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Knowledge in Motion brings together archaeologists, historians, and cultural anthropologists to examine communities from around the globe as they engage in a range of practices constituting situated learned and knowledge transmission. The contributors lay the groundwork to forge productive theories and methodologies for exploring situated learning and its broad-ranging outcomes.
Drawing on evidence from several disciplines, Ann Brower Stahl reconstructs the daily lives of Banda villagers of west central Ghana, from the time that they were drawn into the Niger trade (around AD 1300) until British overrule was established early in the twentieth century. The case study aims to closely integrate perspectives drawn from archaeology, history and anthropology in African studies.
A landmark introduction to the archaeology of Africa that challenges misconceptions & claims about Africa's past and teaches students how to evaluate these claims. Provides an unprecedented and exciting introduction to the archaeology of AfricaChallenges misconceptions & claims about Africa's past and teaches students how to evaluate these claims Includes a thoughtful introduction that explores the contexts that have shaped archaeological knowledge of Africa's past Lays out research questions that have shaped the contours of African archaeology Comprised of chapters specifically written for thi.
Decolonizing Indigenous Histories makes a vital contribution to the decolonization of archaeology by recasting colonialism within long-term indigenous histories. Showcasing case studies from Africa, Australia, Mesoamerica, and North and South America, this edited volume highlights the work of archaeologists who study indigenous peoples and histories at multiple scales. The contributors explore how the inclusion of indigenous histories, and collaboration with contemporary communities and scholars across the subfields of anthropology, can reframe archaeologies of colonialism. The cross-cultural case studies employ a broad range of methodological strategies—archaeology, ethnohistory, archival...
Prehistoric economic relationships are often presented as genderless, yet mounting research highlights the critical role gendered identities play in the division of work tasks and the development of specialized production in pre-modern economic systems. In Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies, contributors combine the study of gender in the archaeological record with the examination of intensified craft production in prehistory to reassess the connection between craft specialization and the types and amount of work that men and women performed in ancient communities. Chapters are organized by four interrelated themes crucial for understanding the implications of gender in the organization...
This work explores the archaeologies of daily living left by the indigenous and other displaced peoples impacted by European colonial expansion over the last 600 years. Case studies from North America, Australia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Ireland significantly revise conventional historical narratives of those interactions, their presumed impacts, and their ongoing relevance for the material, social, economic, and political lives and identities of contemporary indigenous and other peoples.
Ancient Art Revisited develops new perspectives on ancient art by weaving together diverse strands within archaeology and art history, exploring it through recent developments in archaeological theory. In order to foster dialogue among various subfields, contributors are drawn from a wide range of domains. Classical archaeology, Aegean prehistory, Near Eastern archaeology, Egyptology, Pre-Columbian South America, and North America are brought together to explore ancient art from multiscalar perspectives and through the lenses of entanglement theory, network thinking, assemblage theory, and other recent theoretical developments. Representing a new wave in research on ancient art, considering both the proximal and distributed operations of artworks, Ancient Art Revisited provides broad and inclusive coverage of ancient art and offers a cohesive approach to a fragmented area of study. This book will be suitable for archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians wishing to understand the latest thinking on ancient art.
Relational Identities and Other-than-Human Agency in Archaeology explores the benefits and consequences of archaeological theorizing on and interpretation of the social agency of nonhumans as relational beings capable of producing change in the world. The volume cross-examines traditional understanding of agency and personhood, presenting a globally diverse set of case studies that cover a range of cultural, geographical, and historical contexts. Agency (the ability to act) and personhood (the reciprocal qualities of relational beings) have traditionally been strictly assigned to humans. In case studies from Ghana to Australia to the British Isles and Mesoamerica, contributors to this volume...
"The concept of surplus captures the politics of production and also conveys the active material means by which people develop the strategies to navigate everyday life. Surplus: The Politics of Production and the Strategies of Everyday Life examines how surpluses affected ancient economies, governments, and households in civilizations across Mesoamerica, the Southwest United States, the Andes, Northern Europe, West Africa, Mesopotamia, and eastern Asia.A hallmark of archaeological research on sociopolitical complexity, surplus is central to theories of political inequality and institutional finance. This book investigates surplus as a macro-scalar process on which states or other complex pol...