MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY AND THEORY: A DISCIPLINARY LEAP OF FAITH
By Roberta Gilchrist
This paper challenges the view that medieval archaeology has failed to engage with theory, exploring the impact over the last 25 years of processual and post-processual approaches. Trends are reviewed according to regional research traditions, chronological periods and research themes. Itis concluded that processualism encouraged grand narratives on themes such as trade, the origins of towns and state formation, while the post-processual concern with agency and meaning has fostered study of social identity, gender, religious belief, sensory perception and spatial experience. It is argued that processualism created an artificial dichotomy between economic/scientific approaches on the one hand, and social/theoretical approaches on the other. The potential is discussed for medieval studies of embodiment, materiality, agency and phenomenology, and the case is made for greater engagement with the development of theory in the wider discipline, with the aim of achieving a more meaningful medieval archaeology.
Here
Chapter 9 of this book
(2009) Reflections: 50 Years of Medieval Archaeology, 1957–2007
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Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conferences