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Archaeological Hammers and Theories

1st Edition - February 28, 1983

Editors: James A. Moore, Arthur S. Keene

eBook ISBN:

9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 7 7 6 3 - 9

Studies in Archaeology: Archaeological Hammers and Theories provides information pertinent to the archeological method, with emphasis on the interaction of data and technique with… Read more

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Studies in Archaeology: Archaeological Hammers and Theories provides information pertinent to the archeological method, with emphasis on the interaction of data and technique with theory and problems. This book describes the nature of archeological data, the range of archeological theories, and the scope of archeological problems. Organized into three parts encompassing 13 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the products of the archeological record. This text then examines survey sampling, site formation studies, and lithic and ceramic analysis. Other chapters consider the behavioral concepts that are implicit in the notions of special behavior, optimization, decision making, and population dynamics. This book discusses as well the analysis of pottery, which plays a leading part in the reconstruction of culture histories in archeology. The final chapter suggests an alternative set of philosophical issues that might serve to focus a philosophy or archeology. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists.

Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I Introduction

1. Archaeology and the Law of the Hammer

The Law of the Hammer

The Tyranny of Methodology

Prospectus

Objectives

Moving beyond Rhetoric

References

Part II The Products of the Archaeological Record

2. The Archaeological Record as Preserved Death Assemblage

Foundations

Extensions

Prognosis

References

3. We Can't See the Forest for the Trees: Sampling and the Shapes of Archaeological Distributions

The Scientific Task

The Evolution of the Methodological State of the Art

The Finer Points of Archaeological Practice

The Shape of Archaeological Distributions in Massachusetts

Concluding Suggestion

References

4. Twigs, Branches, Trees, and Forests: Problems of Scale in Lithic Analysis

The Individual in Prehistory

Alternative Directions for Lithic Studies

Summary and Conclusions

References

5. Pots As Tools

Background

Applications

Conclusions

References

Part III The Precedents of the Archaeological Record

6. Biology, Behavior, and Borrowing: A Critical Examination of Optimal Foraging Theory in Archaeology

Background

A Brief Introduction to Optimal Foraging Theory

The Problem of Literal Borrowing

Optimal Foraging Theory in Perspective

The Methodology of Mouthtalk

References

7. Optimization Models in Context

Optimization Models: Definition and Applications

Optimization as a Model of Decision Making

Optimization as a Predictor of Behavior

Optimization as a Baseline for the Explanation of Behavior

Future Work

References

8. The Trouble with Know-It-AI Is: Information as a Social and Ecological Resource

The Archaeological Challenge

Decision-Making Models

The Limits of Individual Decision Makers

The Acquisition of Information

Information Fields in Archaeology

Social Asymmetry and the Exchange of Information

The Validation of Information

Conclusions

References

9. Information Exchange and the Spatial Configurations of Egalitarian Societies

Introduction

The Settlement Approach

Social Relations of Production: An Axis of Variability

Social Relations of Production in Egalitarian Societies

Archaeological Implications

Conclusions

References

10. The Ecological Perspective in Highland Mesoamerican Archaeology

Introduction

Population Determinism

The Discovery of Anomalies

New Approaches

Conclusion

References

11. Expanding the Scope of Settlement Analysis

Settlement Systems and the Rank-Size Rule

Biasing Problems, Boundary Problems, and Stratification

Conclusions

References

12. The Social Representation of Space: Dimensioning the Cosmological and the Quotidian

The Human and the Social Quality of a Concept of Meaning

The Problem of the Symbolic in Archaeology

Created Space

The Urban Center as Representational Field

Society, Cosmos, and the Problem of Legitimation

Concluding Remarks

References

13. The Poverty of Philosophy in Archaeology

Epistemology, Archaeology, and Society

Conclusion

References

Index