Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory

by Kristian Kristiansen

This Element was written to meet the theoretical and methodological challenge raised by the third science revolution and its implications for how to study and interpret European prehistory. The first section is therefore devoted to a historical and theoretical discussion of how to practice interdisciplinarity in this new age, and following from that, how to define some crucial, but undertheorized categories, such as culture, ethnicity and various forms of migration. The author thus integrates the new results from archaeogenetics into an archaeological frame of reference, to produce a new and theoretically informed historical narrative, one that also invites debate, but also one that identifies areas of uncertainty, where more research is needed.

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2022

About the author

Kristian Kristiansen is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Gothenburg. His research focuses on the Bronze Age, archaeological theory, and archaeological heritage.

Reviews

[Siri Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory contains an academic discussion of the recent advances in archaeological understanding of prehistoric societies (with emphasis on the Northern European Bronze Age) afforded by the advent of new genetic methods of analysis, particularly the use of aDNA and strontium isotope analyses. The booklet details the positive impact from genetic analyses, but it also discusses the challenges associated with introducing genetic research into the field of archaeology. In my opinion, the discussion is thoughtful and well done, but I personally found it overly theoretical and a bit meandering. I wish that more emphasis had been placed on how aDNA studies have aided in changing archaeological perceptions of the transformations of European Neolithic and Bronze Age societies, a discussion which is not begun until at least halfway through the book. A good read for an academic audience, but I found it a little difficult to get through the first half.