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Anthropological Archaeology in 2013: The Search for Truth(s)
Author(s) -
HarrisonBuck Eleanor
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1111/aman.12101
Subject(s) - reductionism , identity (music) , diversity (politics) , epistemology , sociology , power (physics) , frontier , history , anthropology , archaeology , philosophy , aesthetics , physics , quantum mechanics
ABSTRACT In 2013, we see a clear continuation of certain themes noted in previous reviews, including economy, mobility, human–environment interactions, social complexity, identity, and power. There is a greater emphasis on comparative approaches but also a general move away from reductionist, macrosystemic models in anthropological archaeology, with studies emphasizing diversity, multiple pathways or trajectories, and variability in local responses. The fallout of the so‐called “postmodernist turn” continues to prompt lively debate, with methodological rigor being emphasized as well as the critical cross‐examination of our Western modes of inquiry, with some scholars considering the possibility of multiple truths in their theoretical interpretations of the past.