Definition: American archaeologist William L. Rathje has conducted some of the most interesting archaeological investigations of the twentieth century: in the modern-day garbage dumps and landfills of cities and towns around the world. The "Projet du Garbage," as it is informally known, has influenced archaeological research in a number of ways, at the same time teaching us that what people say they throw away and what they actually do throw away are not the same. You can read all about it in his entertaining 1992 book called Rubbish!.
Rathje, William L. 1979 Modern material culture studies. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory. Michael B. Schiffer, ed. Pp. 1-37. New York: Academic Press.
---1972 Praise the gods and pass the metates: a hypothesis of the development of lowland rainforest civilization in Middle America. In Contemporary Archeology. Mark P. Leone, ed. Pp. 365-392. Carbondale: Southern Illinois Press.
--- et al. 1992 The archaeology of contemporary landfills. American Antiquity 57(3):437-447.
--- and Cullen Murphy 1992 Rubbish! The archaeology of garbage. edition.New York: Harper-Collins Publishers.
--- and Michael B. Schiffer 1982 Archaeology. edition.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources for the term include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
Rathje, William L. 1979 Modern material culture studies. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory. Michael B. Schiffer, ed. Pp. 1-37. New York: Academic Press.
---1972 Praise the gods and pass the metates: a hypothesis of the development of lowland rainforest civilization in Middle America. In Contemporary Archeology. Mark P. Leone, ed. Pp. 365-392. Carbondale: Southern Illinois Press.
--- et al. 1992 The archaeology of contemporary landfills. American Antiquity 57(3):437-447.
--- and Cullen Murphy 1992 Rubbish! The archaeology of garbage. edition.New York: Harper-Collins Publishers.
--- and Michael B. Schiffer 1982 Archaeology. edition.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources for the term include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
