The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and science at a new crossroads

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and science at a new crossroads

AU - Sørensen, Tim Flohr

PY - 2017/7/3

Y1 - 2017/7/3

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 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 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

SN - 0029-3652

VL - 50

SP - 101

EP - 115

JO - Norwegian Archaeological Review

JF - Norwegian Archaeological Review

IS - 2

ER -