Anth 551: Strategies in Archaeology
Susan Pollock
Sci I rm 218 (7-2263)
bg9711@binghamton.edu
office hours: W 1:00-2:00,
Th 11:45-1:00 & by appointment
Randall McGuire
Sci I rm 228 (7-2906)
rmcguire@binghamton.edu
office hours: T 9:30-10:30
W 1:00-2:00 & by appt
Course description: Strategies in Archaeology is intended to introduce students to the
major theoretical frameworks shaping contemporary Americanist anthropological
archaeology. The course emphasizes current issues and debates in the discipline rather
than an historical overview. However, the early weeks of the course will be devoted to
laying a brief historical background of major trends in the field. Following this
introductory section, we will intensively survey current theoretical positions and issues
that are having significant impacts on the practice of archaeology today.
A central theme guiding the course is that of archaeological research design. Throughout
the semester we will address the nature of archaeological enquiry by “taking apart” case
studies to get at their objectives and the underlying structure of the research design used
to address their goals. Issues raised during these readings and related discussions will
resurface throughout the course as we examine the underpinnings of various perspectives
and the attempts by archaeologists to articulate theory and practice.
Some of the major topics we will be examining are processual archaeology (which
characterizes much of North American archaeology), Marxist, feminist, and
postprocessual approaches. In addition to addressing the concepts that these various
perspectives bring to bear on research design, we will be concerned with critically
evaluating how researchers’ perceptions are affected by the recursive relationship
between theory and data.
The class meets for one three-hour seminar per week. The class meetings will consist of
a combination of lecture and discussion, with an emphasis on the latter. Regular,
informed discussion is expected of all students in a seminar, and you should come to each
session prepared to talk about any and all of the readings. Lack of participation in class
discussions will have a negative effect on your grade – and on your learning.
Texts: We have ordered one textbook, which should be available at the University
bookstore:
Trigger, Bruce (1989) A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
For those of you who feel you lack a background in the subject matter of the course, we
recommend two books that offer a basic introduction to many of the approaches we
cover:
Gamble, Cliver (2001) Archaeology: The Basics. London: Routledge.
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Johnson, Matthew (1999) Archaeological Theory: An Introduction. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Other readings: Most of the readings for the course will come from journal articles and
book chapters. Most of these can be found on electronic reserve (or regular electronic
subscriptions) through the Bartle Library. Only in cases where more than one chapter has
been assigned from the same book will we have to rely on paper copies. In that case, we
will arrange for a paper copy to be made available in the AGO library.
Written assignments:
Midterm: due in class on October 18 (20% of your grade)
The midterm will consist of a take-home essay exam that will cover the
course material up to the date of the midterm. You will receive the
question(s) for the midterm no later than 1 week before the exam is due.
Research design: due in class on November 22 (30% of your grade)
The research design consists of a paper of approximately 12-15 pages
(double-spaced), in which you present a specific research problem, linked to
a particular theoretical and/or methodological framework, and a plan for
investigating the problem. This research design may form the core of your
research proposal when you take Anth 592 (Proposal Writing) next fall.
The specific topic for the research design is at your discretion. However, we
advise you to choose a subject and study area with which you already have
some familiarity and/or which you may choose for your MA or PhD research.
It is to your benefit to choose a topic relatively early in the semester so that
you can begin your research as soon as possible. As you begin to think about
your topic, please come speak to one or both of us about it so we can offer
guidance. We will be talking about research design throughout the semester,
but we will devote one class, on October 18, to a specific discussion of some
of the nuts and bolts of putting a good research design together.
Reading response papers: due throughout the semester (in total, 25% of your
grade)
You are asked to write a total of 5 response papers related to the assigned
readings. You may choose any 5 weeks, beginning with the week of Oct. 4
up through and including the week of Nov. 29. These papers should be a
critical reflection on the readings for that week, in which you pull out what
you see as one or two key themes that are treated in all or many of the
assigned readings. The emphasis is on thinking critically and reflectively on
the readings, not simply summarizing them. Writing these papers should
help you in preparing for class.
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You should submit your papers to both of us electronically, no later than
noon on Tuesdays. In addition, we ask you to bring one paper copy to class
on Wednesday. Papers should be 3-4 double-spaced pages in length.
Regular anthropological citations and a bibliography should be included in all
papers.
Final reading response paper: due by 4 PM Friday, Dec. 8 (25% of your grade)
The final (sixth) response paper will be required of everyone in class, and it
will serve in lieu of a final exam. It will consist of a question that encourages
you to reflect broadly on course content, and you will be asked to provide a
somewhat longer response (approximately 5-6 pages).
Course Schedule and Readings:
August 30 - Introduction
September 6 - Culture History (Randy)
Trigger text, chapters 4 & 5
Steward, Julian (1942) The Direct Historical Approach to Archaeology. American
Antiquity 7(4):337-343.
Rouse, Irving (1960) The Classification of Artifacts in Archaeology. American Antiquity
25(3): 313-323.
Childe, V. Gordon (1929) The Danube in Prehistory. Oxford: Clarendon. Read Chapter
IV, “Danubian “I, pp. 36-47.
September 13 - New and processual archaeology (Susan)
Trigger text, chapters 7-8
Flannery, Kent (1968) Archaeological systems theory and early Mesoamerica. In
Anthropological Archaeology in the Americas, B.J. Meggers (ed.), pp. 67-87.
Washington, D.C.: Anthropological Society of Washington.
Steponaitis, Vincas (1978) Location theory and complex chiefdoms: a Mississippian
example. In Mississippian Settlement Patterns, Bruce Smith (ed.), pp. 417-53. NY:
Academic.
September 20 - “Post-processual turn” (Susan & Randy)
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Hodder, Ian (1985) Postprocessual archaeology. Advances in Archaeological Method
and Theory 8:1-26.
Kohl, Philip (1993) Limits to a post-processual archaeology (or, the dangers of a new
scholasticism). In Archaeological theory: who sets the agenda?, Norman Yoffee &
Andrew Sherratt (eds.), pp. 13-19.
Berggren, Åsa & Ian Hodder (2003) Social practice, method and some problems of field
archaeology. American Antiquity 68:421-34.
Hegmon, Michelle (2003) Setting theoretical egos aside: issues and theory in North
American archaeology. American Antiquity 68:213-43.
Shanks, Michael (2004) Three Rooms. Journal of Social Archaeology 4(2):147-181.
Palus, Matthew, Mark P. Leone, and Matthew D. Cochran (2006) Critical Archaeology:
Politics Past and Present. In Historical Archaeology, ed. by M. Hall and S. Silliman, pp.
84-106, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
September 27 - Marxism and feminism (Susan & Randy)
Trigger text, chapter 6
Brumfiel, Elizabeth (1991) Weaving and cooking: women’s production in Aztec Mexico.
In Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory, Joan Gero & Margaret Conkey
(eds.), pp. 224-51. Oxford: Blackwell.
Joyce, Rosemary (1996) The construction of gender in Classic Maya monuments. In
Gender and Archaeology, Rita Wright (ed.), pp. 167-95. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Bernbeck, Reinhard (1995) Lasting Alliances and Emerging Competition: Economic
Developments in Early Mesopotamia. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 14:1-25.
Lull, Vicente (2000a) Death and Society: A Marxist Approach. Antiquity 74:576-580.
Lull, Vicente (2000b) Argaric Society: Death at Home. Antiquity 74:581-590.
October 4 - Problems and politics of archaeological knowledge production (Susan)
Hamilakis, Yannis (1999) La trahison des archéologues? Archaeological practice as
intellectual activity in postmodernity. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 12:60-79.
Scham, Sandra (2001) The archaeology of the disenfranchised. Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory 8:193-213.
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Bernbeck, Reinhard & Susan Pollock (2004) The political economy of archaeological
practice and the production of heritage in the Middle East. In A Companion to Social
Archaeology, Lynn Meskell & Robert Preucel (eds.), pp. 335-52. Oxford: Blackwell.
Parker Pearson, Mike and Ramilisonina (2004) Public archaeology and indigenous
communities. In Public Archaeology, Nick Merriman (ed.), pp. 224-39. London:
Routledge.
Watkins, Joe (2004) Becoming American or becoming Indian? NAGPRA, Kennewick
and cultural affiliation. Journal of Social Archaeology 4:60-80.
Yahya, Adel (2005) Archaeology and nationalism in the Holy Land. In Archaeologies of
the Middle East: Critical Perspectives, Susan Pollock & Reinhard Bernbeck (eds.), pp.
66-77. Oxford: Blackwell.
October 11 - Analogy and ethnoarchaeology (Susan)
Galloway, Patricia (1992) The unexamined habitus: direct historic analogy and the
archaeology of the text. In Representations in Archaeology, Jean-Claude Gardin &
Christopher Peebles (eds.), pp. 178-95.
Stahl, Ann (2001) Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa’s Past.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. read chapter 2
David, Nicholas & Carol Kramer (2001) Ethnoarchaeology in Action. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. read chapter 6
Harry, Karen (2005) Ceramic specialization and agricultural marginality: do ethnographic
models explain the development of specialized pottery production in the prehistoric
American Southwest? American Antiquity 70:295-319.
October 18 – Research Design (Susan & Randy)
MID-TERM DUE IN CLASS
October 25 – Agency, Structure & Practice (Randy)
Dornan, Jennifer L. (2002) Agency and archaeology: Past, present and future directions.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9:303-329.
Hodder, Ian & Craig Cessford (2004) Daily practice and social memory at Çatalhöyük.
American Antiquity 69:17-40.
Deagan, Kathleen (2004) Reconsidering Taíno social dynamics after Spanish Conquest:
Gender and class in culture contact studies. American Antiquity 69(4):597-626.
Thomas, Julian (2004) Archaeology and Modernity. Routledge, London. Read ch 6.
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Jones, Andy (2005) Lives in Fragments: Personhood and the European Neolithic. Journal
of Social Archaeology 5(2):193-224.
November 1 - Identities and subjectivities (Susan)
Preucel, Robert (2000) Making Pueblo communities: architectural discourse at Kotyiti,
New Mexico. In The Archaeology of Communities: A New World Perspective, Marcello
Canuto & Jason Yaeger (eds.), pp. 58-77. London: Routledge.
Loren, Diana (2001) Manipulating bodies and emerging traditions at the Los Adaes
Presidio. In The Archaeology of Traditions: Agency and History before and after
Columbus, Timothy Pauketat (ed.) pp. 58-76. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Lesure, Richard (2002) The Goddess diffracted. Current Anthropology 43:587-610.
Meskell, Lynn & Rosemary Joyce (2003) Embodied Lives: Figuring Ancient Maya and
Egyptian Experience. London: Routledge. read chapter 3
Joyce, Rosemary (2004) Embodied subjectivity: gender, femininity, masculinity,
sexuality. In A Companion to Social Archaeology, Lynn Meskell & Robert Preucel
(eds.), pp. 82-95. Oxford: Blackwell.
Smith, Adam T. (2004) The end of the essential archaeological subject. Archaeological
Dialogues 11:1-35 (with comments).
November 8 - Memory, Cognition, and Meaning (Randy)
Bloch, Maurice (1995) Questions not to ask of Malagasy carvings. In Interpreting
Archaeology. Finding Meaning in the Past, edited by Ian Hodder, Michael Shanks,
Alexandra Alexandri, Victor Buchli, Johan Carman, Jonathan Last, and Gavin Lucas, pp.
212-215. London: Routledge
Pauketat, Timothy R. & Susan M. Alt (2004) The making and meaning of a
Mississippian axe-head cache. Antiquity 78:779-97.
Collwell-Chanthaphonh, Chip and T.J. Ferguson (2006) Memory Pieces and Footprints:
Multivocality and the Meanings of Ancient Times and Ancestral Places Among the Zuni
and Hopi. Current Anthropology 108(1):148-162.
Van Dyke, Ruth M. (2004) Memory, meaning, and masonry: The Late Bonito Chacoan
Landscape. American Antiquity 69(3):413-431
Carr, Edward R. (2000) Meaning (and) materiality: rethinking contextual analysis
through cellar-set houses. Historical Archaeology 34(4):32-45.
November 15 – Space, Place, & Landscape (Randy)
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Kus, Susan and Victor Raharijanona (2000) House to Palace, Village to State: Scaling Up
Architecture and Ideology. American Anthropologist 102(1):98-113.
Potter, James (2004) The creation of person, the creation of place... American Antiquity
69:322-38.
Bradley, Richard (1998) The Significance of Monuments, read Chapter 8, “Theatre in the
Round” pp. 116-31. London: Routledge
Smith, Adam (1999) The Making of an Urartian landscape in Southern Transcaucasia: A
study of political architectonics. American Journal of Archaeology 103:45-71.
Ashmore, Wendy (2002) “Decisions and Dispositions”: Socializing Spatial Archaeology.
American Anthropologist 104(4):1172-1183.
Cobb, Charles R. (2005) Archaeology and the “Savage Slot”: Displacement in the
Premodern World. American Anthropologist 107(4):563-574.
November 22 - Technology, learning and style (Susan)
RESEARCH DESIGN DUE
Schiffer, Michael & James Skibo (1987) Theory and experiment in the study of
technological change. Current Anthropology 28:595-622.
Gosselain, Olivier (1998) Social and technical identity in a clay crystal ball. In The
Archaeology of Social Boundaries, Miriam Stark (ed.), pp. 78-106. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press.
Cobb, Charles (2000) From Quarry to Cornfield: The Political Economy of Mississippian
Hoe Production. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. read chapter 4
Alt, Susan (2001) Cahokian change and the authority of tradition. In The Archaeology
of Traditions: Agency and History before and after Columbus, Timothy Pauketat (ed.)
pp. 141-56. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Lyons, Diane & A. Catherine D’Andrea (2003) Griddles, ovens, and agricultural origins:
an ethnoarchaeological study of bread baking in highland Ethiopia. American
Anthropologist 105:515-30.
November 29 – Time, History, & Evolution (Randy)
Bamforth, Douglas B. (2002) Evidence and metaphor in evolutionary archaeology.
American Antiquity 67:435-452
Michael O’Brien, R. Lee Lyman and Robert D. Leonard (2003) “What is Evolution? A
Response to Bamforth”. American Antiquity 68 (3): 573-580.
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Bamforth, Douglas B. (2003) “What is Archaeology? (Or, Confusion, Sound, and Fury,
Signifying ...)”. American Antiquity 68 (3): 581-584.
Chapman, Robert (2003) Archaeologies of Complexity. Routledge, London. Read chs.3 &
4.
Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh and T.J. Ferguson (2004) Virtue Ethics and the Practice of
History: Native Americans and Archaeologists Along the San Pedro Valley of Arizona.
Journal of Social Archaeology 4(1):5-27.
December 6 - Presentations of archaeology (Susan & Randy)
Gibb, James G. et al. (2000) Imaginary, But by No Means Unimaginable: Storytelling,
Science, and Historical Archaeology, Historical Archaeology 34(2):1-24.
McDavid, Carol (2004) From ‘traditional’ archaeology to public archaeology to
community action: the Levi Jordan Plantation project. In Public Archaeology as Applied
Anthropology, Paul Shackel & Erve Chambers (eds.), pp. 35-56. London: Routledge.
Gable, Eric & Richard Handler (2004) Deep dirt: messing up the past at Colonial
Williamsburg. In Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past,
Yorke Rowan & Uzi Baram (eds.), pp. 167-81. Walnut Creek: Altamira.
Silliman, Stephen (2005) Culture contact or colonialism? Challenges in the archaeology
of native North America. American Antiquity 70:55-74.
Riley, Mark, David Harvey, Tony Brown, & Sara Mills (2005) Narrating landscape: the
potential of oral history for landscape archaeology. Public Archaeology 4:15-26.
Watkins, Joe (2006) Communicating archaeology. Journal of Social Archaeology 6:10018.
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