Behavioral Archeology

by Michael Brian Schiffer

Overview

Originally published by Academic Press in 1976, this book has become a foundational statement in archaeological methodology and has had a lasting impact on the discipline. As Michael Schiffer writes in his new prologue, the work "played a vital role in establishing as fundamental the behavioral perspective in archaeology." (Must be distinguished from the collection of articles by Schiffer published by University of Utah Press called Behavioral Archaeology: First Principles.)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780971242715
Publisher:	Eliot Werner Publications
Publication date:	01/28/2002
Series:	Foundations of Archaeology Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael Brian Schiffer, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Table of Contents

Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. A Synthetic Model of Archeological Inference Chapter 3. Cultural Formation Processes Chapter 4. Transformation Models Chapter 5. Quantitative Transformations Chapter 6. Quantitative and Spatial Transformations Chapter 7. An Introduction to the Joint Site Chapter 8. General Considerations of Artifact Classification Chapter 9. Chipped Stone from the Joint Site Chapter 10. Cultural Formation Processes of the Joint Site Chapter 11. Systemic Context of the Joint Site Chapree 12. Systemic Context of the Chipped Stone Chapter 13. Prospects for a Behavioral Archaeology Appendix References Index

Editorial Reviews

From the Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition "Clearly many issues raised in Behavioral Archeology, as well as its principal ideas, retain considerable relevance for the practice of archaeology. Thus I present this reprinted edition of Behavioral Archeology, warts and all, in the hope that readers will enjoy engaging the ideas that played a pivotal role in establishing as fundamental the behavioral perspective in archaeology." From the reviews "[A]n important and original essay that tackles the nature and methods of archaeological inference in a fundamental way. [O]ne of the most noteworthy theoretical writings in archaeology in recent years, and, unlike most of the others, it is also delightfully readable." K. C. Chang in American Scientist "[Schiffer's] first grand treatise dealing with the interrelationships between laws, cultural and natural formation processes, and their applications for indirect observation of past cultural systems." Albert C. Goodyear in American Antiquity "[O]ne of the most important treatments of archaeological methodology. Although it will undoubtedly be a controversial book, even those who do not accept the Schifferian approach will find some imaginative, well-formulated methods that can be used to obtain information about the past." Stephen Plog in American Anthropologist

From the Publisher

This is a reprint of the Academic Press original of 1976, which was distinguished by inclusion in Schiffer (U. of Arizona) provides a new introduction. Percheron Press is the reprint imprint of Eliot Werner Publications. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)