Philosophy of archaeology

The philosophy of archaeology seeks to investigate the foundations, methods and implications of the discipline of archaeology in order to further understanding of the human past and present.

Central questions include what is archaeology? What is the theoretical basis of archaeology? How should archaeology conceive of time? Why, and for who, is archaeology practiced. What is the nature and reality of the objects and processes of archaeological study? Analytic philosophy of archaeology investigates the logic behind concepts such as artefact, site, the archaeological record and archaeological cultures. These are just some examples of the metaphysical, aesthetic, epistemological, ethical and theoretical concerns at the heart of the practice of archaeology.

In addition to these general questions, the philosophy of archaeology is also concerned with fieldwork methodology, integration of theory and collaboration with other disciplines, theories of measurement and data representation.

Philosophy of archaeology can also denote a certain approach or attitude applied to the discipline, such as feminist, Marxist, humanist or processual for example. These approaches are generally referred to as "theory" by archaeologists and are sometimes conflated with, but are not the same as, analytic philosophy of archaeology. See Archeological theory for a full description of these approaches.

There is currently little consensus amongst archaeologists on the nature of the problems in the philosophy of archaeology, or indeed in some cases, whether a philosophy of archaeology should, or even can, exist. As such, the discipline is not highly developed, with even its existence or relevance disputed by some archaeologists. However, it is generally recognised that an awareness of the philosophical issues and framework of the subject through research into the philosophy of archaeology is important for progress in the discipline as well as for designing research, controlling inference and interpretation, and in classification.

The roots of archaeological enquiry can be traced ultimately to mankinds urge to explain the origin of the world around them. These early cosmological explanations for the origins of the universe took the form of mythology. With the rise of complex civilisations such as Sumer, Babylon, Egypt and Persia, and with their increasingly sophisticated priesthood, these mythological explanations became also more sophisticated.

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