The Historiography of Archaeology and Canon Greenwell

Abstract

In this paper I will focus the bulk of my remarks on setting studies of Canon Greenwell in two broader contexts. The first of these comprises the general issues raised by research into the historiography of archaeology, which I will exemplify through reference to research and writing I have been doing on a new book A History of Prehistoric Archaeology in England, and a new single-volume history of archaeology Milestones in Archaeology, which is due to be completed this year. The second, somewhat narrower context, has to do with situating Greenwell within the discourse of mid-to-late 19th century race theory, an aspect of the history of archaeology that has yet to attract the attention it deserves from archaeologists and historians of anthropology (but see e.g. Morse 2005). Discussing both of these broader contexts will, I hope, help us address and answer questions about the value of the history of archaeology (and of research into the histories of archaeologists), and the links between these histories and a broader project of understanding the changing relationships between archaeology and its cognate disciplines such as anthropology and history.

Keywords

• race
• historiography