Controversies in Archaeology

Atlantis, ancient astronauts, and pyramid power. Archaeologists are perennially bombarded with questions about the "mysteries" of the past. They are also constantly addressing more realistic controversies: origins of the First Americans, the ownership of antiquities, and national claims to historical territories. Alice Beck Kehoe offers to introductory students a method of evaluating and assessing these claims about the past in this reader-friendly, concise text. She shows how to use the methods of science to challenge the legitimacy of pseudoscientific proclamations and develop reasonable interpretations on controversial issues. Not one to shy away from controversy herself, Kehoe takes some stands on transpacific migration, shamanism, the Kensington Runestone-which will challenge instructor and students alike, and foster class discussion.

Alice Beck Kehoe is Professor of Anthropology emerita at Marquette University and Adjunct Professor in Anthropology, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee.  She has authored textbooks for courses on Native Americans, introductory archaeology, and the history of archaeology, as well as numerous professional books and articles, in her illustrious career. Her fieldwork has stretched from Saskatchewan to Bolivia and from the  Czech Republic to Illinois. She has worked extensively with Native American communities and is one of the founders of gender research in archaeology.