Archaeology and Colonialism: Cultural Contact from 5000 BC to the Present

Ranging from the Uruk cities of early Mesopotamia, through the empires of the Romans and the Aztecs, to the colonies of modern European states, Chris Gosden presents a comparative survey of 7,000 years of colonialism. (Archaeology is the only discipline that permits such a long-term view across all forms of colonialism.) Gosden argues that modern colonialism, by giving rise to settler societies, is historically unusual and represents an important area for the long-term study of power and material culture.