Presentation Transcript

ANT200Y5 Y Prehistoric Archaeology World Prehistory & Archaeology “The theories, methods and techniques used by archaeologists” Prehistory body of knowledge resulting from archaeological study of material remains of societies that existed prior to the development of full-scale written records TOPIC 2: What is Scientific Archaeology? “The study of the human past through material remains Ashmore & Sharer 1999:246 with the aim of ordering & describing the events of the past, and explaining their meaning” classical archaeology historical archaeology industrial archaeology forensic archaeology prehistoric archaeology Approaches to Archaeology Why? 1. Entertainment 2. Exploitation 3. Scientific understanding of human past Anthropological Archaeology for purposes of explanation. generally in absence of observation of that activity, The scientific study of material evidence of any human activity, three elements: 1. observed material evidence 2. unobserved human activity 3. explanation of human activity Inference Observed ? Assumptions ? Product Given ? if ? then reasoning from known to unknown e.g., Stratigraphy lower layers are older than upper layers Law of Superposition Assumption: Scientific Method 3. check hypothesis using other data 2. formulate hypothesis about data 1. collect data 4. confirm or disconfirm hypothesis 5. use confirmed hypotheses to generate & test other hypotheses Dimensions of Inference 3. temporal 2. spatial 1. formal Contextual Dimensions 6. ideational 5. social 4. material Cultural Dimensions TOPIC 2 What is Archaeology? Lecture 2 History of Scientific Archaeology A. Origins Enlightenment 1700s & 1800s Renaissance 1500s & 1600s Antiquity - AD 1500 A. Origins speculative 'Age' schemes 1. Antiquity to AD 1500 2. Renaissance 1500s & 1600 discovery of Americas changes in economic conditions Mercati: artifacts 3. Enlightenment 1700s & 1800 scientific method systematization On the Origin of Species 1859 Charles Darwin Principles of Geology 1833 Charles Lyell Law of Superposition 1797 John Frere B. Scientific Archaeology 3. Explanation 1960 -> 2. Culture History 1945-1960 1. Methods 1850 - 1945 1. Methods 1850 - 1945 c. Early theory b. Classification a. Excavation b. Classification Thomsen & Worsaae Three Age System “Stone, Bronze & Iron” c. Early Theory cultural relativism unilineal evolution cultural evolution diffusion archaeological culture particularism c. Early Theory 2. Culture-History 1945-1960 Time: relative & chronometric Space: culture areas Form: typology 3. Explanation 1960 -> present “school of thought” theoretical perspective Paradigm: 3. Explanation 1960 -> present Processual Archaeology Post-processual Archaeology Social Archaeology Processual Archaeology Lewis Binford culture: humanity's extrasomatic means of adaptation stresses material conditions of human culture Post-Processual Archaeology Ian Hodder reaction to processual archaeology stresses ideational conditions of human culture Social Archaeology ‘Social Agency’ developed from post-processual archaeology stresses social conditions of human culture