New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society
This book dispels those myths by bringing together an international group of both well-established scholars and accredited young experts in the field to provide a fresh, objective look at ritual violence in the Mayan realm from an academic perspective. These experts offer examine new evidence of of human sacrifice in Classic and Postclassic period sites like Calakmul and the Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itz, as well as cave contexts from Belize.
Global Archaeological Theory : Contextual Voices and Contemporary Thoughts
This book focuses on the fundamental theoretical issues found in the discipline and thus both engages and represents the very rich plurality of the post-processual approach to archaeology. The book is divided into four sections: Issues in Archaeological Theory, Archaeological Theory and Method in Action, Space and Power in Material Culture, and Images as Material Discourse.
Evaluating Multiple Narratives : Beyond Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist Archaeologies
This volume uses Bruce Trigger's 1984 article, "Alternative Archaeologies: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist" as a starting point to examine the complex interaction between contemporary society and archaeological practice today. This book uses case studies from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America to explore the interplay between the sociopolitical context of specific national, regional or local archaeological traditions and the variety of interpretations of the past made by archaeologists and others.
Design and Spirituality : A Philosophy of Material Cultures
A wide range of topics are covered, including material culture and spiritual teachings; sustainability and the spiritual perspective; traditional and indigenous knowledge; technology and spirituality; notions of meaningful design; and how particular material things can have deeper, symbolic significance. There are also reflections on areas such as the language of design; busyness and its relationship to wisdom; design and social disparity; and traditional sacred practices. While not avoiding issues that are controversial, and sometimes hard-hitting, Design and Spirituality gets to the heart of the key issues affecting us today and presents them in a highly readable and accessible format.
Confronting Scale in Archaeology : Issues of Theory and Practice
This book discusses the cultural, social and spatial aspects of scale and its impact on archaeology in practical and applicable cases. Each author takes one of the fundamental elements of archaeology - from the experience of time and space to the visualization of individuals, sites and landscapes to the intricacies of archaeological discourse - and shows how an awareness of scale can create new and exciting interpretations.
Material Agency : Towards a Non-Anthropocentric Approach
This book is a groundbreaking attempt to address questions of non-human and material agency from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines: archaeology, anthropology, sociology, cognitive science, philosophy, and economics. The editors and authors demostrate that a distributed, relational approach to agency, incorporating both humans and artifacts, has important ramifications for how we understand material culture.
Maritime Archaeology and Social Relations : British Action in the Southern Hemisphere
This book goes beyond a descriptive analysis of wrecks by exploring them and their cargoes as embodiments of 18th century social relations. Maritime Archaeology and Social Relations challenges traditional maritime approaches providing a different perspective that emphasises the richness, diversity and complexity of British action.By applying the concept of praxis, British action is integrated in both land and maritime spaces. A closer look into the associated experienced landscapes enhances our understanding of how social identities were projected at local and global levels.
Anthropological Perspectives on Environmental Communication
Through anthropological and ethnographic analyses, this collection addresses how interests, values, and ideologies affect dialogue and sustainability work. Drawing on studies from three continents – Europe, North America, and South America – the paradoxes and the plurality of meanings associated with the creation of sustainable futures are explored. The book focuses on how communication practices collide with organizational frameworks, customary practices, livelihoods, and landscape.
An Archaeology of Colonial Identity : Power and Material Culture in the Dwars Valley, South Africa
This book is the based on the work of many people, and while I discuss many of them in the general context of this book in Chapter 1. The backbone of the book is based on a project, 'Farm Lives' conducted between 1999 and 2002, funded exclusively by the McDonald Institute for Archaeolog-ical Research at the University of Cambridge.








