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Hermeneutics and Archaeology: On the Philosophy of Contextual Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Harald Johnsen  and
Bjørnar Olsen
Harald Johnsen
Affiliation:
Institute of Social Science, University of Tromso, 9000 Tromso, Norway
Bjørnar Olsen
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Tromse Museum, University ofTromso, 9000 Tromso, Norway
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Abstract

In this paper we situate and discuss critically Ian Hodder's contextual archaeology in relation to a broader tradition of philosophical hermeneutics. We argue that Hodder's position comes close to the romantic conception of interpretation developed by German philosophers and historians. Central to this position is the equation of meaning and intention, context and origin, making historical understanding a transaction between the creative consciousness of the prehistoric agents and the receptive or reconstructive consciousness of the archaeologist. Drawing on Gadamer's critique of early hermeneutics we argue that Hodder's contextual archaeology disregards the dialectic between past and present horizons, a dialectic embedded in past material culture itself lying before us as present traces of a past.

Resumen

Resumen

En este artóculo situamos y analizamos críticamente la arqueología contextual de Ian Hodder en relación con una tradición más amplia de hermenéutica filosófka. Sostenemos que la posición de Hodder se encuentra próximo a la concepción romántica de interpretación desarrollada por filósofos e historiadores alemanes. Un elemento central de esta perspectiva es la equiparación de intención y signifwado, origen y contexto, que convierte a la comprehensión histórica en una transacción entre la consciencia creativa de los agentes prehistóricos y la consciencia receptiva o reconstructiva del arqueólogo. Basándonos en la crítica de la herméneutica formulada por Gadamer, sostenemos que la arqueología contextual de Hodder ignora la dialéctica entre horizontes pasados y presentes, una dialéctica inherente a la cultura material delpasado que se encuentra enfrente nuestro como rastro presente de un pasado.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , July 1992 , pp. 419 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1992 

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