An internationally distinguished roster of contributors considers the state of the art of the discipline of archaeology at the turn of the 21st century and charts an ambitious agenda for the future. The chapters address a wide range of topics including paradigms, practice, and relevance of the discipline; paleoanthropology; fully modern humans; holocene hunter-gatherers; the transition to food and craft production; social inequality; warfare; state and empire formation; and the uneasy relationship between classical and anthropological archaeology.
From the reviews
"...this important and well-compiled source book... With its comprehensive and up-to-date bibliographies, many techical terms, and sophisticated intellectual explorations...it is an invaluable source for all archaeologists (including Classicists), and is a graduate student's treasure. This volume will become a staple of graduate seminars for years to come, and, to use the oft-used cliché, really does belong on every archaeologist's bookshelf." (Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 12:2 (2002)
"The editors are to be congratulated for obtaining a set of papers with such consistent high quality from a diverse cast of authors. Since the research standing behind the chapters is of high quality, the chapters may serve as an annotated bibliography and guide to the literature for one's own independent research. I consider this a very important contribution to our literature and a fine book for use by both undergraduates and graduate students, not to mention professionals." (Journal of Anthropological Research, 58 (2002)
"...this important and well-compiled source book... With its comprehensive and up-to-date bibliographies, many techical terms, and sophisticated intellectual explorations...it is an invaluable source for all archaeologists (including Classicists), and is a graduate student's treasure. This volume will become a staple of graduate seminars for years to come, and, to use the oft-used cliché, really does belong on every archaeologist's bookshelf." (Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 12:2 (2002)
"The editors are to be congratulated for obtaining a set of papers with such consistent high quality from a diverse cast of authors. Since the research standing behind the chapters is of high quality, the chapters may serve as an annotated bibliography and guide to the literature for one's own independent research. I consider this a very important contribution to our literature and a fine book for use by both undergraduates and graduate students, not to mention professionals." (Journal of Anthropological Research, 58 (2002)