition of Professor Ian Hodder’s original and classic work on the role which anthropology must play in the interpretation of the archaeological record.

There has long been a need for archaeologists and anthropologists to correlate their ideas and methods for interpreting the material culture of past civilisations. Archaeological interpretation of the past is inevitably based on the ideas and experiences of the present and the use of such ethnographic analogy has been widely adapted – and criticised, not least in Britain.

In this challenging study, Ian Hodder questions the assumptions, values and methods which have been too readily accepted. At the same time, he shows how anthropology can be applied to archaeology. He examines the criteria for the proper use of analogy and, in particular, emphasises the need to consider the meaning and interpretation of material cultures within the total social and cultural contexts. He discusses anthropological models of refuse deposits, technology and production, subsistence, settlement, burial, trade exchange, art form and ritual; he then considers their application to comparable archaeological data.

Throughout, Professor Hodder emphasises the need for a truly scientific approach and a critical self-awareness by archaeologists, who should be prepared to study their own social and cultural context, not least their own attitudes to the present-day material world.

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