Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | A | Archaeology in Oceania

The Social Archaeology of Australian Indigenous Societies.

Article Excerpt
The social archaeology of Australian Indigenous Societies Edited by Bruno David, Bryce Barker and Ian J. McNiven. Canberra, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2006. ISBN 85575 499 0. Pp.382. Price AUD39.95.

This book is dedicated to Harry Lourandos and his pioneering work in Australian archaeology. Although nowhere overtly stated, the book acts as a festschrift for Harry and contains papers that explicitly or implicitly pay homage to Harry's theoretical approaches to archaeology, particularly his work on intensification.

I first met Harry in 1973 when I was a first year student and Harry was a tutor in the then Department of Anthropology at the University of Sydney. 1 went on my first 'dig' with Harry, to Bridgewater Caves and Toolondo. The experience changed my life, as up to that point anthropology had been an extra for me in a degree in which I aimed to train as a maths and history teacher. Harry's influence was not just to steer me towards archaeology as a career, but his theoretical approach to the past informed my own interpretations of Aboriginal settlement patterns in the Victorian Mallee, and even now in my work in heritage and natural resources management. It was therefore with both gratitude and trepidation that I accepted the task of reviewing this book.

The book aims to celebrate Harry Lourandos' life and work, reflecting on his achievements and extending his theoretical approaches to include the concept of social archaeology. In many ways the book achieves this aim. Its significance is in the demonstration that positivist archaeological approaches that...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!