The Reality of Artifacts

Artifacts: An Archaeological Perspective develops an argument for the artifact as a status conferred by human engagement with material. It considers artifacts first in terms of their relationship to concepts and cognitive functions and then to the physical body and sense of self. The book builds on latest developments in archaeological research, particularly from the archaeology of human evolution, and integrates this wealth of new archaeological data with new research in cognitive science, haptics, and material culture studies. The volume was developed for undergraduate and graduate courses and will be of interest both to archaeologists and the general reader interested in material culture.