Nowadays, archaeological investigators don't just dig up the past They use high-tech equipment, chemical analyses, sampling strategies, and other modern means to gain a better understanding of why and how cultures change. Using the study of the Maya as a test case, Jeremy Sabloff shows how the exciting transformation of archaeology is shedding new light on past civilizations.

The most complete account of ancient man in the New York area ever published in one volume, this book traces a rich, 8000-year story of human prehistory. Beginning with the first known inhabitants, Paleo-Indian hunters who lived approximately 7000 B.C., the author gives a detailed chronological account of the complex of cultural units that have existed in the area, culminating in the Iroquois tribes encountered by the European colonists at the dawn of the seventeenth century. All of the major archaeological sites in the region are described in detail and representative artifacts from all the major cultural units are illustrated in over 100 plates and drawings. The entire account is informed by the most recently obtained radio-carbon dates. In addition to giving much new, previously unpublished information, the author has synthesized all earlier published material and from this he has drawn as many inferences as the material affords regarding the nature of these early inhabitants, where they came from, and how they lived. Each cultural unit is systematically described: its discovery and naming; its ecological and chronological setting; the physical characteristics of the related people; economy; housing and settlement pattern; dress and ornament; technology; transportation; trade relationships; warfare; esthetic and recreational activities; social and political organization; mortuary customs; and religio-magical and ceremonial customs.

The second edition of Contemporary Archaeology in Theory: The New Pragmatism, has been thoroughly updated and revised, and features top scholars who redefine the theoretical and political agendas of the field, and challenge the usual distinctions between time, space, processes, and people. Defines the relevance of archaeology and the social sciences more generally to the modern world Challenges the traditional boundaries between prehistoric and historical archaeologies Discusses how archaeology articulates such contemporary topics and issues as landscape and natures; agency, meaning and practice; sexuality, embodiment and personhood; race, class, and ethnicity; materiality, memory, and historical silence; colonialism, nationalism, and empire; heritage, patrimony, and social justice; media, museums, and publics Examines the influence of American pragmatism on archaeology Offers 32 new chapters by leading archaeologists and cultural anthropologists

It outlines a fresh approach to the archaeological study of the historic cultures of North America.

The Archaeology of New Netherland illuminates the influence of the Dutch empire in North America, assembling evidence from seventeenth-century settlements located in present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Archaeological data from this important early colony has often been overlooked because it lies underneath major urban and industrial regions, and this collection makes a wealth of information widely available for the first time. Contributors to this volume begin by discussing the global context of Dutch colonization and reviewing typical Dutch material culture of the time as seen in ceramics from Amsterdam households. Next, they focus on communities and activities at colonial sites such as forts, trading stations, drinking houses, and farms. The essays examine the agency and impact of Indigenous people and enslaved Africans, particularly women, in the society of New Netherland, and they trace interactions between Dutch settlers and Europeans from other colonies including New Sweden. The volume also features landmark studies of cooking pots, marbles, tobacco pipes, and other artifacts. The research in this volume offers an invitation to investigate New Netherland with the same sustained rigor that archaeologists and historians have shown for English colonialism. The many topics outlined here will serve as starting points for further work on early Dutch expansion in America. Contributors: Craig Lukezic | John P. McCarthy | Charles Gehring | Marijn Stolk | Ian Burrow | Adam Luscier | Matthew Kirk | Michael T. Lucas | Kristina S. Traudt | Marie-Lorraine Pipes | Anne-Marie Cantwell | Diana diZerega Wall | Lu Ann De Cunzo | Wade P. Catts | William B. Liebeknecht | Marshall Joseph Becker | Meta F. Janowitz | Richard G. Schaefer | Paul R. Huey | David A. Furlow

For more than ten thousand years, humans have lived in New Jersey. From Summit to Cape May, from Trenton to the Jersey Shore, the state is a treasure trove of archaeological artifacts, revealing much about those who occupied the region prior to European settlement. As a rule, only the most durable of human creations3⁄4items of stone and pottery3⁄4survive the ravages of time. To complicate matters, the onslaught of our own culture and the indiscriminate looting of sites by greedy collectors have further diminished the cultural materials left behind. The task of the archaeologist is to gather and interpret these scraps for the benefit of science and the public. But digging up relics is a trivial pursuit if the only outcome is a collection of artifacts, however attractive or valuable they may be. Understanding what those relics mean in human terms is crucial. In Looking beneath the Surface, R. Alan Mounier looks at the human past of New Jersey. With particular focus on the ancient past and native cultures, the author tells the story of archaeology in the state as it has unfolded, and as it continues to unfold. New investigations and discoveries continually change our views and interpretations of the past. In jargon-free language, Mounier provides an in-depth introduction offering information to understand general archaeological practices as well as research in New Jersey. Subsequent chapters describe artifact types, archaeological settlements, and burial practices in detail. He concludes with vignettes of twenty-one archaeological investigations throughout the state to illustrate the variability of sites and the accomplishments of dedicated archaeologists, both professional and amateur.