PostScript: Doing Agency in Archaeology

Authors: Joyce, Rosemary; Lopiparo, Jeanne

Source: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 12, Number 4, December 2005 , pp. 365-374(10)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

We argue that since agency and structure are indivisible parts of a single process through which society is continuously created over time, everything that persists or changes in archaeological sites is evidence of agency. The challenge is to adopt appropriate descriptive levels and language to avoid falsely dividing agency and structure. Successful archaeological studies use networks and chains as models or metaphors for connections in sequences of action over time. We argue that models must also link micro-scale actions to outcomes on the macroscale. Because theories of agency differ in the degree of freedom of action they assume, archaeologists must also clearly identify their own position with respect to constraints on action.

Keywords: agency; structuration; temporality; power

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-005-8461-3

Affiliations: 1: Email: rajoyce@berkeley.edu

Publication date: 2005-12-01