Book Description:
'As a sourcebook for archaeology at the millennium, this volume will remain a landmark well into the 2000s.' From the Foreword by Patty Jo Watson, Washington University. Intended as a comprehensive handbook and showcase for archaeology, Archaeology at the Millennium outlines where the discipline has been and where it is going at the turn of the 21st century. An internationally distinguished roster of prominent archaeologists makes a meaningful statement regarding the place and contribution of archaeology in the sciences and humanities. The topics of the chapters include the major questions in archaeology. Each chapter considers the history of research on the subject and the direction in which future work may go. The volume begins with a foreword by Patty Jo Watson, setting the stage for the essays to follow. The sourcebook is divided into four substantive sections, each of which is introduced by a summary statement outlining the chapters in the section. Part I deals with the history of archaeology and the advance of archaeological theory. Part II ranges over the first four million years of our evolution as a cultural species and covers the first hominids to complex hunter gatherers. Part III concerns the origins of agriculture and features discussions of such issues as craft production, the division of labor, warfare, and the rise of social inequality. Part IV analyzes the rise of states and empires in both the Old and New worlds; the archaeology of the classical Mediterranean states is also included in this section. A final chapter portends the future of archaeology. The sourcebook provides an in depth and up to date statement on the condition and direction of one of the most dynamic of the social sciences. The field of archaeology is growing in strength and stature as a means of understanding where we humans came from. This volume defines the intellectual state of this discipline, which is central to understanding the human career.
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