A Different Kind of Digging: Social Anthropology as Archaeological Fieldwork Practice

Abstract

Using the Noble Tombs of the Theban necropolis as its starting point, but with obvious implications for other archaeological sites where there is a close relationship with resident local communities, this paper calls for archaeological research in Egypt to concern itself with the entire stratigraphy of a site, including the most recent sequence with its contemporary deposits. The paper argues for the inclusion of social and cultural anthropological observation in the research methodologies of archaeologists excavating in locations where nearby contemporary communities represent continuities in the stratigraphic sequence of the excavation concession.

DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v09i1_van_der_spek