This fresh approach to the study of Islamisation suggests an innovative conceptual framework by dealing with the subject as a particular case of cultural change. This makes Islamisation amenable to the research through the archaeological and historical analyses of changes in material conditions of life. The aim is to provide an explanation of what Islam and Islamisation mean in a particular social context.

Considering three key aspects - identities, communities and technologies - Jose C. Carvajal Lopez studies the archaeology of change in material conditions of life associated to Islamisation. It is evident that this process involves changes in the conception of Muslim and non-Muslim identities of the societies touched by Islam in different periods. Beyond that, the study of communities contemplates changes in political relations between different social groups that Islamisation brought about. And finally the study of technologies is the analysis of the changes in social practices and apparatus of techniques that enable and power the dynamics of cultural transformations.

This innovative take on Islamisation is not exclusively interested in the spread of the religion or of the polity, and therefore it overcomes the theoretical limits imposed by the concepts of religious conversion and ideological imposition. This book will appeal to scholars interested in associating cultural and religious change and, in particular, those working on Islam, whether within or outside archaeology.