Method and Theory in Historical Archeology

by Stanley South

Overview

Described by Lewis Binford in his new foreword as a "solid foundation on which to build a vital and growing historical archaeology," Stanley South's famous book on historical archaeology includes a new introduction by the author that discusses how the book came to be written and the evolution of the field. Widely regarded as one of the most influential books in historical archaeology, the book was originally published by Academic Press in 1977.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780971242739
Publisher:	Eliot Werner Publications
Publication date:	01/15/2002
Series:	Foundations of Archaeology
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Stanley South, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Percheron Press Edition Lewis R. Binford Introduction to the Percheron Press Edition Chapter 1. Theoretical Foundation Chapter 2. Quantitative Analysis and Pattern Recognition Chapter 3. The Brunswick Pattern of Refuse Disposal Chapter 4. The Carolina Artifact Pattern Chapter 5. The Frontier Artifact Pattern Chapter 6. Exploring Analytical Techniques Chapter 7. Revealing Culture Process Through the Formula Concept Chapter 8. Methodological Considerations Chapter 9. The Archeologist's Responsibility in Cultural Resource Management Studies Index

Editorial Reviews

From the Foreword to the Percheron Press Edition "Stanley South's productivity and the arguments presented in this book are a solid foundation on which to build a vital and growing historical archaeology." Lewis R. Binford, Southern Methodist University Praise from readers "[O]ne of the two or three most influential books in historical archaeology. The scientific approach outlined and practiced throughout the book still dominates historical archaeology." Mark P. Leone, University of Maryland "[This] book completely revolutionized the way Americanists viewed historical archaeology. Much of the way that today's generation of scholars approaches the historical record grows out of [this] work." Michael J. O'Brien, University of Missouri "[T]he most important piece of theoretical work ever written in historical archaeology. [I]t forced historical archaeology to mature." Charles E. Orser, Jr., Illinois State University "The publication of Method and Theory in Historical Archeology was the high point for the impact of the 'New Archaeology' and processual studies on historical archaeology." Robert L. Schuyler, University of Pennsylvania

From the Publisher

This reprint makes available a work originally published in 1977 (Academic Press) that had significant impact on the way archaeologists interpret collected data. South (U. of Carolina) presents a model of archaeology that relies on pattern recognition as a valid means of addressing inventories of material goods. An important part of the classification system is using attributes to define types and then grouping types into classes that represent processes in the past cultural system. He supplies a new prologue for this edition, which is published by Percheron Press, the reprint imprint of Eliot Werner Publications. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)