Archaeology ― The Science of the Human Past

The main objective in writing this text was to provide an introduction to the broad and fascinating world of archaeology from the scientific perspective. Like all researchers, I have a bias in my approach to the study of the past. I view and interpret the past from the viewpoint of empirical science. Although some archaeologists believe that there are many pasts, I believe that there is only one empirical past. I agree that different people in the past had varying beliefs, views, and agendas, and I believe that each of these perspectives was real. This makes the past very complex but still empirical. I acknowledge and value the perspectives of other approaches and believe that they, too, can be incorporated into the empirical science of archaeology.

This fifth edition incorporates a number of changes. Perhaps most importantly, the chapter on Bioarchaeology was completely rewritten. A new opening story for Chapter 6 was added. Nine of the highlights were dropped but two new ones were added. These new highlights are a discussion about an ancient boat (the "Jesus" Boat) and an examination of some exciting work on hunting by very early hominins. Finally, sections were updated and errors corrected. The input of the reviewers, generally users of the book, were instrumental in these changes.

Mark Q. Sutton began his career in 1968, working at an archaeological site with the local community college while still in high school. He went on to earn a BA (1972), an MA (1977), and a Ph.D. (1987) in anthropology. He has worked for the US Air Force, the US Bureau of Land Management, various private consulting firms, and taught at a number of community colleges and universities. He taught at California State University, Bakersfield from 1987 to 2007 where he retired as Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. He teaches at the University of San Diego and does consulting for Statistical Research, Inc. From 1986 to 2000, Dr. Sutton served as the Editor of the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. Dr. Sutton has investigated hunter-gatherer adaptations to arid environments, entomophagy, prehistoric diet and technology, and the prehistory of California. Dr. Sutton has worked at more than 150 sites in western North America, has presented some 126 papers at professional meetings, and has published more than 210 books, monographs, articles, and reviews on archaeology and anthropology, including the textbooks Introduction to Native North America, A Prehistory of North America, Introduction to Cultural Ecology, Paleonutrition, and Laboratory Methods in Archaeology.