The disciplines of archaeology and anthropology have, since their beginnings, influenced and informed each other. Chris Gosden charts and analyses their changing relationship, and provides a valuable and much-needed introduction to the theories and methods of these two inter-related subjects. This volume covers the historical relationship and contemporary interests of archaeology and anthropology. It takes a broad historical approach, setting the early history of the disciplines within the colonial period during which the Europeans encountered and attempted to make sense of many other peoples. It shows how the subjects are linked through their interest in kinship, economics and symbolism, and discusses what each contribute to debates about gender, material culture and globalism in the post-colonial world.

This book is unique in its survey of both anthropology and archaeology. This dual consideration is necessary as each discipline has continuously influenced the other. Together, anthropology and archaeology can inform us of the full variability of life, past and present. Anthropology and Archaeology is an indispensable guide to each discipline for students or researchers studying archaeology, anthropology, or both subjects.

The author

Chris Gosden is presently lecturer-curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. He has held teaching positions both in Australia and the UK, and has published widely on a range of issues in archaeology and anthropology.