Archeological Theories and Interpretations (Essay Sample)

INTERPRETATION IN ARCHAEOLOGY
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Interpretation in Archaeology
Post-processualists and Post structuralists are two of the most influential schools in archaeology. It is necessary to understand the definitions and philosophies behind these movements in order to comprehend exactly how they may have influenced the politics of archaeology. Archaeology is an extremely broad field with many divisions, each of which has its own ideologies, ideologies that may or may not clash with those that surround it. There are three primary schools of thought in archaeology: Post-Processualism, Post structuralism, and Synthetic theory. Each of these schools has been both highly productive of archaeology as a whole, and also has its own interpretations about the importance and nature of the discipline.
Stonehenge was one project in which post-structuralism was most prominently used, and both archaeological theory and practice could benefit from such approaches today. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located near the Salisbury Plain in England (Bender 1993). Archaeologists study this monument because it has been interpreted as the most powerful and famous example of a Stonehenge-like site in Britain. It is also located near the prehistoric Avebury, which contains Stonehenge's sister monument, the world's most famous stone circle.
The theory about Stonehenge that is most commonly referred to is Post-processual archaeology. Archaeologists suggests that the Druids were responsible for building Stonehenge and that Stonehenge itself was not used as a burial site. However, a different approach to studying Stonehenge has been referred to as the "New Archaeology". This is where the approach of Post-structural archaeology comes into action.
Berbeck and Pollock (1996) suggest that the current archaeological theories are biased and thus there is a need to change the focus of archaeology to one that is more ethnographic than academically based. Ayodhya is a city in India that has been a presence in the Indian political sphere for centuries. The theory of identity is important to archaeology because it can affect the material culture of a place and thus, be able to explain why people have an interest in this area of study. Bernbeck and Pollock (1996) argue that there is a need to further investigate this relationship between archaeology and identity. Until archaeologists focus more on explaining identity and culture than material culture, then there will continue to be poor archaeological interpretations and identification.
Post-structuralism vs Archaeology
Post-structuralism has dramatic differences from previous archaeology theories in several ways. The first is in its approach to the history of monuments and structures. Post-structuralism rejects the idea that there is only one way to interpret sites and monuments (Euron 2019). Instead, the theory suggests that all sites are interpreted in different ways by different people who view the site from different perspectives.
Post-structuralism is also quite distinct because it falls in line with research taking place in contemporary society. Post-structuralist archaeologists are interested in power and the way it is used to manipulate and control people, especially women (Gilchrist 1996). This approach is commonly referred to as post-processual archaeology because post-processualism takes a second look at past civilizations and tries to understand them differently than previous generations. In regards to the Stonehenge monument, this theory suggests that people from the past were no different from people living today and they were, therefore, likely to put their own self-interests ahead of anyone else's as it pertains to their building of a monument and other such projects.
Another important way in which post structuralism differs from previous archaeological theories is through its deconstruction of fundamental assumptions. Deconstruction is defined as a critical process of dismantling traditional and dominant forms of knowledge by exposing various levels of their accumulated layers (Euron 2019). Post-structuralism is about questioning the hegemonic system that has historically guided archaeological study. This idea is commonly referred to as anti-essentialism. In regards to the Stonehenge project, this would indicate that the formation of the monument was not entirely due to ancient Druids (Díaz-Andreu and Champion 1996).
Another major difference between post-structuralism and previous theories in archaeology