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Method and Theory in American Archaeology
431
Citations
0
References
1962
Year
Archaeological TheoryPrehistoric ArchaeologyMaterial CultureHistorical ArchaeologyArchaeological ExcavationAmerican ArchaeologyPhilip PhillipsArchaeological RecordProcessual ArchaeologyArchaeologyAnthropologyLanguage StudiesCultural Anthropology
Method and Theory in American Archaeology, first published in 1958 by Willey and Phillips, became a foundational text for processual archaeology, arguing that archaeology should focus on cultural processes rather than history and providing an analytical framework that stimulated interpretation for over a decade. This facsimile reprint aims to contextualize the original work by adding a foreword and introduction that situate the book within the historical development of American archaeology. The edition achieves this by incorporating a foreword by Willey and an editorial introduction that frame the book’s significance. The edition features an exhaustive bibliography and is expected to be welcomed by academic libraries, students, professionals, and knowledgeable amateurs.
In 1958 Gordon R. Willey and Philip Phillips first published Method and Theory in American Archaeology - a volume that went through five printings, the last in 1967 at the height of what became known as the new, or processual, archaeology. The advent of processual archaeology, according to Willey and Phillips, represented a theoretical debate...a question of whether archaeology should be the study of cultural history or the study of cultural process. Willey and Phillips suggested that little interpretation had taken place in American archaeology, and their book offered an analytical perspective; the methods they described and the structural framework they used for synthesizing American prehistory were all geared toward interpretation. Method and Theory served as the catalyst and primary reader on the topic for over a decade. This facsimile reprint edition of the original University of Chicago Press volume includes a new foreword by Gordon R. Willey, which outlines the state of American archaeology at the time of the original publication, and a new introduction by the editors to place the book in historical context. The bibliography is exhaustive. Academic libraries, students, professionals, and knowledgeable amateurs will welcome this new edition of a standard-maker among texts on American archaeology.