The Body as Material Culture
The Body as Material Culture
Bodies intrigue us. They promise windows into the past that other archaeological finds cannot by bringing us literally face to face with history. Yet 'the body' is also highly contested. Archaeological bodies are studied through two contrasting perspectives that sit on different sides of a disciplinary divide. On one hand lie science-based osteoarchaeological approaches. On the other lie understandings derived from recent developments in social theory that increasingly view the body as a social construction. Through a close examination of disciplinary practice, Joanna Sofaer highlights the tensions and possibilities offered by one particular kind of archaeological body, the human skeleton, with particular regard to the study of gender and age. Using a range of examples, she argues for reassessment of the role of the skeletal body in archaeological practice, and develops a theoretical framework for bioarchaeology based on the materiality and historicity of human remains.
- Investigates one of the most intriguing aspects of archaeology, archaeological remains
- Bridges the two traditionally distinct and separate approaches to the subject, namely the scientific approach and the social theoretical approach
- Presents a significant model for the study of the subject which merges the two distinct approaches
Reviews & endorsements
"I would recommend this book to any archaeologist or bio-archaeologist seeking an alternative view for the interpretation of osteological material"
Heather Robertson, Simon Fraser University, Canadian Journal of Archaeology
Product details
No date availableAdobe eBook Reader
9781316042588
0 pages
0kg
10 b/w illus. 3 tables
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- 1. Bodies and boundaries
- 2. The body as an archaeological resource
- 3. The body and convention in archaeological practice
- 4. Material bodies
- 5. Gender
- 6. Age.
