A History of Archaeological Thought

In its original edition, Bruce Trigger's book was the first ever to examine the history of archaeological thought from medieval times to the present in worldwide perspective.

Now, in this new edition, he both updates the original work and introduces new archaeological perspectives and concerns. At once stimulating and even-handed, it places the development of archaeological thought and theory throughout within a broad social and intellectual framework.

The successive but interacting trends apparent in archaeological thought are defined and the author seeks to determine the extent to which these trends were a reflection of the personal and collective interests of… show more.

Bruce Trigger worked in Egypt on the Aswan Dam salvage of Nubian ruins, and in his native Canada on the archaeology and the documented histories of Canada's First Nations, especially those in the Iroquois area. Pioneering the post-colonial approach of melding archaeology and history, Trigger soundly critiqued nationalist and White Supremacy archaeology, showing us how to read between the lines. A great scholar and kind, generous man, Trigger's history of archaeological thought lays bare the political associations behind Western scholarly histories, the how's and why's of what gets excavated. He was one of the few leading archaeologists who always respected… show more.