Philosophy of Archaeology
Edited by Adrian Currie (Cambridge University, University of Exeter)
About this topic
Summary | Archaeology has long been a philosophically and methodologically reflective science. This, in addition to being situated between the physical, social and historical sciences, makes it ideal (and typically under-utilized) fodder for philosophical analysis and understanding. This entry attempts to include both the clearly philosophical, and work attempting new, integrative approaches to archaeological reconstruction. Major issues in the philosophy of archaeology are epistemological, methodological and ethical. Epistemically, the status of archaeological evidence, and its capacity to underwrite reconstructions of prehistoric social worlds, must confront the decay of traces over time and the limited applicability of repeated experimentation so favored of physical sciences. Methodologically, archaeologists worry a lot about how best to treat their evidence: the long debates between processualists, structuralists, post-modernists, etc... are a testament to this. Moreover, archaeology is by its very nature pluralistic: it draws together many forms of evidence, from a diverse range of fields (from physics to evolutionary theory to comparative religion), making it a hot-spot for integrative and disunified approaches to science. Finally, archaeologists are often in the business of utilizing the material remains of sometimes venerated - and sometimes politically explosive - past people. This requires an ethical understanding of the delicate relationships between the scientist and the (often politically underrepresented) groups who also lay claim to such remains. |
Key works | For rich philosophical and historical discussion focusing largely on the epistemological and methodological issues in archaeology, Alison Wylie's work is invaluable, particularly Wylie 2002 which collects several of her papers. Another important work covering the epistemological issues is Kosso 2001's 'Knowing the past' . The papers collected in the Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory provide a good overview of theoretical issues in the science. |
Introductions | Historically, epistemological discussion in anthropology has coalesced around the evidential status of so-called 'ethnographic analogy': the use of contemporary anthropological evidence to inform pre-historical reconstruction. Alison Wylie's "The reaction against analogy" Wylie 1985 both provides a history and a philosophical analysis. Currie 2016 connects these issues to reconstruction in biology. Another good introduction to epistemological issues (which connects archaeology to wider issues in historical reconstruction) is Jeffares 2008. For a nice introduction to ethical issues in archaeology, see Bahn 1984. |
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David Bourget (Western Ontario) David Chalmers (ANU, NYU) Area Editors: David Bourget Gwen Bradford Berit Brogaard Margaret Cameron David Chalmers James Chase Rafael De Clercq Ezio Di Nucci Esa Diaz-Leon Barry Hallen Hans Halvorson Jonathan Ichikawa Michelle Kosch Øystein Linnebo JeeLoo Liu Paul Livingston Brandon Look Manolo Martínez Matthew McGrath Michiru Nagatsu Susana Nuccetelli Giuseppe Primiero Jack Alan Reynolds Darrell P. Rowbottom Aleksandra Samonek Constantine Sandis Howard Sankey Jonathan Schaffer Thomas Senor Robin Smith Daniel Star Jussi Suikkanen Aness Kim Webster Other editors Contact us Learn more about PhilPapers |