Field survey methods in Central Italy (Etruria and Umbria)

Between local knowledge and regional traditions

Bibliographic Data

ID2130745
AuthorsNicola Terrenato (0000-0002-1053-0094, corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume3
Issue2
Pages216-230
Publication date1996-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeological Dialogues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1380-2038 • E-ISSN: 1478-2294
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1380203800000775
OpenAlexW2943869156
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited12

The existence of regional traditions, in terms of methods and practices, has been an accepted fact in social sciences with a longer history than archaeology. In disciplines like anthropology and archaeology, with their strong emphasis on the description of phenomena that are peculiar to a given regional context, the development of a set of methodologies common to scholars dealing with the same region (a methodological 'local knowledge') has long been regarded as a natural tendency. It was only as a result of the main thrust connected with the appearance of processual archaeology that the idea (or should we say the myth?) of a universal methodology, i. e. one applicable to all contexts and periods, was developed. Thus, between the 1960s and the early 1980s, in parallel with a very positive standardization and intensification of archaeological techniques, a great effort went into the quest for an ultimate and universal field methodology (Binford 1964). As a result, a very wide agreement was reached fairly soon in some areas; for instance, as far as excavation is concerned, a kind of common practice was established, thanks to figures like Ph. Barker (1977) and E. C. Harris (1979). For some reason field survey has experienced a far less unilinear evolution, with sharp debates arising ever since the earliest attempts at a definition of a modern methodology (see for example the entertaining Hope-Simpson versus Cherry controversy, or the even more amusing debate imagined in Flannery 1976, 131-136

Archaeological theory · Archaeology · Epistemology · Excavation · Flannery · Mythology · Sociology · Anthropology · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Classics · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub