Christopher Raymond Decorse

Archaeology and World Prehistory

Unearthing Our Past

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Archaeology and World Prehistory emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the field and its interconnectedness with the four fields of anthropology, sciences, humanities, and beyond. Students new to archeology will learn key theories and methodologies through rich examples from field work and pre-history. Christopher R. DeCorse challenges ethnocentrism and essentialism by highlighting the differences and similarities across cultures, encouraging critical thinking, cultural appreciation, and global awareness.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: SAGE Publications Inc
• Seitenzahl: 408
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. April 2026
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 279mm x 215mm
• ISBN-13: 9781071828625
• ISBN-10: 1071828622
• Artikelnr.: 75426045

Autorenporträt

Christopher R. DeCorse is a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. He received his B.A. in anthropology with a minor in history from the University of New Hampshire, before completing his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in archaeology at the University of California-Los Angeles. His research interests include African archaeology and history, general anthropology, and archaeology in popular culture.  Dr. DeCorse has excavated a variety of prehistoric and historic period sites in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa, but his primary area of research has been in the archaeology, history, and ethnography of Africa. Dr. DeCorse has taught archaeology and general anthropology in undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Ghana, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Syracuse University. His academic honors and awards include: the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Outstanding Teaching, Research and Service; the William Wasserstrom Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching; and the Syracuse University Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award. Dr. DeCorse is particularly interested in making archaeology more accessible to general audiences. In addition to the single-authored physical anthropology and archaeology textbook The Record of the Past: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, he coauthored with Brian Fagan, the eleventh edition of In the Beginning: An Introduction to Archaeology.  He is currently completing a book examining the presentation of archaeologists and archaeology in popular culture. Dr. DeCorse's academic publications include more than sixty articles, book chapters, and research notes in a variety of publications, including The African Archaeological Review, Historical New Hampshire, Historical Archaeology, the Journal of African Archaeology, and Slavery and Abolition. Volumes on his research in Africa include An Archaeology of Elmina: Africans and Europeans on the Gold Coast 1400-1900 (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001) and the edited volume, West Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade: Archaeological Perspectives (Bloomsbury, 2016). His most recent books include Fringe Archaeology: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Past (Cognella 2025), Anthropology: A Global Perspective, 9th Edition (with Raymond Scupin, SAGE 2021), and the edited volumes that deal with Europe's entanglements with the non-Western World: Power, Political Economy, and Historical Landscapes of the Modern World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Fernand Braudel Center Studies in Historical Social Science, SUNY Press, 2019) and British Forts and Their Communities: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives, with Zachary J. M. Beier (University Press of Florida, 2018). 

Inhaltsangabe

Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Part I: Uncovering the Past
Chapter 1: Invitation to Archaeology
Introduction
Archaeology as Anthropology
Archaeology and Interdisciplinary Research
Interpreting the Past
The Past in the Present
Unearthing the Past
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 2: Explanation in Archaeology
Introduction
Antiquarians and Archaeologists
What Happened When?
Diffusion
Why Cultures Change
Processual Archaeology
Postprocessual Perspectives
Marxist and Neo-Marxist Approaches
Interpreting the Past
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 3: The Record of the Past
Introduction
Getting Started
The Archaeological Record
Finding Sites
Archaeological Excavation
Dating the Past
Archaeology in the Lab
Wrapping Up
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Part II: Human Origins
Chapter 4: Hominin Evolution
The Fossil Record
Tracing Human Origins
From Homo erectus to Homo sapiens
Neanderthals and Other Relatives
Clues in our genes: Genetic data and hominin phylogeny
Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution
Being Human
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 5: The Lower and Middle Paleolithic
Introduction
Lifestyles of the First Hominins
The Old Stone Age
The Life and Times of Genus Homo
The Middle Paleolithic
Could Early Hominins Speak?
New Horizons
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 6: Brave New Worlds
Introduction
Homo sapiens and Their Cultures
An Artistic Revolution
New Frontiers: Migration in the Upper Paleolithic
Homo sapiens in Australia and Oceania
Upper Paleolithic Hunters in the Americas
New Beginnings
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Part III: Domestication and Settled Life
Chapter 7: Why Farming?
Introduction
The End of the Paleolithic: Changes in Climate and Culture
The Neolithic: Origins of Food Production
Evidence for Domestication
Why Did Domestication Occur?
The Consequences of Domestication
The Worst Mistake in Human History?
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 8: The First Farmers in Asia, Africa and Europe
Introduction
The Origins of Agriculture in Southwest Asia
Early Farming in Europe
South Asian Agriculture
Asian Agriculture
Vegiculture in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
Farming and Pastoralism in Africa
Looking Ahead
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 9: Farming and Settled Life in the Americas
Introduction
A Feast of Resources: Foragers of the Americas
Archaic Beginnings
Agricultural Origins in Mesoamerica
Potatoes and Guinea Pigs in South America
The First Farmers in North America
Foraging, Agriculture, and Complexity
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Part IV: Complexity and the State
Chapter 10: Studying Complexity
Introduction
Civilization and the State
Studying Complexity
The Written Record
Why Did States Form?
Why Do States Fail?
Looking Ahead
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 11: Pyramids, Cities, and States of the Old World
Introduction
Civilizations of Mesopotamia
Indus Valley Complexity
Ancient China
Dynastic Egypt
Complexity in Sub-Saharan Africa
States, States, and More States
The Fundamentals of the State
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Chapter 12: Complexity in the Americas
Introduction
The Civilizations of Mesoamerica
The Mound Builder of North America
Complexity and Empire in South America
Revisiting Complexity and the State
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Part V: The Past in the Present
Chapter 13: The Past in the Present
Introduction
Applying Archaeology
CRM in the United States
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Who Owns the Past?
Archaeology in the Present
Archaeology in the Modern World
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Glossary
References
Index