Important Figures- ARCHAEOLOGY 1

Hesoid

Described sequence of Ages (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron); model presented history as decline from idealized past, previously people relied on myths and literary traditions 

Helena of Constantinople

First Roman emperor to embrace Christianity, traveled to Holy Land and identified sacred Christian sites including the True Cross. Now, identifications are debated 

Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora

Conducted Pyramid of the Moon excavation in Mexico and excavated tunnel. Tried to explain Indigenous American history through biblical/classical myths. Believed that Mexican Indigenous peoples descended from Naphtuhim, associated with Egypt and Atlantis. Marked Speculative Phase. 

Titia Brongersma

First recorded excavations of European prehistoric monuments, investigated dolmens, structures are graves or related to giants, represents transition from collecting antiquities to investigating archaeological sites through excavation 

Martínez Compañon

Excavated mound at Huaca de Tantalluc, investigated archaeological remains in northern Peru, early attempts to investigate Indigenous American archaeological remains; stratigraphic thinking and systemic observation

Thomas Jefferson

Excavated first scientific archaeological excavation- Native American burial mound in VA. Examined layers, used stratigraphy, observation, comparison, and logical deduction. Concluded that mounds were burial sites built by Natives. Represents movement from speculation to evidence-based archaeology,

Christian Maclagan

 Early scientific excavations of prehistoric sites in Scotland; gender discrimination and denied Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, feminist archaeology 

Charles Lyell

Geologist, uniformitarianism - building on James Hutton, processes that alter Earth are uniform, geological processes (erosion & sedimentation), Earth is older than biblical texts say

Boucher de Perthes

Associated stone tools with bones of extinct animals in gravel deposits along Somme River 1 

John Lubbock

Prehistoric Times, popularized terms Paleolithic and Neolithic, connected archaeology with evolutionary thinking, popular Three Age System (Stone, Bronze, Iron), influenced by Darwinian evolutionary ideas 

Charles Darwin

Natural selection, species change over long periods of time, influenced theories of human development, evolutionary ideas later misapplied and created unilinear evolutionary theory

 Edward Tylor

Unilinear cultural evolution, wanted anthropology to reconstruct history of human culture, Savagery to Barbarism to Civilization, concept of Survivals, Comparative method 

Lewis H. Morgan

Evolutionary approach; connected kinship, politics, economics, social organization; believed social progress occurred through recognizable evolutionary stages, Savagery to Barbarism to Civilization, would later influence Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels  

General Pitt Rivers

Development of Systematic archaeology and archaeological museums, collections based on typological sequences, emphasized careful documentation, move towards classification and systematic study 

 Mortimer Wheeler

Developing/improving systematic excavation techniques, Wheeler-Kenyon grid system, Excavated using squares to preserve stratigraphic information, transition towards scientific field archaeology 

Tessa Wheeler

Worked with Mortimer Wheeler, example of women to archaeological methodology and field research 

Dorothy Garrod

Prehistoric archaeology, Near East excavations, Studied Paleolithic and prehistoric human occupation, one of first women to achieve major academic leadership, important for development of prehistoric chronology 

Kathleen Kenyon

Jericho excavations, developed rigorous stratigraphic excavation and recording, refined Wheeler method, importance of carefully distinguishing archaeological layers 

Jean-François Champollion

Deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs; used Rosetta Stone to compare Egyptian scripts, which would allow scholars to read Egyptian texts; importance of written evidence; speculation to historically grounded research

Gordon Childe

Marxist-oriented archaeologist, Neolithic and Urban Revolution; studied how technological, economic, and social changes transformed societies; connected developments in Europe with influences from Near/Middle East; 

Franz Boas

Historical Particularism, Cultural Relativism, rejected Unilinear Evolutionary Theory, argued each culture has own unique historical development, emphasized context, criticized attempts to rank cultures from primitive to civilized

Leslie White

Neo-evolutionism, revive evolutionary approaches using more scientific principles, argued cultural evolution could be related to amount of energy harnessed per person 

Julian Steward

Cultural Ecology, how societies adapt to their environments, Multilinear Evolution, rejected the idea that all societies follow one evolutionary path, similar environments can produce similar cultural adaptations

Gordon Willey

Applied Cultural Ecology, studied prehistoric Peru; used aerial photography, maps, ground survey, excavation, environmental data; mapped distribution of archaeological sites across landscapes; how changes in environment relate to changes in settlement and society; bridge toward Processual Archaeology

Grahame Clark

Rejected archaeology focused primarily on artifact classification; wanted archaeologists to understand how prehistoric populations adapted to their environments; studied subsistence, economy, technology, and ecological adaptation; move archaeology toward living systems than artifacts or single isolated objects

 Elman Service

Developed model of socio-cultural evolution, proposed complex organization of Band to Tribe to Chiefdom to State; focused on how societies become increasingly socially and politically integrated; social complexity 

 Marshall Sahlins

Contributed to theories of cultural evolution and social organization; worked with evolutionary models that examined increasing levels of socio-cultural integration; criticized that technological development equals cultural superiority