Archaeology: An Introduction

This fully updated sixth edition of a classic classroom text is essential reading for core courses in archaeology.

Archaeology: An Introduction explains how the subject emerged from an amateur pursuit in the eighteenth century into a serious discipline and explores changing trends in interpretation in recent decades. The authors convey the excitement of archaeology while helping readers to evaluate new discoveries by explaining the methods and theories that lie behind them. In addition to drawing upon examples and case studies from many regions of the world and periods of the past, the book incorporates the authors’ own fieldwork, research and teaching. It continues to include key reference and further reading sections to help new readers find their way through the ever-expanding range of archaeological publications and online sources as well as colour illustrations and boxed topic sections to increase comprehension.

Serving as an accessible and lucid textbook, and engaging students with contemporary issues, this book is designed to support students studying Archaeology at an introductory level.

New to the sixth edition:

• Inclusion of the latest survey and imaging techniques, such as the use of drones and eXtended reality.
• Updated material on developments in dating, DNA analysis, isotopes and population movement, including consideration of the ethical considerations of these techniques.
• Coverage of new developments in archaeological theory, such as the material turn/ontological turn, and work on issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.
• A whole new chapter covering archaeology in the present, including new sections on heritage and public archaeology, and an updated consideration of archaeology’s relationship with the climate crisis.
• A revised glossary with over 200 new additions or updates.

Hannah Cobb is a Professor of Archaeology and Pedagogy at the University of Manchester.

Kevin Greene is a Visiting Fellow in Archaeology at Newcastle University.

Tom Moore is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University.