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In Archaeological Thinking, Charles E. Orser Jr., provides a commonsense guide to applying critical thinking skills to archaeological questions and evidence.
List of contents
Preface
1. What's This All About, Anyway? Thinking in Archaeology
A Question of Belief?
Science versus History
Thinking to Some Purpose
The Process of Clear Thinking
A Brief History of Archaeo-Thinking
Postmodern Thinking
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2. It All Seems So Sciencey: Archaeology, Science, and History
How Do Archaeologists Use Science and History to Think?
SEARCHing
Plausibility
The Exeter Mystery
The Ongoing Tussle between Evidence and Perspective
The Changing Nature of Coarse, Low-Fired Earthenware
3. Those Pesky Facts: Understanding Historical Facts
Can Facts Be Selected?
Is Fact Selection Dishonest?
Glass Beads and Glass Buttons
We Really Do Select Facts?
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4. If p . . . Then What? Archaeological Thinking and Logic
Our Love of Logic
Deducing
Not Deduction, the Other One . . .
I've Been Abducted
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5. Is That Chair Really a Chair? Analogy and Archaeological Thinking
Archaeologists and Analogy
The Direct Historical Approach
Ethnographic Analogy
Evaluating Analogy Strength
What Is the Purpose of Analogy in Archaeology?
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6. Source-Thinking: The Relationship between Archaeological and Textual Evidence
What Is History?
Archaeology and History
"Historical" Sources
Reading the Declaration of Independence
The Search for Saint Brendan the Navigator
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7. Artifact-Thinking: Archaeological Thought and Excavated Things
Ceramics as Historical Documents
Ceramics as Commodities
Ceramics as Ideas
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8. Thinking to Some Purpose: Archaeological Research and Critical Thinking
The Danger of Faulty Archaeo-Thinking
Final Thoughts
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Index
About the Author
About the author
By Charles E. Orser Jr.
Summary
In Archaeological Thinking, Charles E. Orser Jr., provides a commonsense guide to applying critical thinking skills to archaeological questions and evidence.
