Archaeology
Archaeology: The Science of the Human Past introduces students to the wide-ranging and fascinating world of archaeology and provides them with a comprehensive understanding of fundamental archaeological concepts and methods.
The seventh edition keeps pace with the developments in archaeological science with up-to-date information on dating, artifact analyses, and remote sensing. Theoretical developments in power, gender, and cognition are also included. Introducing the key components of archaeology, including sites, artifacts, ecofacts, remote sensing, and excavation, it discusses the ways archaeologists obtain, analyze, and interpret evidence. Varying perspectives are considered to provide holistic coverage of how archaeological techniques and methods are used to formulate and test models of what happened in the past. Cultural resource management and the laws and regulations that deal with archaeology around the world are described. Archaeology is placed in the context of current topics, from environmental problems to issues affecting Indigenous populations.
Archaeology: The Science of the Human Past remains an ideal introduction to archaeology by offering students a broad and clear understanding of the theoretical and scientific aspects of archaeology and how various archaeological perspectives and techniques help us comprehend not just the past but the contemporary world as well.
Mark Q. Sutton is an emeritus professor of anthropology at California State University, Bakersfield, USA.