ABSTRACT

Archaeological Theory in the New Millennium provides an account of the changing world of archaeological theory and a challenge to more traditional narratives of archaeological thought. It charts the emergence of the new emphasis on relations as well as engaging with other current theoretical trends and the thinkers archaeologists regularly employ. Bringing together different strands of global archaeological theory and placing them in dialogue, the book explores the similarities and differences between different contemporary trends in theory while also highlighting potential strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

Written in a way to maximise its accessibility, in direct contrast to many of the sources on which it draws, Archaeological Theory in the New Millennium is an essential guide to cutting-edge theory for students and for professionals wishing to reacquaint themselves with this field.

chapter 1|12 pages

An introduction to contemporary archaeological theory

Confronting dualisms

chapter 2|22 pages

Beyond paradigms

A potted history of archaeological thought

chapter 3|17 pages

Between thoughts and things

Theorising practice and agency

chapter 4|19 pages

Situating things in society

Identity and personhood

chapter 5|16 pages

Secret lives of things

Object agency and biography

chapter 6|22 pages

Things make people?

Considering materiality, phenomenology, experience and entanglement

chapter 7|20 pages

Mediating the world

Archaeological semiotics

chapter 8|23 pages

Finding symmetry

Actor-Network-Theory and new materialism

chapter 9|19 pages

Multi-species archaeology

People, plants and animals

chapter 10|22 pages

‘Others’

Postcolonialism, the ontological turn and colonised things

chapter 11|23 pages

On breaking walls and building relations

A conclusion