Research Guides: ANT317: Archaeology of Eastern North America: Background Information

Encyclopedias, Handbooks & Dictionaries

Specialized encyclopedias and handbooks can provide useful background and context. They also often include bibliographies (references) listing some of the major sources related to a topic. Use these to get an overview of a topic or to find definitions of key terms and concepts.

North American Archaeology

Examples of resources that provide background information relevant to Archaeology of North America:

The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Northeast by Kathleen Bragdon
ISBN: 0231504357
Publication Date: 2005-07-06
An overview of the cultures and histories of Northeastern Indian people that surveys the key scholarly debates that shape this field and offers an alphabetical listing of important individuals and places of significant cultural or historic meaning.
The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology by Timothy Pauketat
ISBN: 0195380118
Publication Date: 2012-02-10
This volume explores 15,000 years of indigenous human history on the North American continent, drawing on the latest archaeological theories, time-honored methodologies, and rich datasets. From the Arctic south to the Mexican border and east to the Atlantic Ocean, all of the major cultural developments are covered in 53 chapters, with certain periods, places, and historical problems receiving special focus by the volume's authors.

General Archaeology

Examples of resources that explain terminology used within the discipline, or provide background information on a variety of general topics:

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Written by scholars and librarians, Oxford Bibliographies Online introduces academic topics and lists their key works, such as books and journal articles. Anthropology currently includes hundreds of topics such as race, gender, kinship, food, religion, ethnography, evolutionary theory, and bioarchaeology, with more articles forthcoming. Oxford Bibliographies Online also has entries about important anthropologists, such as Franz Boas and Margaret Mead.

Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology by Timothy Darvill
ISBN: 0199534047
Publication Date: 2010-02-08
This is the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and up-to-date dictionary of archaeology available. Over 4,000 A-Z entries explain the terms encountered in academic and popular archaeological literature, in lectures, and on television. Topics covered include artifacts, techniques, terminology, people, sites, and periods, and specialist areas such as industrial and maritime archaeology.
The Oxford Handbook of Archaeology by Barry Cunliffe (Editor); Chris Gosden (Editor); Rosemary A. Joyce (Editor)
ISBN: 9780199271016
Publication Date: 2009-06-22
The Oxford Handbook of Archaeology brings together 35 authors - all specialists in their own fields - to explain what archaeology is really about. Provides an essential starting point for those who want to pursue particular topics in more depth.
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology by Neil Asher Silberman (Editor-In-Chief)
ISBN: 9780199735785
Publication Date: 2012-10-12
In 700 entries, the second edition provides thorough coverage to historical archaeology, the development of archaeology as a field of study, and the way the discipline works to explain the past. Other entries describe the major excavations, discoveries, and innovations.

Annual Review of Anthropology

Annual Review of Anthropology
This is an excellent resource for learning about popular anthropology and archaeology topics. Review articles do not describe original research conducted by the author(s). Instead, they give an overview of a specific subject by examining previously published studies on the topic.

Research Guides

ANT317: Archaeology of Eastern North America

Encyclopedias, Handbooks & Dictionaries

North American Archaeology

General Archaeology

Annual Review of Anthropology

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