The Oxford Handbook of Archaeology and Language

Abstract Linguists have long described their findings in an archaeological context, while archaeologists have been interested in what language can tell them about the past, but our understanding of human prehistory has been revolutionalized in recent years by growing incorporation of interdisciplinary perspectives, especially from ancient DNA. The Oxford Handbook of Archaeology and Language provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of how archaeology, genes, and language may be combined in an integrated approach to shed light on the human past. This Handbook is divided into three parts. Part I ‘Archaeology, Genes, and Language: Basic Frameworks’ introduces the basic frameworks of Archaeolinguistics, paying attention to recent trends and new perspectives. Part II ‘Archaeology, Genes, and Language across Time’ applies Archaeolinguistics to different stages in human history, from hunter-gathering via the adoption of farming and the rise of writing to modern times. Part III ‘Archaeology, Genes, and Language across Space’ illustrates the application of Archaeolinguistics by regional test cases from different parts of the world, including not only Indo-European but also Uralic, Transeurasian, Sino-Tibetan, Paleosiberian, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian, Papuan, Australian, Afrasian, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, Kalahari Basin, Andean, and Lowland South American languages. In illustrating the extent to which linguistic, archaeological, and genetic histories align or differ, the Handbook goes beyond the level of ‘broad brush’ and ‘one-man’ approaches by engaging specialists from different disciplines as co-authors, shedding light on language dynamics from multiple perspectives.