Foundations of Social Archaeology

For the first time, a diverse collection of Childe's writings have been brought together in one volume. These fourteen essays, from his earliest seminal work in 1935 to his reflective essay 'Retrospect' written in 1958 shortly before his death, document the progression of this dynamic thinker. Thomas Patterson and Charles Orser places Childe's work in a larger context and explores Childe's ongoing value to modern readers. This volume will be of interest to archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians of social archaeology.

THOMAS C. PATTERSON is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Anthropology at
the University of California, Riverside. He is concerned with social theory, class and state formation, and the history of anthropological thought. His books include Toward a Social History of Archaeology in the United States (1995), Inventing Western Civilization (1997), Change and Development in the Twentieth Century (1999), Cultural Diversity in the United States (with Ida Susser, 2000), A Social History of Anthropology in the United States (2001), and Marx's Ghost: Conversations with Archaeologists (2003).

CHARLES E. ORSER JR. is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Illinois State University and Adjunct Professor of Archaeology at the National University of Ireland at Galway. A historical archaeologist, he uses anthropologically informed archaeology to investigate the lives of men and women ignored by official, written history and their interactions with people of power. His books include The Material Basis of the Postbellum Tenant Plantation, A Historical Archaeology of the Modern World, Historical Archaeology, and Race and Practice in Archaeological Interpretation. He is also the founding editor of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology and the editor of the Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology