Archaeologies of Empire - (School for Advanced Research Advanced Seminar) by Anna L Boozer & Bleda S Düring & Bradley J Parker (Paperback)

About the Book

This book demonstrates how archaeological research can contribute to our conceptualization of empires across disciplinary boundaries.

Book Synopsis

Throughout history, a large portion of the world's population has lived under imperial rule. Although scholars do not always agree on when and where the roots of imperialism lie, most would agree that imperial configurations have affected human history so profoundly that the legacy of ancient empires continues to structure the modern world in many ways. Empires are best described as heterogeneous and dynamic patchworks of imperial configurations in which imperial power was the outcome of the complex interaction between evolving colonial structures and various types of agents in highly contingent relationships. The goal of this volume is to harness the work of the "next generation" of empire scholars in order to foster new theoretical and methodological perspectives that are of relevance within and beyond archaeology and to foreground empires as a cross-cultural category. This book demonstrates how archaeological research can contribute to our conceptualization of empires across disciplinary boundaries.

Review Quotes

"This book should stimulate lively debate among archaeologists and historians. It constitutes an important step forward in the investigation of empires and imperialism, both ancient and modern."--Peter S. Wells, author of Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered

"This collection . . . seeks a more systematic and comparative study of empires in the pre-modern world. . . . Recommended."--M. L. Russell, Choice