Material Meanings: Critical Approaches to the Interpretation of Material Culture (Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry) - Softcover

Chilton, Elizabeth; Chilton, Elizabeth S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874806089 ISBN 13: 9780874806083

Publisher: University of Utah Press, 1999

Synopsis

Material Meanings focuses on the social context in which things are produced and in which they are given meaning.

With firm roots in antiquarianism, archaeology began as the study and collection of things. Even today objects take center stage in many areas of archaeological inquiry. But the past few decades have seen a proliferation of the ways anthropological archaeologist analyze raw materials, tools, techniques, finished products, and discarded objects.

Material Meanings examines current approaches to material culture in the archaeological record from three perspective: ethnoarchaeology and technological traditions, material science, and theoretical approaches to materiality. The focus of this book is not on artifacts themselves but on the social context in which things are produced and in which they are given meaning, the technical choices of an artifact producer within a larger technical system, and their interpretation by modern researchers.

The chapters represent a broad range of theoretical perspectives, methods, and data sets. Several chapters consider methodological issues in reconstructing technical systems. Most contributions, however, apply this understanding to larger questions of social identity and ethnicity, emphasizing historical context or models of cultural process.

About this title

About the Author:

Elizabeth Chilton is assistant professor of anthropology at Harvard University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Utah Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0874806089
• ISBN 13: 9780874806083
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192