Explore the vast range of titles available.

This book compiles a series of case studies derived from archaeological excavation in Greek cultural contexts in the Mediterranean (ca. 800-100 B.C), addressing the current state of the field, the goals and direction of Greek archaeology, and its place in archaeological thought and practice. Overviews of archaeological sites and analyses of assemblages and contexts explore how new forms of data; methods of data recovery and analysis; and sampling strategies have affected the discourse in classical archaeology and the range of research questions and strategies at our disposal. Recent excavations and field practices are steering the way that we approach Greek cultural landscapes and form broader theoretical perspectives, while generating new research questions and interpretive frameworks that in turn affect how we sample sites, collect and study material remains, and ultimately construct the archaeological record. The book confronts the implications of an integrated dialogue between realms of data and interpretive methodologies, addressing how reengagement with the site, assemblage, or artifact, from the excavation context can structure the way that we link archaeological and systemic contexts in classical archaeology.

Late antique sites are often excavated badly and are hardly ever published in full, especially in the East. This volume seeks to provide a critique of this situation and exemplars of best practice. It will be an important reference work for scholars engaged in fieldwork and those seeking to use archaeological evidence in historical discussions.

\"A photographic essay on four decades of the author's archaeological excavation and survey in Mexico and Peru. Contains hundreds of black and white photographs of landscapes, archaeological features, crew members, and local people and places. The focus is primarily on the work and life of an archaeologist and on landscapes that have since then been completely altered by urban development, reclamation projects, and commercial agriculture.\"-- Provided by publisher.

Around 400 BCE, inhabitants of the Southern Andes took up a sedentary lifestyle that included the practice of agriculture. Settlements were generally solitary or clustered structures with walled agricultural fields and animal corrals, and the first small villages appeared in some regions. Surprisingly, people were also producing and circulating exotic goods: polychrome ceramics, copper and gold ornaments, bronze bracelets and bells. To investigate the apparent contradiction between a lack of social complexity and the broad circulation of elaborated goods, archaeologist Joan Gero co-directed a binational project to excavate the site of Yutopian, an unusually well-preserved Early Formative village in the mountains of Northwest Argentina. In Yutopian, Gero describes how archaeologists from the United States and Argentina worked with local residents to uncover the lifeways of the earliest sedentary people of the region. Gero foregounds many experiential aspects of archaeological fieldwork that are usually omitted in the archaeological literature: the tedious labor and constraints of time and personnel, the emotional landscape, the intimate ethnographic settings and Andean people, the socio-politics, the difficult decisions and, especially, the role that ambiguity plays in determining archaeological meanings. Gero’s unique approach offers a new model for the site report as she masterfully demonstrates how the decisions made in conducting any scientific undertaking play a fundamental role in shaping the knowledge produced in that project.

Since its first publication, Field Archaeology: An Introduction has proved to be a key handbook for all those undertaking introductory courses in archaeology or volunteering on their first excavation. In this revised second edition, key developments in technology, theory and changes in the law are included, bringing it up to date with the most recent fieldwork practices. The dig is the face of archaeology most immediately recognised by the general public, and is often what attracts both students and amateurs to the discipline. Yet there is much more to working in the field than digging alone. Peter Drewett's comprehensive survey explores the process, from the core work of discovery and excavation to the final product, the published archaeological report. The main topics are: How an archaeological site is formed Finding and recording archaeological sites Planning excavations, digging the site and recording the results Post-fieldwork planning, processing and finds analysis Interpreting the evidence Publishing the report Illustrated with 100 photographs and line drawings, and using numerous case studies, this second edition of Field Archaeology ensures it will remain the essential introductory guide for archaeology students and the growing number of enthusiasts for the subject. 1. Introduction 2. What is an archaeological site? How is it formed and transformed? 3. Finding archaeological sites 4. Recording archaeological sites 5. Planning the excavation 6. Digging the site 7. Recording archaeological excavations 8. Post-fieldwork planning, processing and finds analysis 9. Interpreting the evidence 10. Publishing the report Peter Drewett is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of Sussex. Prior to this, he taught field archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where he directed the undergraduate field training excavations and established the Institute’s Field Archaeology Unit. Early in his career he was particularly involved in the rescue excavation of plough damaged sites on the South Downs. He set up and directed the Barbados Archaeological Survey, as well as running field courses and rescue excavations in Portugal and Hong Kong. Professor Drewett has over 100 published works, including (with Mark Gardiner and David Rudling) The South East to AD 1000 (1988, Longman) and Prehistoric Barbados (1991, Archetype). 'In a time of uncertainty in the profession, it’s refreshing to read a book that puts archaeology in the context of the best field practice ... This is an optimistic book, with an upbeat, breezy style that reviews all the major field techniques from the formation of deposits and how to find sites, through how to record them to postexcavation. There is detailed discussion of the problems of excavation and interpretation, and the rapidly changing means of publishing the results ... [This book] remains one of the best introductions to the techniques and problems of dirt archaeology.' - Mike Nevell, British Archaeology '... it remains that Drewett’s Field Archaeology is a companionable introduction to archaeological fieldwork, with a good balance between survey and excavation.' – Antiquity

\"How do archaeologists work with the data they identify as a record of the cultural past? How are these data collected and construed as evidence? What is the impact on archaeological practice of new techniques of data recovery and analysis, especially those imported from the sciences? To answer these questions, the authors identify close-to-the-ground principles of best practice based on an analysis of examples of evidential reasoning in archaeology that are widely regarded as successful, contested, or instructive failures. They look at how archaeologists put old evidence to work in pursuit of new interpretations, how they construct provisional foundations for inquiry as they go, and how they navigate the multidisciplinary ties that make archaeology a productive intellectual trading zone. This case-based approach is predicated on a conviction that archaeological practice is a repository of considerable methodological wisdom, embodied in tacit norms and skilled expertise--wisdom that is rarely made explicit except when contested, and is often obscured when questions about the status and reach of archaeological evidence figure in high-profile crisis debates\"-- Provided by publisher.

With case studies from North America to Australia and South Africa and covering topics from archaeological ethics to the repatriation of human remains, this book charts the development of a new form of archaeology that is informed by indigenous values and agendas. This involves fundamental changes in archaeological theory and practice as well as substantive changes in the power relations between archaeologists and indigenous peoples. Questions concerning the development of ethical archaeological practices are at the heart of this process.