Archaeological Theory and Scientific Practice (Topics in Contemporary Archaeology)

224 Pages·2001·4.89 MB·English

by  Andrew Jones

This page intentionally left blank
Archaeological Theory and Scientific Practice
Isarchaeologyanartorascience?Thisquestionhasbeenhotlydebated
overthelastfewdecadeswiththeriseofarchaeologicalscience.Atthe
sametime,archaeologistshaveseenachangeintheintellectualcharacter
oftheirdiscipline,asmanywritershaveadoptedapproachesinfluenced
by social theory. The discipline now encompasses both archaeologi-
calscientistsandarchaeologicaltheorists,anddiscussionregardingthe
status of archaeology remains polarised. Andrew Jones argues that we
need to analyse the practice of archaeology. Through an analysis of
archaeologicalpractice,influencedbyrecentdevelopmentsinthefieldof
sciencestudies,andwiththeaidofextensivecasestudies,hedevelops
a new framework, which allows the interpretative and methodological
components of the discipline to work in tandem. His reassessment of
the status and character of archaeology will be of interest to students,
scholarsandprofessionals.
ANDREW JONES is a Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology,
Southampton University. He has worked extensively on British pre-
history (especially the Neolithic and Bronze Age). Among his many
research interests are the history of representation in archaeology, the
roleofartandmemoryinarchaeologicalresearch,andthearchaeology
ofanimalsandfood.Hehascontributedtoanumberofjournalsand
editedvolumes.Thisishisfirstbook.

Topics in Contemporary Archaeology
SeriesEditor
RichardBradley,UniversityofReading
This series is addressed to students, professional archaeologists and
academicsinrelateddisciplinesinthesocialsciences.Concernedwith
questionsofinterpretationratherthantheexhaustivedocumentationof
archaeologicaldata,thestudiesintheseriestakeseveraldifferentforms:
areviewoftheliteratureinanimportantfield,anoutlineofanewarea
of research or an extended case study. The series is not aligned with
any particular school of archaeology. While there is no set format for
the books, all books in the series are broadly based, well written and
uptodate.
         
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
http://www.cambridge.org
©Cambridge University Press 2004
First published in printed format 2001
ISBN 0-511-03136-X eBook(Adobe Reader)
ISBN 0-521-79060-3 hardback
ISBN 0-521-79393-9 paperback
Archaeological Theory and Scientific Practice
Andrew Jones
DepartmentofArchaeology,Southampton
University

Contents
Listofillustrations pageviii
Listoftables x
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiv
1 Thearchaeologyof‘twocultures’ 1
2 Scienceasculture:creatinginterpretativenetworks 23
3 Archaeologyobserved 39
4 Materialsscienceandmaterialculture:practice,scale
andnarrative 63
5 Materialcultureandmaterialsscience:a biography
ofthings 83
6 Abiographyofceramicsin Neolithic Orkney 103
7 MakingpeopleandthingsintheNeolithic:pots,food
andhistory 145
8 Beforeandafterscience 168
References 183
Index 203
vii
Illustrations
2.1 GCretentiongraphofsampleSF2,000fromaGC
integrator page 31
2.2 HistogramofsampleSF2,000fromGCplot 32
3.1 Explodingexcavations 43
3.2 Thetransformationofartefactsasdatafromexcavation
tolaboratory 48
4.1 Thechangesofperceptionalliedtochangesinanalytical
scale 67
4.2 Artefactsandtheircontextsasboundaryobjects 75
4.3 AschematicviewoftheHayafurnace 79
6.1 AselectionofNeolithicmaterialcultureexhibitingsimilar
curvilinearmotifs 108
6.2 MapshowingOrkneyarchipelago 109
6.3 ThespatiallayoutoftheLaterNeolithichouseinOrkney 110
6.4 Thespatialhomologybetweenpassagegrave,house
andhenge 112
6.5 ThedistinctionbetweenincisedGroovedwareandapplied
Groovedware 113
6.6 MapofthecentralareaofMainlandOrkneyindicating
positionofprincipalmonuments 114
6.7 PlanoftheLaterNeolithicsettlementatBarnhouse 116
6.8 Graphoffabricplottedagainstwallthickness 121
6.9 LargeGroovedwarevesselfromBarnhouse 123
6.10 Twomedium-sizevesselsfromBarnhousewith
characteristicdecorativeschemes 124
6.11 Medium-sizevesselfromBarnhousewithserpentine
appliedcordons 125
6.12 SherdsfromsmallvesselsfromBarnhousewithpassage
graveartmotifs 126
6.13 PlanofthecentralareaatBarnhouse 127
viii