The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and science at a new crossroads
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The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and science at a new crossroads. / Sørensen, Tim Flohr.
In: Norwegian Archaeological Review, Vol. 50, No. 2, 14.11.2017, p. 101-115.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and science at a new crossroads
AU - Sørensen, Tim Flohr
PY - 2017/11/14
Y1 - 2017/11/14
N2 - Within the past decade or so, archaeology has increasingly utilised and contributed to major advances in scientific methods when exploring the past. This progress is frequently celebrated as a quantum leap in the possibilities for understanding the archaeological record, opening up for hitherto inaccessible dimensions of the past. This article represents a critique of the current consumption of science in archaeology, arguing that the discipline’s grounding in the humanities is at stake, and that the notion of ‘interdisciplinarity’ is becoming distorted with the increasing fetishisation of ‘data’, ‘facts’ and quantitative methods. It is argued that if archaeology is to break free of its self-induced inferiority to and dependence on science, it must revitalise its methodology for asking questions pertinent to the humanities.
AB - Within the past decade or so, archaeology has increasingly utilised and contributed to major advances in scientific methods when exploring the past. This progress is frequently celebrated as a quantum leap in the possibilities for understanding the archaeological record, opening up for hitherto inaccessible dimensions of the past. This article represents a critique of the current consumption of science in archaeology, arguing that the discipline’s grounding in the humanities is at stake, and that the notion of ‘interdisciplinarity’ is becoming distorted with the increasing fetishisation of ‘data’, ‘facts’ and quantitative methods. It is argued that if archaeology is to break free of its self-induced inferiority to and dependence on science, it must revitalise its methodology for asking questions pertinent to the humanities.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Archaeological science
KW - Humanities
KW - Epistemology
KW - modes of inquiry
KW - Interdisciplinarity
M3 - Journal article
VL - 50
SP - 101
EP - 115
JO - Norwegian Archaeological Review
JF - Norwegian Archaeological Review
SN - 0029-3652
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 174478978