The development of archeological thought is analyzed by examining archeological history to determine to what extent its trends reflect archeologists' personal & collective interests. List of Illustrations Preface The relevance of archaeological history Classical archaeology & antiquarianism The beginnings of scientific archaeology The imperial synthesis Culture-historic The development of archeological thought is analyzed by examining archeological history to determine to what extent its trends reflect archeologists' personal & collective interests. List of Illustrations Preface The relevance of archaeological history Classical archaeology & antiquarianism The beginnings of scientific archaeology The imperial synthesis Culture-historical archaeology Soviet archaeology Functionalism in Western archaeology Neo-evolutionism & the new archaeology The explanation of diversity Archaeology & its social context Bibliographical Essay References Index. This book, as its title says, is a history of archaeological thought. The book opens with a short explanation of Triggers own theoretical stance, which serves to explain the underlying dismissive attitude towards certain other theoretical positions. Following that, the beginnings of archaeology in various countries are explored. For the main part, it offers a very condensed overview over the entirety of archaeological theory.

History of ArcHAeology tHougHt/ArcHAeology of B. Trigger • 129. This view of Trigger’s. The second edition of A History of Archaeological Thought is. When you need this kind of sources, the following book can be a great choice. History of archaeological thought is the PDF of the book.

It follows the US/UK discourse on the topic in some detail, focusing o This book, as its title says, is a history of archaeological thought. The book opens with a short explanation of Triggers own theoretical stance, which serves to explain the underlying dismissive attitude towards certain other theoretical positions.

Following that, the beginnings of archaeology in various countries are explored. For the main part, it offers a very condensed overview over the entirety of archaeological theory. It follows the US/UK discourse on the topic in some detail, focusing on prehistoric archeology. Historic archaeologies are mostly left out. Although Trigger discusses this discrepancy, readers interested in historic archaeologies might feel that a lot of the issues discussed in this book do not apply to them (which is wrong), or apply to them in a very different way. Additionally, while Trigger very valiantly tries to incorporate non-English literature and even non-Western perspectives, they are still severely underrepresented. This can hardly be blamed on the author, as the current book as it is already incorporates a vast amount of literature, and Trigger does offer the starting point for several other perspectives both in the text and the bibliography.

The book ends with a conclusion by Trigger, in which he discusses limitations, problems and methods of contemporary archaeology. This part is among the most complex of the book, and assumes that the reader has understood the last few hundred pages of archaeological thought. It is also the part that will be of interest to readers already familiar with archaeological thought, and want to know Trigger's opinion on the subject. The commented and exhaustive bibliography is a good starting point for anyone interested in specific problems. I found the book relatively accessible and easy to read. It is however not the beginner-friendly entry into archaeological theory that some reading lists make it appear to be.

Even though most terms are (briefly) explained, without general knowledge about the history of science readers will probably feel overwhelmed by the many -isms that appear and reappear throughout the book. Without some idea about archaeological literature it will also be hard to understand its relevance. A further complication is that the book actually follows a narrative, in the sense that it tries to explain the archaeological thought as a gradual development. The constant cross-referencing within the text means the individual chapters do not stand alone too well, and it is advisable to read them in order. 'A History of Archaeological Thought' is therefore of interest mainly to advanced students of archaeology and scientists from other disciplines, trying to understand where archaeology came from and where it currently stands.

Despite any claims to the contrary, it is not an introduction to archaeological theory, and it will probably be terribly boring for anyone not interested in scientific thought. Well, I ended up reading it in less than a year. The breaks in reading were many.

I don't feel particularly qualified to write a review about it, as approximately the entirety of everything I know about the history of archaeological thought is what I learned in this book--I don't know how to evaluate its content in a way external to it itself. I would say that it seemed like Trigger tried to strike an interesting balance between summarizing 300ish years of different schools of thought in Well, I ended up reading it in less than a year. The breaks in reading were many. I don't feel particularly qualified to write a review about it, as approximately the entirety of everything I know about the history of archaeological thought is what I learned in this book--I don't know how to evaluate its content in a way external to it itself. I would say that it seemed like Trigger tried to strike an interesting balance between summarizing 300ish years of different schools of thought in archaeology, including ongoing controversies, and putting forth his vision for an ideal theory of archaeology. In the last few chapters, in particular, he tries to find a middle way between hyper-relativists and hyper-positivists, and has pretty strong words for both extremes. The last 20 pages really successfully recapitulate a lot of the rest of the content of the book.

They were a nice way to finish reading it, as they left me feeling like I had a better grip of the broader themes that he was dealing with than I had had when lost in the very specific details. My current interest in archaeology is stimulated by a desire to situate myself to do collaborative research with archaeologists in the future, or to incorporate archaeological methods/findings into my work in historical linguistics.

There was no discussion of interdisciplinary work with linguists, which was a little bit disappointing to me, but also is not obviously an issue of theory, but rather of practice, so I can see it not having as much of a place in this book. Additionally, collaboration between linguists and archaeologists may not have been as prominent in 1989, when my edition of this book was published, as it is now.

The first time I read this book, I read it in a week. I didn't like it. The second time I read it, I was under pressure and I hated it. This is the type of book that deserves some time, like a soup sitting all day in a crock pot.

It's understandable that people find that 'A History of Archaeological Thought' as an overwhelming and daunting book, but if read slowly over time in digestible chunks, then, it becomes interesting. Archaeologists are influenced by the world around them, and this become The first time I read this book, I read it in a week. I didn't like it. The second time I read it, I was under pressure and I hated it. This is the type of book that deserves some time, like a soup sitting all day in a crock pot. It's understandable that people find that 'A History of Archaeological Thought' as an overwhelming and daunting book, but if read slowly over time in digestible chunks, then, it becomes interesting.

Archaeologists are influenced by the world around them, and this becomes reflected in their production of archaeological thought. Readers can see this pattern happening from the birth of archaeology, to culture history and beyond. Is Trigger somewhat biased, yes, but one needs to keep this in mind when reading the book. Undoubtedly, there is more information here than most readers want to know, but it serves as an excellent resource for those who want to know more.

Be sure and take notes, or use the kindle version to annotate the book. Compaq Presario 6000 Desktop Drivers Windows Xp. However, with that said Matthew Johnson's Archaeological Theory: An Introduction, gets down to the point without getting bogged down in the details. Bruce Graham Trigger, OC OQ FRSC was a Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnohistorian. Born in Preston, Ontario, he received a doctorate in archaeology from Yale University in 1964. His research interests at that time included the history of archaeological research and the comparative study of early cultures. He spent the following year teaching at Northwestern University and then took Bruce Graham Trigger, OC OQ FRSC was a Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnohistorian. Born in Preston, Ontario, he received a doctorate in archaeology from Yale University in 1964.

His research interests at that time included the history of archaeological research and the comparative study of early cultures. He spent the following year teaching at Northwestern University and then took a position with the Department of Anthropology at McGill University in Montreal, and remained there for the rest of his career.