Archaeology (6^th Ed.) The Science of the Human Past

Archaeology: The Science of the Human Past provides students with a thorough understanding of what archaeology is and how it operates and familiarizes them with fundamental archaeological concepts and methods.

This volume introduces the basic components of archaeology, including sites, artifacts, ecofacts, remote sensing, and excavation. It discusses how archaeologists obtain and classify information and how they analyze this information to formulate and test models of what happened in the past. Cultural resource management and the laws and regulations that deal with archaeology around the world are described. Archaeology is placed in the context of contemporary issues, from environmental problems to issues affecting Indigenous populations. The sixth edition has been updated and simplified to create a more streamlined volume to meet the needs of the students and teachers for whom it is designed, reflecting the latest developments in archaeological techniques and approaches.

Allowing students to understand the theoretical and scientific aspects of archaeology and how various archaeological perspectives and techniques help us understand how and what we know about the past, Archaeology:The Science of the Human Past is an ideal introduction to archaeology.

Part I What is Archaeology?; 1 The Science of Archaeology; 2 Background of Archaeology; 3 The Development of Contemporary Archaeology; Part II Obtaining Information about the Past; 4 The Archaeological Record; 5 Conducting Fieldwork; 6 Classification and Analysis of Artifacts; 7 Determining Time; 8 Bioarchaeology: Human Remains; Part III Interpreting the Past; 9 Environment and Adaptation; 10 Understanding Past Settlement and Subsistence; 11 Interpreting Past Cultural Systems; 12 Understanding Change; Part IV Public Archaeology; 13 Cultural Resource Management; 14 Archaeology in Today’s World

Mark Q. Sutton is an emeritus professor of anthropology at California State University, Bakersfield, USA.