Sidestone Press Between variability and singularity: Crossing theoretical, qualitative and computer-based approaches to types and typologies in archaeology

Typology is a core method and practice in archaeology. As a particular form of classification first developed during the infancy of the discipline itself, typology has remained an archaeological staple despite countless twists and turns. Rarely taught explicitly, and often critiqued, typology refuses to loosen its grip on archaeological practice. In 14 chapters, this book explores how typology as a method and typologies as specific practices have developed, how typology is situated in contemporary theoretical thinking, and how typologies relate to the rapidly unfolding computational revolution that is reshaping the discipline. The volume offers state-of-the-art perspectives on typology grounded in all periods and across numerous artefact classes – ceramics, lithics, coins – as well as experimental articulations between typological thinking and mapping practices. Together, the chapters making up this volume challenge naïve typologizing and bring the topic of what we call things and how we classify them to the fore of archaeological debates. The volume is essential reading for graduate students and professionals alike; it offers critical perspectives on core principles of archaeological classification but also provides visionary signposts for how theory and computational methods engage with classification practices now and in the years to come. Notably, this book is not only experimental in its content but also in its form: All chapters contained in it have been peer-assessed in their preprint forms such that earlier versions, all peer reviews and editorial recommendations are available as rich metadata. In this way, the volume sets new standards for bibliodiverse scholarly publishing at the interface between the digital and the physical.