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Messy Data, Ordered Questions
Author(s) -
Hauser Mark W.
Publication year - 2012
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/j.1548-1433.2012.01417.x
Subject(s) - frontier , archaeology , identity (music) , archaeological theory , power (physics) , sociology , knowledge production , historical archaeology , anthropology , history , aesthetics , art , computer science , knowledge management , physics , quantum mechanics
A lively debate was witnessed in 2011 about the role of deductive and interpretive approaches in the production of anthropological knowledge, especially as it relates to archaeology. Scholarly output in archaeology this year reflects this concern. First, there is a trend toward furthering our archaeological imagination—finding new ways of asking questions that link the most empirical of research projects with innovative social theory. Second, there is an embracement of the messiness of archaeological data and the conclusions we can reach from it. By looking at the messiness of archaeological data and the limits of knowledge, archaeology asserts itself as an open frontier for anthropological inquiry. [ anthropological archaeology, historical archaeology, environment, identity, power ]