Archaeological Explanations

Explanations in Archaeology

Migrationist and Diffusionist Explanations

  • Early archaeology attributed change to external forces like migrations or diffusionism.
  • Criticism:
    • Classifications don't always represent real entities.
    • Migrations are hard to document archaeologically.
    • Overemphasis on cultural diffusion.
  • Ancient DNA analysis has been able to substantiate some traditional hypotheses.
  • Need for greater nuance to explain change as more archaeological material became available.

The Processual Approach

  • Seeks to isolate processes within a society.
  • Emphasizes relations with the environment and interactions within a society.
  • Focus on ecological and social factors.
  • Avoids migration or diffusion as primary explanations for change.

Marxist Archaeology

  • Renewed interest sparked by New Archaeology.
  • Emphasis on internal conflict between classes as a catalyst for change.
  • Some differences exist between traditional and neo-Marxist approaches regarding ideology and economics.

Evolutionary Archaeology

  • Promotes biological evolution as responsible for culture change.
  • Applies Darwinian theory to the archaeological record.
  • Currently lacks convincing evidence compared to other approaches.

Explanation: One Cause or Several?

  • Monocausal explanations: Single explanations for the origin of the state.
    • Examples: hydraulic hypothesis, internal conflict, warfare, population growth, environmental circumscription, external trade.
  • Multivariate explanations: Multiple factors at play. Seeks to deal with multiple variables that altered simultaneously. Classic Maya Collapse
    • Interlocked stresses exacerbated by social and ideological factors included: Droughts, warfare, disease, overpopulation, social unrest, violence, climate change, loss of faith in rulers

Postprocessual or Interpretive Explanations

  • Criticism of the processual method.
  • Preference for descriptive historical method.
  • Focus on ideology and symbols; role of the individual and material culture.
  • Material culture results from deliberate actions and makes society work; everyday life is important.

Structuralist Approaches

  • Focus on structures of thought guiding human actions.
  • Beliefs and concepts, patterns of thought applied across different spheres of life.

Neo-Marxist Thought

  • Greater emphasis on ideology.
  • Aim to establish deeper historical identity.

Symbols, Ritual, and Interaction

  • Cognitive and symbolic aspects; ideology as an active force.
  • Role of ritual, religion, and ideology.

Agency

  • Role of individuals in promoting change.
  • Social institutions and practices.
  • Broader impacts of individual or group actions are difficult to determine.

Materiality

  • Active role of material culture; interaction between material culture and human agency.
  • Dimensions of social identity.
  • Focus enables exploration of social change from the bottom-up.

Into the Present

  • Ecology and climate change as central concerns.
  • Collaboration with climate scientists.
  • Postcolonial approaches and ontological turn: exploring different worldviews.
  • Insights into human diversity and patterns of long-term change inform research into modern issues.