Envisioning a Pragmatic Approach to the Archaeology of Religion

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5947445
AutoresM Aldenderfer (0000-0002-7033-4319, University of California, Merced, autor de correspondencia)
Año2011
Volumen21
Número1
Páginas23-36
Fecha de publicación2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArcheological Papers of the American Anthropological Association (BOOK_SERIES)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1551-823X • E-ISSN: 1551-8248
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1551-8248.2012.01035.x
OpenAlexW1514604611
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas38

Over the past decade, many archaeologists have lamented over the parlous state of what is often labeled the "archaeology of religion." Although much of the problem with the development of a satisfying approach to the study of religion in the past lies with religion itself, a notoriously difficult concept with a plethora of definitions, archaeologists themselves must acknowledge that they too bear responsibility for this unsatisfactory situation. Archaeologists have turned to the analysis of ritual in the past because it is easier to see ritual in the archaeological record than religion. But the result has been the creation of a corpus of disembodied ritual that may not fully capture the essential role that religion played in the past as a force for conservatism, transformation, or both. In this essay I argue that religion be reintroduced into the field by reminding archaeologists of what religion does. I illustrate how this can be accomplished within a program of philosophical pragmatism and an examination of contexts, contrasts, and combinations of archaeological data using two case studies

Archaeological theory · Archaeology · Conservatism · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Political science · Politics · Pragmatism · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Computer Science · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Study and Philosophy of Religion