Research in archaeology has expanded beyond narrow economic and environmental concerns to respond to and incorporate aspects of the debates on identity, meaning, and politics currently being explored in fields such as social anthropology, sociology, history, and so on. Volumes in the series Archaeology, Culture, and Society focus on the application of new social and cultural theory to archaeological materials, in the process demonstrating the relevance of archaeological knowledge to related fields and to society in general. The series is closed to new submissions.
Charles E. Orser, Jr. argues that since race has been used implicitly in archaeology for more than 100 years, the issue must be addressed directly despite the long history of debate, denial, and ignorance.
"A welcome addition to the study of the ancient Near East. It breaks away from Eurocentric approaches and tries to do justice to Mesopotamian thought, thus shedding new light on the relationship between text and representation. . . . Bahrani's book will become the center of a lively debate."—Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Thinking Through Material Culture provides a new theoretical framework for understanding the pivotal role of material culture in human cognition, perception and action.
An original, substantial contribution to interpretive archaeology (the first of its kind for Japan and East Asia), An Archaeological History of Japan addresses a broad range of issues concerning the self-identification of groups and the use of the past in contemporary society.
