ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book points out that indigenous Americans had a right to be mistrustful of archaeology, since archaeologists had shown little interest in them or their concerns and had in the past supported stereotypes that denigrated native people. It examines changing relations between the interpretation of archaeological finds and archaeologists views about native people. The book examines how political prejudices against Native Americans had influenced the interpretation of archaeological data over the past 200 years. It argues that the practice of archaeology is strongly influenced by the position that the countries and regions in which it occurs hold within the modern world system and tentatively identified three general types of archaeology: nationalist, colonialist, and imperialist. The book concludes that understanding archaeologists as researchers working in specific social and political contexts was a prerequisite for trying to achieve a more objective understanding of archaeological findings.
