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The future of archaeological theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2015

Julian Thomas*
Affiliation:
School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK (Email: julian.thomas@manchester.ac.uk)

Abstract

In this latest contribution to our ‘Archaeological Futures’ series, Julian Thomas reflects on the current state of Western archaeological theory and how it is probably going to develop over the next few years. Archaeological theory has not ossified in the period since the processual/post-processual exchanges. The closer integration of archaeological thought with philosophical debate in the human sciences has gradually given rise to a theoretical landscape that would have been unrecognisable 30 years ago, wherein ‘new materialisms’ figure significantly.

Type
Research
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 

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