Marxist theory has been an undercurrent in western social science since
the late nineteenth century. It came into prominence in the social
sciences in the 1960s and 1970s and has had a profound effect on
history, sociology and anthropology. This book represents an attempt to
gather together Marxist perspectives in archaeology and to examine
whether indeed they represent advances in archaeological theory. The
papers in this volume look forward to the growing use of Marxist theory
by archaeologists; as well as enriching archaeology as a discipline they
have important implications for sociology and anthropology through the
addition of a long-term, historical perspective. This is a book
primarily for undergraduates and research students and their teachers in
departments of archaeology and anthropology but it should also be of
interest to historians, sociologists and geographers.