MARXIST ARCHAEOLOGY

The history of all

hitherto existing

society is the history of

class struggles.

Outline

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Historical Background (19th century) Marx’s Insights Classical Marxism Key Points of Marxist Theory Marxism and Archaeology

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Born 1818 in Trier

Jewish parentage

Studied philosophy and economics in Berlin

Married Jenny von Westphalen

Earned his living (badly) as a journalist

Died 1883 in London having only written 3 of the planned 8 volumes of Das Kapital

Friedrich Engles (1820-1895)

Born in 1820 in Barmen, Prussia

Son of a wealthy cotton manufacturer

Had a strained relationship with his parents due to his atheism

Became editor of New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy along with Marx

Died in 1895 in London.

Historical Background

Mid-Late 19th Century Britain

Unrest and protest

Long hours, low pay

Periodic unemployment

No Welfare State

No universal right to vote

Mid-Late 19th Century Europe

Marx’s Insights

The capitalist economic system created inequality among groups of people.

A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of

communism…- Marx and Engles,

Manifesto of the Communist Party, 1848

Classical Marxism: Key Points

a. Dialectical and Materialist Perspective

b. Distinct Phases of Human Societiesc. Base (Infrastructure)

1. Forces of Production2. Relations of Production

d. Superstructure

Dialectical and Materialist Perspective

Marx argued that societies can be examined on the material and dialectical basis – the economic structure and the

contradictions within that society.

Distinct Phase of Human Society

Primitive Communi

smSlavery Feudalis

m

CapitalismSocialismCommunis

m

Base

Base

Forces of Production

MeansOrganizatio

n of Production

Social Relations

of Productio

n

Human Relations

Superstructure

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Marxism and Archaeology

Significant shifts in social and political forms across the world have influences the development of archaeology. Marxism has been considered as a particularly useful tool by archaeologists.