Archaeological Theory in Practice

Many students view archaeological theory as a subject distinct from field research. This division is reinforced by the way theory is taught, often in stand-alone courses that focus more on logic and reasoning than on the application of ideas to fieldwork. Divorcing thought from action does not convey how archaeologists really go about understanding the past.

This book bridges the gap between theory and practice by looking in detail at how the authors and their colleagues used theory to interpret what they found while conducting research in northwest Honduras. This is not a linear narrative. Rather, the book highlights the open-ended nature of archaeological research: new theories pose novel questions to be addressed by data both old and new. Often our interpretive frameworks change, generating novel questions leading to the collection of new data. The central case study is the writers’ work in Honduras. The interrelations of field work, data, theory, and interpretation are also illustrated with two long-running archaeological debates, the emergence of inequality in southern Mesopotamia, and inferring the ancient meanings of Stonehenge.

The book is of special interest to undergraduate Anthropology/Archaeology majors and first- and second-year graduate students, along with anyone interested in how archaeologists convert the static materials we find into dynamic histories of long-vanished people.

Ed’s interest in archaeology was sparked by his first dig in Winchester, England in 1970. Graduating with a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, Ed has been directing with Pat Urban and other colleagues research in northwestern Honduras since 1983. Ed has taught Anthropology and Archaeology at Kenyon College since 1981 and continues to pursue research interests that include social network analyses, the roots of inequality, and interregional interaction.

Pat first fell in love with archaeology when neighbors gifted her a book about Mesopotamia. She went on to study anthropology and archaeology at Cornell and UPenn. Research in Honduras started in 1975 field. Due to her parents’ move to Panama and her teaching responsibilities for more than 3 decades at Kenyon, she has also pursued Mexican and Central American history from the European arrival to the present day. She loves ancient ceramics, making maps and excavating, and theory about structuration, inequality, the state, and craft production.