Download or read book Defining and Measuring Diversity in Archaeology written by Metin I. Eren and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2022-07-18 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Calculating the diversity of biological or cultural classes is a fundamental way of describing, analyzing, and understanding the world around us. Understanding archaeological diversity is key to understanding human culture in the past. Archaeologists have long experienced a tenuous relationship with statistics; however, the regular integration of diversity measures and concepts into archaeological practice is becoming increasingly important. This volume includes chapters that cover a wide range of archaeological applications of diversity measures. Featuring studies of archaeological diversity ranging from the data-driven to the theoretical, from the Paleolithic to the Historic periods, authors illustrate the range of data sets to which diversity measures can be applied, as well as offer new methods to examine archaeological diversity.
Download or read book Quantifying Diversity in Archaeology written by Robert D. Leonard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1989-04-25 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantifying Diversity in Archaeology aims to examine what we mean by diversity.
Download or read book Measurement and Meaning of Archaeological Diversity written by Virginia Marie Betz and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeologists use diversity as one way of characterizing their assemblages. Diversity refers to both the number of artifact classes present (richness) and the proportional representation of classes (evenness). Numerical diversity indices measure one or both components. Archaeologists use assemblage diversity to infer behavior of prehistoric cultures. Archaeological inferences about behavior occur at two levels of analysis: (1) micro-scale analyses in which diversity is an attribute of artifactual assemblages, and (2) macro-scale analyses in which diversity is an attribute of the culture. This study evaluates theories used to justify behavioral inferences based on macro-level diversity of material culture. Assumptions about behavior made on the basis of the diversity of archaeological assemblages are compared with information about behavioral diversity drawn from ethnographic sources. The ethnographic analysis considers four macro-scale models that establish archaeological correlates for systemic cultural behaviors. All the models infer behavioral diversity from artifactual diversity. They are: (1) a group size model that relates artifactual diversity to population density, (2) a niche width model that relates archaeological diversity to subsistence practices, (3) a complexity model that relates archaeological diversity to social organization, and (4) a stress-response model that relates archaeological diversity to systemic perturbation. Four behavioral variables from the Human Relations Area Files Standard Cross-Cultural Sample are recoded to represent each behavioral diversity model. The results of a rank-order correlation procedure indicate that the behaviors associated with group size, niche width, complexity, and stress-response basically occur independently of one another in culture groups. This finding validates the archaeological approach which uses functionally-specific systemic behavior sets. Archaeological sites often do not yield the artifactual and contextual data to use behavioral models. The generalized diversity of artifactual forms is interpreted therefore as diversity of many behavioral responses. A general diversity variable (the sum of the four individual behavioral variables) produces the list of sample cultures ranked by generalized diversity. Because the diversity concept is not drawn from anthropological theory, archaeologists frequently interpret generalized diversity in terms of ecological or evolutionary models. The data show that biological models of diversity do not explain the general diversity rankings. The direct analogic application of theoretical biological diversity models to explain behavioral diversity needs reassessment in terms of ethnographic observations. Archaeologists should work towards building a distinctly anthropological theory which accommodates a generalized concept of behavioral diversity.
Download or read book Unit Issues in Archaeology written by Ann Felice Ramenofsky and published by University of Utah Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume emphasizes one aspect of scientific method: units of measure and their construction as applied to archaeology. Attributes, artifact classes, locational designations, temporal periods, sampling universes, culture stages, and geographic regions are all examples of constructed units.
Download or read book Diversity in Archaeology written by Elifgül Doğan and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2022-09-01 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 30 papers explore a wide range of topics such as women’s voices in archaeological discourse; researching race and ethnicity across time; use of diversified science methods in archaeology; critical ethnographic studies; diversity in the archaeology of death, heritage studies, and archaeology of ‘scapes’.
Download or read book Those of Little Note written by Elizabeth M. Scott and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2022-07-12 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Because some classes of people may not have been considered worthy of notice by dominant social groups in the past, they may be less visible to us today in historical and archaeological records; consequently, they remain less studied. This volume attempts to redress this oversight by presenting case studies of historical and archaeological research on various ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic groups in colonial and post-colonial North America. These contributions illustrate how historical archaeologists and ethnohistorians have used documentary and archaeological evidence to retrieve information on neglected aspects of American history. They explore ways of making more visible Native Americans, African Americans, and Euro-Americans of differing ethnic groups and economic classes, and also shed new light on such groups as celibate religious communities, women in predominantly male communities, and working-class and middle-class women in urban communities. Material evidence on "those of little note" provides not only fresh insight into our understanding of daily life in the past, but also a refreshing counterpoint to the male- and Euro-centered analysis that has characterized much of historical archaeology since its inception. Readers will find many chapters rewarding in their application of sophisticated feminist theory to archaeological data, or in their probing of complex relational issues concerning the construction of gender identity and gender relationships. As the first archeaeologically-focused collection to examine the interconnectedness of gender, class, race, and ethnicity in past societies, Those of Little Note sets new standards for future research. CONTENTS I--Introduction 1. Through the Lens of Gender: Archaeology, Inequality, and Those "Of Little Note" / Elizabeth M. Scott II--Native American and African American Communities 2. Cloth, Clothing, and Related Paraphernalia: A Key to Gender Visibility in the Archaeological Record of Russian America / Louise M. Jackson 3. "We Took Care of Each Other Like Families Were Meant To": Gender, Social Organization, and Wage Labor Among the Apache at Roosevelt / Everett Bassett 4. The House of the Black Burghardts: An Investigation of Race, Gender, and Class at the W. E. B. DuBois Boyhood Homesite / Nancy Ladd Muller III--All Male and Predominantly Male Communities 5. "With Manly Courage": Reading the Construction of Gender in a 19th-Century Religious Community / Elizabeth Kryder-Reid 6. The Identification of Gender at Northern Military Sites of the Late 18th Century / David R. Starbuck 7. Class, Gender Strategies, and Material Culture in the Mining West / Donald L. Hardesty IV--Working Women in Urban Communities 8. Mrs. Starr's Profession / Donna J. Seifert 9. Diversity and 19th-Century Domestic Reform: Relationships Among Classes and Ethnic Groups / Suzanne M. Spencer-Wood
Download or read book Quantitative Analysis in Archaeology written by Todd L. VanPool and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantitative Analysis in Archaeology introduces the application of quantitative methods in archaeology. It outlines conceptual and statistical principles, illustrates their application, and provides problem sets for practice. Discusses both methodological frameworks and quantitative methods of archaeological analysis Presents statistical material in a clear and straightforward manner ideal for students and professionals in the field Includes illustrative problem sets and practice exercises in each chapter that reinforce practical application of quantitative analysis
Download or read book Identity Oppression and Diversity in Archaeology written by Laura E Heath-Stout and published by . This book was released on 2024-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Identity, Oppression, and Diversity in Archaeology documents how racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, and ableism affect the demographics of archaeology and discusses how knowledge that archaeologists produce is shaped by the discipline's demographic homogeneity. Previous research has shown that, like many academic fields, archaeology is numerically dominated by straight white cisgender people, and those in positions of authority are predominantly men. This book examines how and why those demographic trends persist. It also elucidates how individual archaeologists' social identities shape the research they conduct, and therefore, how our demographics affect and limit our knowledge production on a disciplinary scale. It explains how, through unflinching reflection, proactive policymaking, and sincere community-building, we can build a diverse and inclusive discipline. This book will appeal to archaeologists who have an interest in diversity and inclusion within the discipline as well scholars in other disciplines who are engaged in research on diversity in academia"--
Download or read book The Archaeology of Ethnicity written by Siân Jones and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-11 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of ethnicity is highly controversial in contemporary archaeology. The author responds to the need for a reassessment of the ways in which social groups are identified in the archeological record.
Download or read book Quantifying Archaeology written by Stephen Shennan and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-05-19 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces archaeologists to the most important quantitative methods, from the initial description of archaeological data to techniques of multivariate analysis. These are presented in the context of familiar problems in archaeological practice, an approach designed to illustrate their relevance and to overcome the fear of mathematics from which archaeologists often suffer.
Download or read book Archaeological Theory written by Norman Yoffee and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1993-07-22 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume assesses the real achievements of archaeology in increasing an understanding of the past. Without rejecting the insights either of traditional or more recent approaches, it considers the issues raised in current claims and controversies about what is appropriate theory for archaeology. The first section looks at the process of theory building and at the sources of the ideas employed. The following studies examine questions such as the interplay between expectation and evidence in ideas of human origins, social role and material practice in the formation of the archaeological record, and how the rise of states should be conceptualised; further papers cover issues of ethnoarchaeology, visual symbols, and conflicting claims to ownership of the past. The conclusion is that archaeologists need to be equally wary of naive positivism in the guise of scientific procedure, and of speculation about the unrecorded intentions of prehistoric actors.
Download or read book Something Out of the Ordinary written by Luc Amkreutz and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "More than 7000 years ago, groups of early farmers (the Linearbandkeramik, or LBK) spread over vast areas of Europe. Their cultural characteristics comprised common choices and styles of execution, with a central meaning and functionality attached to 'doing things a certain way', over an enormous geographical area. However, recent evidence suggests that the reality was much more varied and diverse. The central question of this book is the extent to which notions of 'uniformity' and 'diversity' have caused a wider shift in archaeological perspective. Using the LBK case study as a starting point, the volume brings together contributions by international specialists tackling the notion of cultural diversity and its explanatory power in archaeological analysis more generally. Through discussions of the domestic architecture, stone tool inventory, pottery traditions, landscape use and burial traditions of the LBK, this book provides a crucial reappraisal of the culture's potential for adaptability and change. Papers in the second part of the volume are devoted to archaeological case studies from around the globe in which the tension between diversity and uniformity has also proved controversial, including the Near Eastern Halaf culture, the North American Mississippian, the Pacific expansion of the Lapita culture, and the European Bell Beaker phenomenon. All provide exciting theoretical and methodological contributions on how the appreciation of cultural diversity as a whole can be moved forward. These papers expose diversity and uniformity as cultural strategies, and as such provide essential reading for scholars in archaeology and anthropology, and for anyone interested in the interplay between material culture and human social change. "
Download or read book Heritage of Value Archaeology of Renown written by Clay Mathers and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These essays urge archaeologists to reexamine and to change their basic assumptions about how we assign value to cultural places and, beyond that, how we should understand and manage our heritage throughout much of the world. At the heart of the complex field of cultural resource management is the work archaeologists do to determine the significance of a particular site. On a daily basis, they often face the question of what should be protected for future generations, salvaged in the face of impending destruction, or allowed to be destroyed without record. Frequently, their assessments are at odds with segments of society whose culturally conditioned values conflict with the practical management of resources. The book addresses such topical issues as public controversy over national memorials, land ownership, repatriation, and the protection of cultural heritage in war and peace. It sets the concerns of native peoples and minorities in the context of worldwide tensions between national and local identities, and it explores the overt goal of many countries to promote and appreciate cultural diversity. It also addresses the philosophical separation of heritage management and research within the archaeological discipline itself. The contributors propose that in both developing and developed nations the theoretical underpinning of policies must be examined, and new preservation, protection, and research strategies must be developed. Drawing on a broad base of international expertise, the book highlights new theoretical and pragmatic approaches to archaeological value and significance being applied currently by professionals in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, and Australia. The book raises concerns of interest not only to archaeologists but also to those in law, politics, anthropology, environmental studies, and related fields. It revives the critical debate concerning significance and value while emphasizing innovations in both theory and practice in what has become in the 21st century an increasingly diverse discipline. Clay Mathers is the geographic information systems coordinator for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Albuquerque District, New Mexico. He is the coeditor of Trends and Patterns in Cultural Resource Significance, Cultural Resource Significance Evaluation, and Development and Decline in the Mediterranean Bronze Age.
Download or read book Darwin and Archaeology written by John P. Hart and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2002-05-30 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last decades of the 20th century witnessed strongly growing interest in evolutionary approaches to the human past. Even now, however, there is little real agreement on what evolutionary archaeology is all about. A major obstacle is the lack of consensus on how to define the basic principles of Darwinian thought in ways that are genuinely relevant to the archaeological sciences. Each chapter in this new collection of specially invited essays focuses on a single major concept and its associated key words, summarizes its historic and current uses, and then reviews case studies illustrating that concept's present and probable future role in research. What these authors say shows the richness and current diversity of thought among those today who insist that Darwinism has a key role to play in archaeology. Each chapter includes definitions of related key words. Because the same key words may have the same or different meanings in different conceptual contexts, many of these key words are addressed in more than one chapter. In addition to exploring key concepts, collectively the book's chapters show the broad range of ideas and opinions in this intellectual arena today. This volume reflects—and clarifies—debate today on the role of Darwinism in modern archaeology, and by doing so, may help shape the directions that future work in archaeology will take.
Download or read book Transforming Archaeology written by Sonya Atalay and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-01 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeology for whom? The dozen well-known contributors to this innovative volume suggest nothing less than a transformation of the discipline into a service-oriented, community-based endeavor. They wish to replace the primacy of meeting academic demands with meeting the needs and values of those outside the field who may benefit most from our work. They insist that we employ both rigorous scientific methods and an equally rigorous critique of those practices to ensure that our work addresses real-world social, environmental, and political problems. A transformed archaeology requires both personal engagement and a new toolkit. Thus, in addition to the theoretical grounding and case materials from around the world, each contributor offers a personal statement of their goals and an outline of collaborative methods that can be adopted by other archaeologists.
Download or read book Lithic Technological Systems and Evolutionary Theory written by Society for American Archaeology. Annual Meeting and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-22 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays brings together several different evolutionary perspectives to demonstrate how lithic technological systems are a byproduct of human behavior. The essays cover a range of topics, including human behavioral ecology, cultural transmission, phylogenetic analysis, macroevolution, and various applications of evolutionary ecology.
Download or read book Archaeology at the Millennium written by Gary M. Feinman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-17 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book an internationally distinguished roster of contributors considers the state of the art of the discipline of archaeology at the turn of the 21st century and charts an ambitious agenda for the future. The chapters address a wide range of topics including, paradigms, practice, and relevance of the discipline; paleoanthropology; fully modern humans; holocene hunter-gatherers; the transition to food and craft production; social inequality; warfare; state and empire formation; and the uneasy relationship between classical and anthropological archaeology.
