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Originally published by Academic Press in 1976, this book has become a foundational statement in archaeological methodology and has had a lasting impact on the discipline. As Michael Schiffer writes in his new prologue, the work 'played a vital role in establishing as fundamental the behavioral perspective in archaeology.' (Must be distinguished from the collection of articles by Schiffer published by University of Utah Press called Behavioral Archaeology: First Principles.)
From the Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition:
'Clearly many issues raised in Behavioral Archeology, as well as its principal ideas, retain considerable relevance for the practice of archaeology. Thus I present this reprinted edition of Behavioral Archeology, warts and all, in the hope that readers will enjoy engaging the ideas that played a pivotal role in establishing as fundamental the behavioral perspective in archaeology.'
'[A]n important and original essay that tackles the nature and methods of archaeological inference in a fundamental way. [O]ne of the most noteworthy theoretical writings in archaeology in recent years, and, unlike most of the others, it is also delightfully readable.' (K. C. Chang, American Scientist)
'[Schiffer’s] first grand treatise dealing with the interrelationships between laws, cultural and natural formation processes, and their applications for indirect observation of past cultural systems.' (Albert C. Goodyear, American Antiquity)
'[O]ne of the most important treatments of archaeological methodology. Although it will undoubtedly be a controversial book, even those who do not accept the Schifferian approach will find some imaginative, well-formulated methods that can be used to obtain information about the past.' (Stephen Plog, American Anthropologist)
Michael Brian Schiffer, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition
1. Introduction
2. A Synthetic Model of Archeological Inference
3. Cultural Formation Processes
4. Transformation Models
5. Quantitative Transformations
6. Quantitative and Spatial Transformations
7. An Introduction to the Joint Site
8. General Considerations of Artifact Classification
9. Chipped Stone from the Joint Site
10. Cultural Formation Processes of the Joint Site
11. Systemic Context of the Joint Site
12. Systemic Context of the Chipped Stone
13. Prospects for a Behavioral Archaeology
Appendix
References
Index