In Depth Notes on Archaeological Theories

Archaeological Theories Overview

  • Culture-history Archaeology: Focus on chronological systems, cultural evolution.

    • Originated in the late 19th century.

    • Key Figures: V. Gordon Childe, Gustaf Kosinna.

    • Response to cultural evolutionism by Lewis Morgan (Savagery -> Barbarism -> Civilization).

    • Study of geographically and temporally restricted assemblages of prehistoric materials associated with ethnic groups.

    • Focus on chronology and typology (who, what, when, where).

    • Importance of inductive reasoning, relative dating.

  • Classificatory-Historical Period (Late 19th century - 1960):

    • Emphasis on establishing chronological systems and describing cultural developments.

    • Central Questions: What period do these artifacts date? What materials do they belong with?

    • Concept of recurring collections or "assemblages" that reflect particular groups.

  • Cultural Mechanisms:

    • Migration to explain cultural change (e.g., Lapita culture and Polynesian ancestry).

    • Cultural diffusion (e.g., spread of Phoenician syllabary) and parallels in distant cultural assemblages.

    • Discredited assumption that biological and cultural groups are equivalent.

  • Critique of Culture-history:

    • Weaponization by racist and nationalist ideologies.

    • Oversimplification of cultural changes.

    • Ignored human agency and the dynamism of cultures.

  • Processual Archaeology (1960s - Present):

    • Also known as "New Archaeology".

    • Key Figures: Lewis Binford, Colin Renfrew, Kent Flannery.

    • Focus on how cultural systems fit together, adaptability, and changes due to environmental, social, and ideological factors.

    • Emphasized quantification and prediction for scientific rigor in archaeology.

    • Methodology: Systems theory and focus on cultural and non-cultural phenomena.

  • Critiques of Processual Archaeology:

    • Overemphasis on quantification may neglect human experiences and contextual meanings.

  • Marxist Archaeology:

    • Analysis of social formations, modes of production, and their ideological implications.

    • Internal contradictions in society, reflecting the tension between forces of production and social organization.

    • Study example: Shift from egalitarian to ranked societies in Spain and Portugal.

  • Evolutionary Archaeology:

    • Cultural changes driven by processes similar to biological evolution.

    • Concepts include: Human Behavioral Ecology, natural selection in cultural traits, optimization strategies (e.g., optimal foraging theory).

  • Post-Processual Archaeology (1980s - 2000):

    • Key Figures: Ian Hodder, Christopher Tilley, Michael Shanks.

    • Emphasizes ideological perspectives, human agency, and the subjective nature of interpretations.

    • Approaches: Neo-Marxism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism.

  • Feminist and Gender Archaeology:

    • Exploration of gender roles, ideologies, and identities in archaeological records.

    • Counteracts androcentrism and seeks to balance the depiction of men and women in ancient societies.

    • Examples included are archaeology of childhood and sexuality, and the exploration of alternative gender roles in societies.

  • Cognitive-Processual Archaeology (1980s - Present):

    • Merges processual and post-processual perspectives, emphasizing cognitive and symbolic aspects of societies.

    • Ideology as an active factor in societal explanations and a recognition of individual creativity.