The Practical Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean Archaeology.

• Author: Knapp, A. Bernard
• Position: Reviews of Books

The practical Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean Archaeology. Edited by SCOTT PIKE and SEYMOUR GITIN. Wiener Laboratory Monograph, vol. 3. London: ARCHETYPE BOOKS, 1999. Pp. ix + 169, illus. [pounds sterling]20, $30(paper). [Distrib. by Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.]

The relationship between archaeologists and archaeological scientists has often been a tortured one, and after fifty years of attempting to work out the essentials of communications, one would hope that the bases for a long-term partnership had been established. Most major, annual archaeological conferences (e.g., AIA, SAA, ASOR) regularly incorporate symposia or colloquia devoted to presenting the results of science-based research in archaeology, and these sessions more often than not involve both archaeologist and scientist collaborating in the presentation of their work. Every other year, science-based archaeologists organize the by-now well-known Archaeometry meetings, at least thirty of which have now taken place. In addition, over the decades, several "around tables" or workshops have been set up in the attempt to establish the ground rules and to foment communications between archaeologists and their scientifically-oriented colleagues. One recent and very encouraging development is the emergence of you nger scholars who have been trained both as archaeologists and as scientists: increasingly they play a major role in the growth and maturity of science-based archaeology.

Many archaeologists today accept that science-based archaeology can contribute positively to the resolution of socio-cultural and material culture problems. Others remain skeptical of archaeological science or baffled by its results. The analysis and statistical (i.e., quantitative) orientation and practice of science-based archaeology often seem to stand in contrast to, if not in conflict with, social or behavioral (i.e., qualitative) approaches championed by the diverse "archaeologies" practiced in the twenty-first century. Thus one might venture to say that the collaboration between archaeologists and their science-based colleagues has yet to realize its full potential. Until these two groups accept the need for and put into practice a more active, integrative spirit of collaboration, this reality will not change. Such collaboration would enable both fields to make important contributions to understanding the past. From an archaeological point of view, the...