In Defense of Things

Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects

Inbunden, Engelska, 2010

AvBjørnar Olsen

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In much recent thinking, social and cultural realms are thought of as existing prior to—or detached from—things, materiality, and landscape. It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them—qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2010-07-16
Mått164 x 241 x 18 mm
Vikt467 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieArchaeology in Society
Antal sidor208
FörlagAltaMira Press
ISBN9780759119307

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Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Brothers in Arms? Archaeology and Material Culture Studies Chapter 3. Material Culture as Text: Scenes from a Troubled Engagement Chapter 4. The Phenomenology of Things Chapter 5. Tacit Matter: The Silencing of Things Chapter 6. Temporality and Memory: How Things Remember Chapter 7. Living with Things - Matter in Place Chapter 8. In Defense of Things Chapter 9 Bibliography

It is delightful to read an archaeological work that is so fluent with the history and uses of philosophical traditions and their effects on archaeological debates. Equally refreshing is Olsen’s decision to abstain from creating a cavalcade of case studies, although the number of examples andtheir analyses increase towards the end of the book. The conventional way of writing archaeological theory as a series of case studies is often tedious for readers as well as restrictive for theoretical discussion. In fact, the absence of case studies could be seen as an implication of Olsen’s position:at its best, writing about things makes the neat distinction between an ‘abstract’, theoretical introduction and the subsequent, ‘concrete’ case study questionable. Olsen’s book is an imperative call for new ways of making archaeological theory relevant for other disciplines and is a reminder of the importance of ontological difference in thinking about things.