Archaeological Thinking

Charles E. Orser, Jr. is an anthropological archaeologist who investigates the modern world as it was created after about 1492. A retired Distinguished Professor at Illinois State University, he is now affiliated with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He is the author of one hundred professional articles and several books and is the founder and editor of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.

• PrefaceChapter 1. Thinking in ArchaeologyA Question of Belief?Science and HistoryThinking to Some PurposeThe Process of Clear ThinkingSources for Continued ReadingChapter 2. A Brief History of Archaeological ThinkingThe Early YearsThe Middle YearsThe Recent YearsSeriationThe Conjunctive ApproachPostmodern ThinkingArchaeological Thinking in the New MillenniumSources for Continued Reading Chapter 3. Archaeology and the Evaluation of ClaimsSEARCHingStep 1: State the ClaimStep 2: Examine the EvidenceStep 3: Consider Alternative ClaimsStep 4: Rate each ClaimPlausibilityThe Exeter MysteryThe On-Going Battle Between Evidence and PerspectiveSources for Continued ReadingChapter 4. Understanding and Selecting FactsFact SelectionIs Fact Selection Dishonest?Clovis PointsGlass Trade BeadsSources for Continued ReadingChapter 5. Archaeological Thinking and LogicThe Importance of Logical ThinkingDeductionInductionAbductionSources for Continued ReadingChapter 6. Analogy and Archaeological ThinkingArchaeologists and AnalogyArtifact Analogies Ethnographic AnalogiesThe Direct Historical ApproachMore Recent Comparative Ethnographic AnalogyEvaluating Analogy StrengthWhat Is the Purpose of Analogy in Archaeology?Sources for Continued ReadingChapter 7. Thinking with ThingsA Cultural Systems ApproachA Behavioral ApproachA Commodities ApproachA Semiotics ApproachA Social Activism ApproachSources for Continued Reading Chapter 8. Deceitful Archaeological ThinkingGreat Zimbabwe and Silencing the African PastPseudo-archaeology in Nazi HandsThe Dangers of Deceitful Archaeological ThinkingSources for Continued Reading Chapter 9. Archaeological Thinking in PublicBones of ContentionThe Cheyenne Outbreak of 1879Timbuctoo, New JerseySources for Continued ReadingChapter 10. Archaeological Thinking for the Twenty-First CenturySources for Continued Reading

The second edition of Orser’s Archaeological Thinking has been significantly updated and enhanced from the 2015 edition (CH, May'15, 52-4848). It retains the first edition's focus on using archaeological examples to promote critical thinking. Orser wisely continues to use examples from pseudo-historical or pseudoscientific theories and ideas that have become part of popular culture. In this second edition, he includes examples from the Ancient Aliens TV series, which prodigiously uses archaeological sites and discoveries to bolster its dubious contentions. The Netflix documentary Ancient Apocalypse (2022) gets a timely mention as one of the book’s examples of dubious scholarship, although a detailed critique would have provided a fine demonstration of critical thinking. Another useful addition is the up-to-date and concise account of the Kennewick Man controversy which pitted Native American religious beliefs against anthropologists. The second edition contains 10 chapters, of which four are new. Two chapters from the first edition have been dropped. Orser also provides an excellent discussion of the various schools of archaeological thought in the new chapter 7. Any library looking to build up its resources on critical thinking and archaeology will want to add this new edition to its collections. Recommended. Undergraduates and graduate students