Why the history of archaeology is essential to theoretical archaeology
Keywords:
History of Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, Social Studies of Science.
Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between the historiography of archaeology and the building and evaluation of archaeological theory. Although it is common for archaeologists to employ partial histories of archaeology to support claims for significant changes to archaeological theory, it is nonetheless the case that there is strong evidence for a counter claim – that theoretical archaeology needs to be more strongly grounded in the history of archaeology. This claim is supported by a close analysis of the value of alternative histories of archaeology to demonstrate that current theoretical orthodoxies have histories and are not necessarily ‘natural’ for the discipline.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article download
Crossmark
Published
2013-11-13
How to Cite
Murray T. (2013). Why the history of archaeology is essential to theoretical archaeology. Complutum, 24(2), 21-31. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_CMPL.2013.v24.n2.43364
Section
Articles
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Complutum is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
