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The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Plastics investigates the archaeology of the contemporary world through the lens of its most distinguishing and problematic material.Plastics are ubiquitous and have been so for nearly three generations since they became widely used in the early 1950s. Plastics will persist for millennia, their legacies as toxic heritage being felt deep into the future. In this book – comprising 32 original, at times disturbing, and critically engaged contributions – scholars from archaeology and other cognate disciplines explore plastics from a number of different angles and perspectives. Together these contributions highlight the dilemma that plastics present: their usefulness on the one hand, and the threats they present to environmental health on the other. The volume also explores the lessons that archaeologists can learn from plastics, about episodes of mass production, consumption and toxicity in the past, and also – importantly – about the future.This important and timely collection will therefore be of interest to all archaeologists irrespective of their period of study, or their geographical focus, and to students of archaeology and cultural heritage. It will also be relevant for researchers and students in other fields of study that focus on plastics and their environmental and social impacts. Ultimately, this book concerns the contemporary world and the impact of people upon it, through the archaeological lens.

In the Beginning describes the basic methods and theoretical approaches of archaeology. This is a book about fundamental principles written in a clear, engaging style, with minimal use of technical jargon, which approaches archaeology from a global perspective.This new edition includes new case studies and updated sections on the latest archaeological methods, theories, and developments in archaeological science. There are heavily updated chapters on cultural resource management, public archaeology, and the important role of archaeology in society as well as new material on multidisciplinary research, ethics, diversity, underwater archaeology, and the preservation of the archaeological record. Beginning with a broad introduction to the field, this book surveys the highlights of archaeology's vibrant history, then covers the basics of preservation, dating the past, and the context of archaeological finds. Descriptions of field surveys, including the latest remote-sensing methods, excavation, and artifact analysis, lead into the study of ancient environments, landscapes and settlement patterns, and the people of the past. There is also a chapter on archaeology as a potential career. In the Beginning takes the reader on an evenly balanced journey through today's archaeology and introduces them to the importance of archaeology in the modern world.This well-illustrated account, with its numerous boxes and sidebars, is laced with interesting and often entertaining examples of archaeological research from around the globe. It is aimed at introductory students in archaeology and anthropology taking survey courses on archaeology, as well as more advanced readers.

The thoroughly updated second edition of Archaeological Investigation reviews and explains the practices of field archaeology in the world today. Now co-authored by Madeleine Hummler, the book's scope has been enlarged in time and space, reaching out to the different methods and strategies applied in both the academic and commercial sectors in diverse terrain on land and under the sea.Archaeological Investigation accompanies the reader on a journey from absolute beginner to professional. Part 1 (Principles) sets the scene for newcomers, showing the axial role of fieldwork in rediscovering the past. Part 2 (In the Field) is aimed at those setting out to collect primary data by the diverse methods of modern survey and excavation. Word pictures on'First day in the field'and'First day on a dig'provide friendly introductions to the high-tech enterprise that fieldwork has become. Now fully engaged in the process, newcomers to archaeology are ready, in Part 3 (Writing Up), to take part in the process of making the discoveries known. Here the findings of fieldwork are marshalled to analyse the assemblage, the use of space and the chronology of what happened. The results are then combined in a synthesis and communicated through websites, museums, the display of sites and above all through publication. Part 4 (Design) engages the reader in archaeology's primary action: how to design projects that conserve, rediscover and explain the human past, beginning with a review of some landmark examples (Chapter 13). The final chapter (The Profession) reviews the role of the state, the academy, the commercial sector and the public in making archaeology happen – and why it matters.Building on the authors'extensive experience, Archaeological Investigation remains an inspiring, provocative, informative and entertaining book for students and professionals, arguing that the investigation of the human and environmental past is highly relevant to contemporary society and its future.

This volume expands perspectives on infrastructure that are rooted in archaeological discourse and material evidence.The compiled chapters represent new and emerging ideas within archaeology about what infrastructure is, how it can materialize, and how it impacts and reflects human behavior, social organization, and identity in the past as well as the present. Three goals central to the work include: (1) expand the definition of infrastructure using archaeological frameworks and evidence from a wide range of social, historical, and geographic contexts; (2) explore how new archaeological perspectives on infrastructure can help answer anthropological questions pertaining to social organization, group collaboration, and community consensus and negotiation; and (3) examine the broader implications of an archaeological engagement with infrastructure and contributions to contemporary infrastructural studies. Chapters explore important aspects of infrastructure, including its relationality, scale, history, and relevance, and provide archaeological case studies that examine the social repercussions of infrastructure and the various ways it has materialized in the past. This compilation ultimately expands the discourse of infrastructure in archaeology and social sciences more broadly.Social scientists can turn to this volume for insights into an archaeologically informed perspective on infrastructure relevant to the study of past and current human behavior.

Archæographies: Excavating Neolithic Dispilio, published by Archaeopress in 2013, was based on the photo-blog Visualizing Neolithic, which was launched in 2006. Archæographies: Excavating Neolithic Dispilio – X (i.e. 2013-2023) treats the initial Archæographies as an archaeological artifact, encircling the experimental project of depicting the excavation of the lakeside neolithic settlement of Dispilio. The essay is tripartite: I Mirroring Archæographies; Intermezzo: An archive of colored jpgs; II Dissecting Archæographies.

Perspectivism in Archaeology explores recurring features in Amerindian mythology and cosmology in the past, as well as distinctions and similarities between humans, non-humans and material culture. It offers a range of possibilities for the reconstruction of ancient ontological approaches, as well as new ways of thinking in archaeology, notably how ancient ontological approaches can be reconciled with current archaeological theories. In this volume, Andrés Laguens contributes a new set of approaches that incorporate Indigenous theories of reality into an understanding of the South American archaeological record. He analyses perspectivism as a step-by-step theory with clear explanations and examples and shows how it can be implemented in archaeological research and merged with ontological approaches. Exploring the foundations of Amerindian perspectivism and its theoretical and methodological possibilities, he also demonstrates applications of its precepts through case studies of ancient societies of the Andes and Patagonia.

This book explores the expressly pictorial type of visual archaeology, the transcribing of three-dimensional materiality into two-dimensional depictions, and its influential history within the discipline. The picturing of ancient sites and artifacts to convey information links visual reporting with the workings of the imagination and indicates that the study of antiquity has always had a hybrid identity: part artistic and part scientific. In examining expressly pictorial forms of visual story-telling about the past, this book looks beyond certain supposed'creative turns'and focuses instead on creative continuities, answering key questions about the power of picturing and its ability to not only inform documentary practices but actively structure those practices. How are prints, drawings, paintings and photographs able to collapse the three-dimensional world of the ancient past onto a flat page but also convey a sense of material reality? In contemporary practice, how do pictorial ways of seeing enable the interpretation of material remains but also shape the recognition of digital traces on a computer screen? Published illustrations, both historical and contemporary, are primary sources of evidence for answering such questions and identifying common patterns of pictorial information.This book provides a framework for scholars researching the visual culture of archaeology as well as the history of archaeology. It is also recommended for professionals in the fields of heritage studies, conservation and community archaeology.

Archaeology can be weird and fun, especially the digital kind. Readers of archaeology, media studies, and game studies are introduced to the wild-and-wooly side of digital archaeology: artifacts, sites, and landscapes contained within—and supporting—interactive digital built environments. Follow your guide, the reluctant digital archaeologist Charlie, to disappear into the weeds of post-landscapes, non-place cultural spaces, persistent digital spaces, software citizenship, machine-created culture, digital drift, technofossils, quantum archaeology, archaeological time, singularities, complexity and retrocausality, noise, and more. These bite-sized chapters offer new ways of interpreting humanity's blossoming digitalia, an archaeology done at the source of creation, use, and abandonment of our electronic selves.

In a dynamic near half-century career of insight, engagement, and instruction, Kent G. Lightfoot transformed North American archaeology through his innovative ideas, robust collaborations, thoughtful field projects, and mentoring of numerous students. Authors emphasize the multifarious ways Lightfoot impacted—and continues to impact—approaches to archaeological inquiry, anthropological engagement, Indigenous issues, and professionalism. Four primary themes include: negotiations of intercultural entanglements in pluralistic settings; transformations of temporal and spatial archaeological dimensions, as well as theoretical and methodological innovations; engagement with contemporary people and issues; and leading by example with honor, humor, and humility. These reflect the remarkable depth, breadth, and growth in Lightfoot's career, despite his unwavering stylistic devotion to Hawaiian shirts.

Bringing together a wide array of modern scientific techniques and interdisciplinary approaches, this book provides an accessible guide to the methods that form the current bedrock of research into Roman, and more broadly ancient, wine. Chapters are arranged into thematic sections, covering biomolecular archaeology and chemical analysis, archaeobotany and palynology, vineyard and landscape archaeology and computational and experimental archaeology. These include discussions of some of the most recent techniques, such as ancient DNA and organic residue analyses, geophysical prospection, multispectral imaging and spatial and climatic modelling. While most of the content is of direct relevance to the Roman Mediterranean, the assortment of detailed case studies, methodological outlines and broader'state of the field'reflections is of equal use to researchers working across disparate disciplines, geographies, and chronologies. The study of ancient Roman wine has been dominated until recently by traditional archaeological analyses focused upon production facilities and ceramic evidence related to transport. While such architecture and artefact-focussed approaches provide a fundamental foundation for our understanding of this topic, they fail to provide the requisite nuance to answer other questions regarding grape cultivation and wine production, consumption, use and trade. As the first compendium of its kind, this book supports the embedding of modern scientific and experimental techniques into archaeological fieldwork, research and laboratory analysis, pushing the boundaries of what questions can be explored, and serving as a launching point for future avenues of interdisciplinary research.

Network research has recently been adopted as one of the tools of the trade in archaeology, used to study a wide range of topics: interactions between island communities, movements through urban spaces, visibility in past landscapes, material culture similarity, exchange, and much more. This Handbook is the first authoritative reference work for archaeological network research, featuring current topical trends and covering the archaeological application of network methods and theories. This is elaborately demonstrated through substantive topics and case studies drawn from a breadth of periods and cultures in world archaeology. It highlights and further develops the unique contributions made by archaeological research to network science, especially concerning the development of spatial and material culture network methods and approaches to studying long-term network change. This is the go-to resource for students and scholars wishing to explore how network science can be applied in archaeology through an up-to-date overview of the field.

How do archaeologists think? How do archaeologists take the scattered and fragmentary remains collected from past settlements and create meaningful, reasonable interpretations of past human history? In the second edition of Archaeological Thinking, Charles E. Orser, Jr. provides answers to these questions and more by explaining in non-technical language the most basic elements of critical thinking in archaeology. This book explores and explains such topics as:the use of logic in framing argumentsthe curious issue of fact selectionthe use of analogiesthe role of archaeology in contemporary society and among present-day communitiesapproaches to understanding the pastand the dangers of deceitful archaeological thinking.Examples taken from the world of ancient aliens, mythical sunken cities, and mysterious creatures help readers learn how to separate reality from fiction regardless of their desire to become a professional archaeologist.

This book is an introduction to theory in archaeology – but with a difference. Archaeological Situations avoids talking about theory as if it was something you apply but rather as something embedded in archaeological practice from the start.Rather than see theory as something worked from the outside in, this book explores theory from the inside out, which means it focuses on specific archaeological practices rather than specific theories. It starts from the kinds of situations that students find themselves in and learn about in other archaeology courses, avoiding the gap between practice and theory from the very beginning. It shows students the theoretical implications of almost everything they engage in as archaeologists, from fieldwork, recording, writing up and making and assessing an argument to exploring the very nature of archaeology and justifying its relevance. Essentially, it adopts a structure which attempts to pre-empt one of the most common complaints of students taking theory courses: how is this applicable?Aimed primarily at undergraduates, this book is the ideal way to engage students with archaeological theory.

This edited volume compiles a series of chapters written by experts of isotopic analysis in order to highlight the utility of various isotope systems in the reconstruction of past human behaviors. Rather than grouping contributions by specific isotopes or analytical techniques, as many isotope review articles are arranged, the volume organizes chapters by broadly defined themes of archaeological research. These include: paleodiet and life histories, human-animal interactions, and migration and mobility. In this sense, the book is arranged with the intent of being as much question based as method based. Chapters under these themes provide background information on the principles of the techniques and on the theoretical underpinnings of the research; yet they are written with the non-specialist in mind and attempt to convey these ideas clearly and succinctly. In addition to the case studies and reviews, three chapters provide greater context to the field of isotopicarchaeology, discussing its history, basic principles, and future potential. The volume aims to serve as a reference source for students and practicing archaeologists seeking to apply isotopic studies to their own research projects or to act as a reader for courses in archaeological science. Chapter 6 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Techno-logic & Technology is an ambitious effort to develop a new framework for studying the development of stone tool technology, with the goal of integrating humanity's earliest and longest-lasting technology into a comprehensive questioning of the interaction between humanity and the material world. Michael Chazan provides a translation of Éric Boëda's authoritative work Techno-logique and Technologie, which draws on the latter's career of research on stone tool assemblages from archaeological sites in Europe, the Middle East, China, and South America, together with a theoretical apparatus influenced by the work of Gilbert Simondon. This book presents a major challenge to all archaeologists studying ancient technology to reconsider how they think about artifacts and how to approach the question of progress through time in human technology. Lithic analysis is a highly empirical field of study that rarely has an impact on issues of broad theoretical interest, and Boëda's book is a welcome exception. As well as providing contextualising information within the text, the translator Michael Chazan, himself a Paleolithic archaeologist specializing in stone tool technology, includes an interview with the author to help equip the reader to engage with this challenging text. Chiming with the growth of interest in the work of Gilbert Simondon in the English-speaking world, this book is an important resource for Palaeolithic archaeologists and lithic specialists. It will also be of interest to researchers in material culture studies, technology studies, and human evolution.

This volume provides a state-of-the-art presentation and discussion of procedures, especially what works and what doesn't — on isotopic proveniencing, learned over the last 30 years. The volume focuses on application, not method, to emphasize to the reader the wide range of questions that can be addressed using isotopic proveniencing. Topics covered include samples, baselines, isoscapes, and place of origin. Isotopic proveniencing has become almost standard procedure in the analysis of archaeological burials as a means of distinguishing locals from foreigners. The combination of isotopic proveniencing and DNA has moved archaeological interest in migration and mobility to the fore, but there is very little synthetic work published for either technology.The field has evolved and new procedures and guidelines have emerged that have not been widely heard and this volume seeks to rectify this. The contributors have been selected from among the leaders in the field, those with active research and hands-on experience with the technology. This volume is of relevance to archaeologists.

HANDBOOK OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCES A modern and comprehensive introduction to methods and techniques in archaeology In the newly revised Second Edition of the Handbook of Archaeological Sciences, a team of more than 100 researchers delivers a comprehensive and accessible overview of modern methods used in the archaeological sciences. The book covers all relevant approaches to obtaining and analyzing archaeological data, including dating methods, quaternary paleoenvironments, human bioarchaeology, biomolecular archaeology and archaeogenetics, resource exploitation, archaeological prospection, and assessing the decay and conservation of specimens. Overview chapters introduce readers to the relevance of each area, followed by contributions from leading experts that provide detailed technical knowledge and application examples. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to human bioarchaeology, including hominin evolution and paleopathology The use of biomolecular analysis to characterize past environments Novel approaches to the analysis of archaeological materials that shed new light on early human lifestyles and societies In-depth explorations of the statistical and computational methods relevant to archaeology Perfect for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of archaeology, the Handbook of Archaeological Sciences will also earn a prominent place in the libraries of researchers and professionals with an interest in the geological, biological, and genetic basis of archaeological studies.

From Photography to 3D Models and Beyond: visualizations in archaeology explores the history of visual technology and archaeology and outlines how the introduction of interactive 3D computer modelling to the discipline parallels very closely the earlier integration of photography into archaeological fieldwork. The incredible potential of interactive 3D computer graphics to provide new insight into cultural change, ancient settlement development, building function, and behavior make virtual heritage a must-use approach, but one that has not been fully grasped. This volume brings together for the first time several key aspects of the history of archaeology: how and where photographs became an indispensable part of excavations; when and for what purposes virtual reality began a similar journey into the field team's arsenal of documentation, publication, and visualization tools; how the common trajectory of both technologies provides clues for why virtual reality has not yet become as commonplace as photography for archaeological research, teaching, and data dissemination; and how new methods and technologies are poised to revolutionize our understanding of the past.

Our modern culture is increasingly expressed in the form of digital artifacts, yet archaeology is in its infancy when it comes to researching and understanding them. The study and reverse engineering of digital artifacts is no longer the exclusive domain of computer scientists. Presented by way of analogy to the process of archaeological fieldwork familiar to readers, the 1986 Electronic Arts game Amnesia is used as a vehicle to explain the procedure and thought process required to reverse engineer a digital artifact. As a go-to reference to learn how to begin studying the digital, Amnesia is shown to be a multi-layered artifact with a complex backstory; through it, topics in data compression, copy protection, memory management, and programming languages are covered.

How do researchers use dynamic network analysis (DYRA) to explore, model, and try to understand the complex global history of our species? Reduced to bare bones, network analysis is a way of understanding the world around us — a way called relational thinking — that is liberating but challenging. Using this handbook, researchers learn to develop historical and archaeological research questions anchored in DYRA. Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professional historians and archaeologists can consult on issues that range from hypothesis-driven research to critiquing dominant historical narratives, especially those that have tended to ignore the diversity of the archaeological record.

Archaeological Theory: The Basics is an accessible introduction to an indispensable part of what archaeologists do. The book guides the reader to an understanding of what theory is, how it works and the range of theories used in archaeology. The growth of theory and the adoption of theories drawn from both the natural and social sciences have broadened our ability to produce trustworthy knowledge about the past. This book helps readers to see the value of archaeological theory and beyond what is sometimes thought to be just the use of indigestible jargon. Key theories and concepts are introduced to the reader. Among the main questions discussed are the following: What is theory and why do we need it? What major areas of theory are, and have been, used and debated in archaeology? What do they tell us about themes including human society, evolution, culture, identity and agency? How might archaeological theory change in the future? This book is written mainly for readers new to archaeology and will help them to understand archaeological theory. It assumes no prior knowledge of archaeological theory and presents it in a selective and clear way, with case studies showing how theory is used in practice.

This book is a significant contribution to the field of survey pottery studies, which is not frequently theorised, and could also serve as a guide and provide inspiration to archaeologists designing their own survey projects and methodologies. Landscape archaeology has heavily relied on pedestrian survey as a field method for more than half a century. In most field projects, archaeological ceramics constitute the lion's share among the finds and the amount of collected sherds is overwhelming. Survey ceramics provide the basis for understanding human activity in a landscape, and sherds serve as convenient chronological markers for the archaeological sites discovered in field projects. However, how this pottery is collected and studied determines the possibilities for using the sherds as a source material. Not only the collection practices, but also the process and practicalities of ceramic analysis are rarely made explicit, even though the archaeological interpretations of human activity in the landscape strongly rely on it. Most contributions in this volume provide an insight in collection, processing and interpretation practices in a specific survey project, and we hope this transparency is inspiring and contributes to a better understanding of surface ceramics as a basis for historical interpretations. Three themes run as a red thread through the contributions in this book: first of all transparency in ceramic collecting, processing and interpretation, secondly, improving diagnosticity, and thirdly, expanding the interpretive potential of survey ceramics. The chapters are geographically oriented towards Greece, Italy and Spain, three countries in which archaeological surface survey is widely practised. Chronologically, the contributions range from the Final Neolithic to the Medieval period.

Theorizing Archaeological Museum Studies works towards reconnecting archaeological practice, the theoretical richness of archaeology, and museum studies. The book therefore embraces both the practical aspects of archaeology and empirical studies in museums in order to rethink what happens when an artefact changes into an exhibit.This study is positioned at the intersection of both history and archaeological theory, and of the history of art and museum studies. The central focus of this book explores the relationship between museums and their dominant paradigms, on the one hand, and new approaches and theories in archaeology, on the other. It thus also illustrates the co-dependencies, relations and tensions that characterize the relationship between academia and museums. This book demonstrates how in becoming exhibits, artefacts have – and continue to – become reflections of the discipline's prevailing paradigms while manifesting the dominant aims and methods of knowledge production pertaining at a given time and place, as well as the desired social interpretations and modes of presenting the past.Theorizing Archaeological Museum Studies offers important insights for academics and students (archaeology, heritage studies, museum studies) as well as for practitioners (museum employees, heritage practitioners). The book is also intended for scholars from across the humanities interested in museum studies, heritage studies, curatorial studies, cultural studies, cultural geography, material culture, history of archaeology, archaeological theory, and the anthropology of things.

Archaeology in the past century has seen a major shift from theoretical frameworks that treat the remains of past societies as static snapshots of particular moments in time to interpretations that prioritize change and variability. Though established analytical concepts, such as typology, remain key parts of the archaeologist's investigative toolkit, data-gathering strategies and interpretative frameworks have become infused progressively with the concept that archaeology is living, in the sense of both the objects of study and the discipline as a whole. The significance for the field is that researchers across the world are integrating ideas informed by relational epistemologies and mutually constructive ontologies into their work from the initial stage of project design all the way down to post-excavation interpretation.This volume showcases examples of such work, highlighting the utility of these ideas to exploring material both old and new. The illuminating research and novel explanations presented contribute to resolving long-standing problems in regional archaeologies across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and Oceania. In this way, this volume reinvigorates approaches taken towards older material but also acts as a springboard for future innovative discussions of theory in archaeology and related disciplines.

Historia Antigua en diálogo: Humanidades Digitales e innovaciones metodológicas is the result of the adoption of new tools used in the humanities, specifically, archaeology, epigraphy and ancient history, without ceasing to respect traditional scientific methods. In this the editors are joined by eleven Brazilian and Spanish researchers whose previously unpublished works confirm the generational change, and demonstrate their proximity to contemporary social and political debates developed worldwide, such as gender and women, imperialism and nationalism, subalternity, consumption and power relations. Papers from the established professors, Nathalia Monseff and Pedro Paulo A. Funari, complete the volume.

A guide for mastering the technical specialty of organic residue analysis of pottery Pottery analysis is a crucial component of excavating an archaeological site. Organic residues in pottery are made up of chemicals that absorb into pots over their lifetime. These residues can reveal what people ate, whether different types of vessels were used for different cooking or foodstuffs preparation, and whether “elite” vessels were in use. Organic residue analysis is a technical specialty that blends an unusual type of instrumental organic chemistry and archaeology. Because it is considered an obscure technique, archaeologists of all degrees of experience tend to struggle with how to apply the technology to archaeological questions and how to sample effectively in the field to answer these questions. Eleanora A. Reber's An Archaeologist's Guide to Organic Residues in Pottery is a user-friendly resource for all archaeologists. Composed of case studies gleaned from Reber's more than twenty years of archaeological research, this guide covers the range of residues encountered in the field and explains the methods and application of organic residue analysis. Reber illustrates the useful aspects of residue analysis, such as compound-specific isotope analysis for the identification of traces of maize and marine resources, conifer resins, and the psychoactive alkaloid biomarkers caffeine and nicotine. Special attention is paid to sampling and construction of meaning as well as research questions to help field archaeologists integrate residue analysis seamlessly into their projects

What are the connections between past and present peoples in the U.S. Southwest and Northwest Mexico? How were the ancient societies that occupied this landscape interconnected? Contributors leverage diverse source materials rooted in classic ethnography, oral tradition, and historical documents to offer novel answers to these questions. Running throughout the discussions is a metanarrative that reflects the tensions between disciplines such as anthropology and history and the rapidly evolving dynamic between scholars and the Indigenous subjects of past and present research. With chapters written by scholars from the U.S. and Mexico, including Indigenous coauthors, Borderlands Histories offers diverse perspectives and illustrates the range of methods and interpretive approaches employed by some of the most respected and experienced names in the field of borderlands archaeology today.

This book presents a conversation between two prominent archaeologists who have been exploring the concept of time in their discipline for several decades. It is a discussion on key issues of time in archaeology filtered through their unique perspectives, which sometimes meet and at other times, clash. Key features include discussions on the nature of change and time in the archaeological record, the relation between the present and past, the connection between time and the goals of archaeology and the relevance of the Anthropocene to disciplinary practice. Situated in how the authors'own views on the topic of time have developed over their careers, the conversation offers an intimate and personal insight into how two leading scholars think and debate a topic of central importance to the discipline.All archaeologists with an interest in contemporary theory and the topic of time will find this book of relevance. Also the student who wants a front-row seat onto a live debate on this topic will find it an invaluable complement to the more traditional textbook.

Archaeological 3D GIS provides archaeologists with a guide to explore and understand the unprecedented opportunities for collecting, visualising, and analysing archaeological datasets in three dimensions.With platforms allowing archaeologists to link, query, and analyse in a virtual, georeferenced space information collected by different specialists, the book highlights how it is possible to re-think aspects of theory and practice which relate to GIS. It explores which questions can be addressed in such a new environment and how they are going to impact the way we interpret the past. By using material from several international case studies such as Pompeii, Çatalhöyük, as well as prehistoric and protohistoric sites in Southern Scandinavia, this book discusses the use of the third dimension in support of archaeological practice.This book will be essential for researchers and scholars who focus on archaeology and spatial analysis, and is designed and structured to serve as a textbook for GIS and digital archaeology courses.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Das Buch vermittelt einen Überblick über die Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie. Behandelt wird die Stellung des Fachs im Gesamtrahmen der Archäologie, seine forschungsgeschichtliche Entwicklung und theoretischmethodische Basis, seine Grundbegriffe und Nachbarfächer. 18 exemplarische Fallbeispiele aus unterschiedlichen Epochen und Regionen dokumentieren das weite Spektrum der Forschungen und informieren jeweils über den erreichten Erkenntnisstand. Übergreifende kulturwissenschaftliche Leitkonzepte werden ebenso thematisiert wie die aktuellen Studienmöglichkeiten sowie mögliche Berufsperspektiven.

Describing the nature and meaning of artifact spatial patterning can be highly subjective, yet many patterns can be quantified to create general models that are comparable across time periods and geographic space. The authors employ various techniques in this endeavor, including large sample sizes, model-driven analyses of the ethnographic record, bone and lithic refitting, and a careful consideration of artifact attributes that elucidate spatial patterning. Such detailed analyses allow archaeologists to better interpret site formation processes and address large-scale anthropological questions. This volume includes studies that span archaeological and ethnographic contexts, from highly mobile Paleoindian foragers to semi-sedentary preagriculturalists of the Epipaleolithic and modern pastoralists in Mongolia. The authors hold that commonalities in human behavior lead to similar patterns in the organization and maintenance of space by people. They present a series of ideas and approaches to make it easier to recognize universals in human behaviors, which allow archaeologists to better compare intrasite spatial patterns. The book creates a baseline for new intrasite spatial analyses in the twenty-first century.