What is this thing called postprocessual archaeology ...and is it relevant for Australian archaeology?

Abstract

Postprocessual archaeology has been extensively debated in the European and American literature. Yet little of this debate has been either related to, or conducted within, an Australian context. In this paper I want to explore and define postprocessual theory, and to examine the implications of this debate for Australian archaeology. It is my contention that Australian archaeology has both something to learn from, and something to offer, the development of postprocessual theory. The proposition I wish to put forward is that Australian archaeology should not just be asking what postprocessual archaeology can do for them, but what Australian archaeology can contribute to a postprocessual archaeology. By this I do not necessarily mean that we should follow in the tracks of Shanks and Tilley, and Hodder et al., but rather contribute to a truly post -processual archaeology - that is, a theoretically informed archaeology that comes after processualism.   Â