Archaeology and Colonialism: Cultural Contact from 5000 BC to the Present

by Chris Gosden

Overview

Ranging from the Uruk cities of early Mesopotamia, through the empires of the Romans and the Aztecs, to the colonies of modern European states, Chris Gosden presents a comparative survey of 7,000 years of colonialism. (Archaeology is the only discipline that permits such a long-term view across all forms of colonialism.) Gosden argues that modern colonialism, by giving rise to settler societies, is historically unusual and represents an important area for the long-term study of power and material culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521782647
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/15/2004
Series:	Topics in Contemporary Archaeology , #2
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Chris Gosden is Lecturer and Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Other approaches to colonialism; 3. A model of colonialism; 4. Colonialism within a shared cultural milieu; 5. The middle ground; 6. Terra nullius; 7. Power.

Editorial Reviews

'Archaeology and Colonialism is a highly readable reassessment of colonialism … Archaeology and Colonialism is an enjoyable and useful book. Through its concentration on power relations manifest in material culture, it offers a new and stimulating way to approach cultural contact.' Stephanie Wynne-Jones, University of Cambridge

' … a brave and interesting attempt at a new synthesis …' Ancient West & East

From the Publisher