Cette autrice explore l'étude de l'histoire et des cultures humaines à travers des découvertes archéologiques. Son travail se concentre sur la découverte de structures sociales et de processus complexes qui ont façonné les civilisations passées. Elle examine comment la culture matérielle reflète le comportement humain et les dynamiques sociales.
The book introduces a new materialist approach to archaeology, integrating site ontology from geography with an innovative analysis of archaeological materiality as traces. It emphasizes the concept of animacy hierarchy to reframe geological materials as dynamic entities, encouraging a deeper understanding of their active role in archaeological contexts. This perspective challenges traditional views and invites readers to reconsider the interactions between materials and their environments.
The author combines archaeological data gleaned from site research in 1980-1983 with anthropological theory about the evolution of social power to reconstruct something of the culture and lifeways of the prehispanic inhabitants of Cerro Palenque.