Archaeologists have often used the term ideology to vaguely refer
to a "realm of ideas." Scholars from Marx to Zizek have developed a
sharper concept, arguing that ideology works by representing--or
misrepresenting--power relations through concealment, enhancement,
or transformation of real social relations between groups."
Ideologies in Archaeology "examines the role of ideology in this
latter sense as it pertains to both the practice and the content of
archaeological studies. While ideas like reflexive archaeology and
multivocality have generated some recent interest, this book is the
first work to address in any detail the mutual relationship between
ideologies of the past and present ideological conditions producing
archaeological knowledge.
Contributors to this volume focus on elements of life in past
societies that "went without saying" and that concealed different
forms of power as obvious and unquestionable. From the use of
burial rites as political theater in Iron Age Germany to the
intersection of economics and elite power in Mississippian mound
building, the contributors uncover complex manipulations of power
that have often gone unrecognized. They show that Occam's
razor--the tendency to favor simpler explanations--is sometimes
just an excuse to avoid dealing with the historical world in its
full complexity.
Jean-Paul Demoule's concluding chapter echoes this sentiment and
moreover brings a continental European perspective to the preceding
case studies. In addition to situating this volume in a wider
history of archaeological currents, Demoule identifies the
institutional and cultural factors that may account for the current
direction in North American archaeology. He also offers a defense
of archaeology in an era of scientific relativism, which leads him
to reflect on the responsibilities of archaeologists.
Includes contributions by: Susan M. Alt, Bettina Arnold, Uzi
Baram, Reinhard Bernbeck, Matthew David Cochran, Jean-Paul Demoule,
Kurt A. Jordan, Susan Kus, Vicente Lull, Christopher N. Matthews,
Randall H. McGuire, Rafael Mico, Cristina Rihuete Herrada, Paul
Mullins, Sue Novinger, Susan Pollock, Victor Raharijaona, Roberto
Risch, Kathleen Sterling, Ruth M. Van Dyke, and LouAnn Wurst
General
Imprint: |
University of Arizona Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
October 2011 |
First published: |
November 2011 |
Editors: |
Reinhard Bernbeck
• Randall H. McGuire
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 33mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards / With dust jacket
|
Pages: |
352 |
Edition: |
New |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8165-2673-4 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-8165-2673-7 |
Barcode: |
9780816526734 |
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