Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe) by Kristian Kristiansen


Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe)
Title : Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1009228714
ISBN-10 : 9781009228718
Language : English
Format Type : Kindle Edition
Number of Pages : 98
Publication : Published August 18, 2022

This Element was written to meet the theoretical and methodological challenge raised by the third science revolution and its implications for how to study and interpret European prehistory. The first section is therefore devoted to a historical and theoretical discussion of how to practice interdisciplinarity in this new age, and following from that, how to define some crucial, but undertheorized categories, such as culture, ethnicity and various forms of migration. The author thus integrates the new results from archaeogenetics into an archaeological frame of reference, to produce a new and theoretically informed historical narrative, one that also invites debate, but also one that identifies areas of uncertainty, where more research is needed.

Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe) Reviews

  • Siri Olsen

    Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory contains an academic discussion of the recent advances in archaeological understanding of prehistoric societies (with emphasis on the Northern European Bronze Age) afforded by the advent of new genetic methods of analysis, particularly the use of aDNA and strontium isotope analyses. The booklet details the positive impact from genetic analyses, but it also discusses the challenges associated with introducing genetic research into the field of archaeology. In my opinion, the discussion is thoughtful and well done, but I personally found it overly theoretical and a bit meandering. I wish that more emphasis had been placed on how aDNA studies have aided in changing archaeological perceptions of the transformations of European Neolithic and Bronze Age societies, a discussion which is not begun until at least halfway through the book. A good read for an academic audience, but I found it a little difficult to get through the first half.