598 OFANTHROPOLOGICAL

JOURNAL RESEARCH
The Archaeological Process: An Introduction. Ian Hodder.Oxford:
BlackwellPublishers,1999,xiv + 242 pp. $26.95,paper.

"Perhapsit wasneverstraightforward." Withthese words,IanHodderlaunches

on a briefexaminationof the processof archaeological research,basedin part
on the openingseasonsof his long-termfieldresearchat Qatalh6yiik, Turkey.
Herein lies the maininterest of this book,whichtreadsover muchfamiliar
theoreticalground:archaeologyas a socialphenomenon,the breakdownof its
traditionaldisciplinaryboundaries,and the essential differencesbetween
processualandpostprocessual archaeology.Hodder'sotherconcernis the rapid
changein globalarchaeology,whichis becomingfarmorediverseowingto the
growinginfluenceof the WorldWideWeb.
The first two chaptersdeal with whathe calls "GlobalCrises in Archaeol-
ogy"andthe relationshipbetweenarchaeology,humanities,andscience.Chap-
ters 3 to 6 explorethe waysin whicharchaeologistsreasonin the field.Hodder
arguesthatfieldworkhas becomehighlytextualized,wherethe recordingpro-
cess determinesexcavation.The standardization of many CRMprocedures
often severs the archaeological text fromits widercontext.Hodderuses his
excavationsat the Haddenhamcausewayedcamp in eastern Englandand
Qatalhbyiik to arguethatarchaeological reasoningworksby integratingdiverse
parts into a whole throughanalogy and comparisonand by what he calls
"preunderstandings," assumptions made before workstarts.Underthis argu-
ment, excavation is data-led,dependent interpretation,and is also narra-
on
tive, the centraltheme that makes sense of the whole. Storiesallow one to
raise questions;thus constantdiscussionandinteractionbetweenmembersof
an excavationteam are vital frombeginningto end. Hodderarguesthat the
archaeologistmediatesbetweenpastandpresent,readingandinterpretingthe
text thatis archaeology.
Clearly,Hodder'slong-termQatalh6yiikexcavationshave influencedhis
thinkingprofoundly, especiallyinthe wayshe thinksof "NewInformation Tech-
nologies,"discussedin Chapter7. He addressesissues of site networkingand
electronicrecordinganddiscusses the use of videotapeanddigitalphotogra-
phy,whichallowyou to manipulatesupposedlyobjectiverecords.Liketeach-
ing with multimediatools, excavatingwith the new technologiesrequiresre-
trainingof the excavationstaff and some redefinitionof their roles, a point
oftenignoredby technologically mindedresearchersandraisedherebyHodder.
By the same token,today'sarchaeologyrequiresnot onlythe grandnarratives
of the long term, but also small narrativesof what Hoddercalls "smallmo-
ments,"suchas the deathof the Ice Man(Chapter8).
In "Archaeology and Globalism"(Chapter9), Hodderstresses the impor-
tanceof understanding the socialimplicationsof researchin a moreconnected
world.He surveys the complexethicaland socialjudgmentsthat have to be
made, for the new, networked archaeology has made us much more aware of
the differing perspectives humans hold, grounded as they are in historically
(Journalof AnthropologicalResearch, vol. 55, 1999)
 BOOKREVIEWS 599

differentways of life. He describeshow the Qatalh6ytikexcavationsare a mi-

crocosmof localandmoreglobalarchaeologyusedby the localcommunitiesto
furthertheir interests.He also stresses the growinggrassrootsparticipation
by othersthanarchaeologistsin the new andnetworkedarchaeology.Hodder
believes that "thearchaeological past mayprovidea primemeans of creating
specificidentitiesandgainingaccess to rights"(p. 187).
In Chapter11, the authorsummarizestwelve steps, basedon his experience
in the fieldin Turkey,thatarepartof a reflexivemethodologyforarchaeology,
whichstresses constantinteraction.He claimsthis producesa reflexiveform
of fieldworkwhichis highlyrationalandemphasizescontext,while enhancing
interactivityandmultivocality.Hodderwarnsagainstusingthe Webandother
tools to allowarchaeological thinkingto dominateratherthanstimulatingan
opendebate.The new technologiescanexcludeanddominateor they cancre-
ate an openanddiverseengagementwiththe past.He writesthatin his view,
"the long-termfutureof archaeologyshouldbe in flows andnetworksrather
thandichotomiesandboundaries"(p. 209).
TheArchaeological Processis a clearstatementof whereIan Hodderthinks
archaeology going in the next century.Much of the book covers ground
is
familiarto those who followthe author'swork,but the fresh insightsgained
fromthe Qatalh6yiikprojectmakethese pages of relevanceto all of us. You
maynot agreewitheverythingHoddersays (certainlythis reviewerdoes not),
but there is muchprovocativeargumentandfreshthinkinghere.Hodderis in
some respects a visionary,who dreamsof more open andless restrictivear-
chaeologicaldebateandof a level of multivocality
thatstill escapesus. Forthis
we shouldrespecthim,forhe has seen the futureandit is not necessarilyjust
archaeology.

BrianFagan
Universityof California,
SantaBarbara

The Land of Prehistory. A Critical History of American Archaeology.

AliceBeckKehoe.New York:Routledge,1998, xiv + 288 pp. $22.99, paper;
$80.00,cloth.

Alice Kehoeprovidesa nettlesomeandcombativeview acrossan intellectual

landscapeshe calls TheLandof Prehistory.The tone of the bookis set in the
acknowledgments whereinshe thanks"youbastardswhoare too importantto
engage with someone lackinga prestigiousposition"(p. ix). Overfourdecades,
Kehoe has writtenwidely and trenchantlyin ethnography,ethnohistory,ar-
chaeology,intellectualhistory,and the sociologyof knowledgemaking.She
Research,vol. 55, 1999)
(JournalofAnthropological