History, Theory and Philosophy in Archaeology

This collection of essays, the bulk of which have been previously published by Emeritus Professor Tim Murray, ranges widely across contemporary archaeological theory and the history of archaeology while retaining a focus on the archaeology of Australia. The collection is introduced by a new essay ‘The evolution of archaeological theory’ that sets the agendum for the collection. In doing this, Murray explores the critical intersection between archaeology, philosophy and the social and cultural context of its practice in Australia and elsewhere. The collection brings together ideas about time, scale, and strategies for the evaluation of archaeological concepts and categories, which are then applied to an understanding of significant issues raised by writing the archaeology of Australia from the Pleistocene to the present. The essays have been drawn from over 30 years of research and writing about archaeological inquiry into the theories and methods of the discipline and will be of particular interest to archaeologists, historians, the managers of archaeological heritage, and advocates of the importance of indigenous perspectives on the histories of post-colonial societies.