Interdisciplinary research and archaeology

Minta-Tworzowska, Danuta (1953– )

doi:0066-5924

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Title: Interdisciplinary research and archaeology

Abstract:

The goal of this article is to evaluate critically the way in which archaeology has tailored its own understanding of interdisciplinary studies. As the starting point, the relation between archaeology and similar research areas such as anthropology or history, was taken into consideration. The problem of the specificity of research questions (research problems) that each of these disciplines formulates, as well as the ways in which hypotheses are formulated was exposed through an analysis of the extent to which the three disciplines overlap and create joint projects. The author argues that the essence of interdisciplinary studies lies in the design of a research project, once the idea that any question can be solved only from the perspective of archaeology is rejected. Every stage of the research should be aided by specialists from other disciplines bordering on archaeology. However, a truly interdisciplinary project has to meet certain requirements: the research procedure has to comply with one theory and way of inference, methods of research, and only then can interpretations be proposed on the basis of the above. Implementation of these assumptions can be challenging due to a deeply rooted tendency to use “specifically archaeological” procedures, granting the discipline unearned unique status. An insightful consideration of interdisciplinary projects can lead a researcher to overcome the practical limitations of his or her own discipline and to take up projects on the borderline of disciplines in his or her research project

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