Expanding Archaeology is the first attempt to define behavioral archaeology comprehensively and to establish its place among competing theoretical frameworks. Among other objectives, this volume demonstrates that a behavioral approach - the study of material objects regardless of time or space to describe and explain human behavior - provides a means whereby religion, gender, and other seemingly unknowable elements of prehistory can be inferred through systematic, empirical analysis. Expanding Archaeology begins with three retrospective analyses by J. Jefferson Reid, William Rathje, and Michael Schiffer, followed by seven case studies exploring various avenues offered by this approach. A third section contains five critiques that serve as a counterpoint to the behavioral approach. Although the editors do not suggest that behavioral archaeology should be the universal archaeology, they do suggest that this approach permits pre-historians to expand into new areas of investigation.
James Skibo is assistant professor of anthropology at Illinois State University. William Walker is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of Arizona. Axel Nielsen has a Ph.D. in history.
List of Figures List of Tables 1. Introduction: Expanding Archaeology ~ William H. Walker, James M. Skibo, and Axel E. Nielsen PART I: Reflection 2. Four Strategies after Twenty Years: A Return to Basics ~ J. Jefferson Reid 3. Social Theory and History in Behavioral Archaeology ~ Michael Brian Schiffer 4. Forever Separate Realities ~ William L. Rathje 5. Architectural Performance and the Reproduction of Social Power ~ Axel E. Nielsen PART II: Case Studies 6. Ceremonial Trash? ~ William H. Walker 7. The Clay Cooking Pot: An Exploration of Women's Technology ~ James M. Skibo and Michael Brian Schiffer 8. The Estimation of Prehistoric Values: Cracked Pot Ideas in Archaeology ~ Louise M. Senior 9. Ceramic Reuse Behavior among the Maya and Wanka: Implications for Archaeology ~ Michael Deal and Melissa B. Hagstrum 10. The Analysis of Domestic Reuse in Historical Archaeology ~ Douglas C. Wilson PART III: Critical Assessment 11. Behavioral Archaeology and the Extended Phenotype ~ Michael J. O'Brien and Thomas D. Holland 12. Behavioral Archaeology: Reflections of a Prodigal Son ~ Randall H. McGuire 13. Behavioral Archaeology and the Interpretation of Archaeological Variability ~ Alan P. Sullivan III 14. Is There a Behavioral Historical Archaeology? ~ Charles E. Orser, Jr. 15. An Expanded Behavioral Archaeology: Transformation and Redefinition ~ Alison Wylie Appendix | Behavioral Archaeology: Four Strategies ~ J. Jefferson Reid, Michael B. Schiffer, and William L. Rathje References Cited Contributors Index
