The philosophy of archaeology seeks to investigate the foundations, methods and implications of the discipline of archaeology in order to further understand the human past and present. Core questions address the definition of archaeology, its theoretical foundations, and the ways in which the discipline conceptualizes time, along with the purposes of archaeology, including why it is conducted and for whose benefit, and the nature and reality of the materials and processes that constitute archaeological inquiry; analytic philosophy of archaeology explores the conceptual structure underlying terms such as artefact, site, archaeological record and archaeological culture, alongside fieldwork methodology, integration of theory and collaboration with other disciplines, and theories of measurement and data representation. There is currently little consensus among archaeologists on the nature of the problems in the philosophy of archaeology, or indeed in some cases whether a philosophy of archaeology should, or even can, exist, so the discipline is not highly developed, though it is generally recognised that awareness of its philosophical issues and framework is important for progress in archaeology, for designing research, for controlling inference and interpretation, and for classification.
Facts
Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own accountWhat are archaeology's foundations, methods and purposes, and does archaeology, as a discipline built from material remains, admit of a distinct philosophy of its own at all? 1 Key DebateSourced to the subject's own accountWhether the search for a single unifying explanatory theory of archaeology is itself achievable, or whether the discipline's many parallel theoretical approaches, from empirical archaeology as a science to post-modern relativism, mean no such theory is possible. 1 Disputed
Key DebateSourced to the subject's own accountWhether a distinct philosophy of archaeology exists, or even can exist, as its own field of inquiry separate from general philosophy of science and from the interpretive theory archaeologists themselves call theory. 1 Connections
Associated With
Archaeology's core questions of evidence and historical inference are treated as a branch of, or immediate neighbor to, philosophy of history in the live literature (Collingwood himself worked in both).
Collingwood was both a practicing field archaeologist and the philosopher whose "logic of question and answer" underlies the field's theory of inference from material evidence.
Sources
1. Philosophy of Archaeology (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
The philosophy of archaeology seeks to investigate the foundations, methods and implications of the discipline of archaeology in order to further understand the human past and present.
Introduction, on the discipline's own consensus
There is currently little consensus amongst archaeologists on the nature of the problems in the philosophy of archaeology, or indeed in some cases, whether a philosophy of archaeology should, or even can, exist.
Theory section, on a unifying explanatory theory
the search for a unifying explanatory theory is a major concern among philosophers of archaeology. However, even the possibility of such a theory is denied by some archaeologists, emphasising the dislocation in archaeological approaches.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.