Archaeological Semiotics

by Robert Preucel

This interdisciplinary book examines archaeology’s engagement with semiotics, from its early structuralist beginnings to its more recent Peircian encounters. It represents the first sustained engagement with Peircian semiotics in archaeology, as well as the first discussion of how pragmatic anthropology articulates with anthropological archaeology. Its central thesis is that archaeology is a distinctive kind of semiotic enterprise; one devoted to giving meaning to the past in the present through the study of materiality. It compliments standard studies of linguistics and reformulates contemporary theories of material culture. Providing an introduction to Saussure and a review of his legacy across structural, symbolic, and cognitive anthropology, Preucel goes on to present the Peircian alternative and highlights its influence on pragmatic anthropology. Of special interest are the discussions of the interrelations of structuralism and processual archaeology, poststructuralism and postprocessual archaeologies, and cognitive science and cognitive archaeology. The author offers two original case studies demonstrating how material culture pragmatically mediates social relations- one focusing on the aftermath of the Pueblo Revolt from 1680-1694 and the other on the New England utopian community of Brook Farm from 1842-1846. Throughout his analysis, Preucel emphasizes the close links between archaeology and other social sciences. But he also contends that archaeology, by virtue of the powerful ideological character of the past, can open up new spaces for discourse and dialogue about meaning, and, in the process, make a valuable contribution to contemporary semiotics.

Genres: Semiotics

354 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2006

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all, a very useful volume about the application of Peirce's semiotics to archaeology. The discussion of the nature of the sign and the grounds that connect it to objects and interpretants is straightforward without being as elaborate and jargon-laden as some. I was a little disappointed at the case studies, however, as they did not carry the punch I was hoping for. After laying out an interesting way of understanding the logic undergirding archaeological interpretation, Pruecel could have applied his argument much more forcefully in his discussions of the Brook Farm and post-Revolt pueblos.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preucel's study is broadly structured as a historical survey of archaeology's engagement with the interpretive principles of semiotics by way of the latter's formative influence on structuralism and its subsequent critiques, with particular attention devoted to the semiotic theory formulated by Charles Sanders Pierce. While the author offers several case studies which do illustrate the inherent potential of archaeological data as abstract as settlement organization and architectural style to communicate defined ideological values, the methodological utility he seeks to demonstrate in framing these data within Pierce's modular typology of signs is not entirely convincing, though it may aid in rendering explicit certain analytical perspectives and casting into sharper relief emic/etic distinctions.

[Books from Faeries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focuses on discussing and introducing the semiotic trends in archaeology, specifically in Psycho-archaeology and structuralism and post-structuralism archaeology.