Anthropological Archaeology in 2013: The Search for Truth(s)

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2013, we see a clear continuation of certain themes noted in previous reviews, including economy, mobility, human–environment interactions, social complexity, identity, and power. There is a greater emphasis on comparative approaches but also a general move away from reductionist, macrosystemic models in anthropological archaeology, with studies emphasizing diversity, multiple pathways or trajectories, and variability in local responses. The fallout of the so‐called “postmodernist turn” continues to prompt lively debate, with methodological rigor being emphasized as well as the critical cross‐examination of our Western modes of inquiry, with some scholars considering the possibility of multiple truths in their theoretical interpretations of the past.