THE BODY AS MATERIAL CULTURE by Joanna R. Sofaer ( 9780521818223 )

Item Details

Title:

THE BODY AS MATERIAL CULTURE
A THEORETICAL OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY

By:

Joanna R. Sofaer

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£75.00

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£65.63

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£9.37

ISBN 10:

0521818222

ISBN 13:

9780521818223

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Publisher:

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

16 February, 2006

Series:

Topics in Contemporary Archaeology No. 4

Pages:

208

Description:

Examines the two distinct approaches taken when examining archaeological remains, one based on science, the other on social theory.

Synopsis:

Bodies intrigue us. They promise windows into the past that other archaeological finds cannot by bringing us literally face to face with history. Yet 'the body' is also highly contested. Archaeological bodies are studied through two contrasting perspectives that sit on different sides of a disciplinary divide. On one hand lie science-based osteoarchaeological approaches. On the other lie understandings derived from recent developments in social theory that increasingly view the body as a social construction. Through a close examination of disciplinary practice, Joanna Sofaer highlights the tensions and possibilities offered by one particular kind of archaeological body, the human skeleton, with particular regard to the study of gender and age. Using a range of examples, she argues for reassessment of the role of the skeletal body in archaeological practice, and develops a theoretical framework for bioarchaeology based on the materiality and historicity of human remains.

Illustrations:

10 b/w illus. 3 tables

Publication:

Imprint:

Cambridge University Press

Returns:

Returnable

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