Intellectual development of Archaeology

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Agenda

• Intellectual development of Archaeology
• A Prehistory of Archaeology
• Radical ideas
• Key ideas and concepts and individuals
  contributing to the trajectory of modern thought.

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Prehistory of Archaeology

• Paradigms that governed interpretations of
  ancient civilizations

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• Sixteenth century
• Arch Bishop Usher declares earth created on
  October 23 in 4004 BC, based on biblical
  genealogy at 730 am.

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Late Eighteenth-century Enlightenment

• Antiquarians are collecting curios and creating
  Salons (repositories of interesting objects of
  art and artifacts.
• Proto-archaeological digs are conducted in search
  of more ancient objects.
• First scientific observation of previously
  unconsidered phenomena.
• First systematic attempt to classify ancient
  materials.

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• Antiquarianism efforts at classification
• Interest in antiquities expands following
  Napoleon's invasion of Egypt.
• Rosetta stone discovered
• Hieroglyphics deciphered (1822) Jean Jacques
  Champollion,

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Important individuals contributing to early
archaeological theory and practice

• James HuttonCharles Lyell develop concept of
  uniformitarianism.
• Thomas Jeffersonapplication of Principle of
  Superposition, systematic excavation (early
  1800s) on his property in Virginia.

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Radical ideas

• Recognition of stratigraphy!
• A changing Earth!
• Recognition that there was a time when humans did
  not know of metals!

• Extinction not a static environment!
• Great age of Earth hypothesized!

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• George Cuvierstudies fossils of extinct animals,
  sets out rudimentary theory on evolution.
• Thomas JeffersonPrinciple of Association
• Jean Lamarckdetermines Earth much older than
  6000 years based on geology and fossils (early
  1800s). Suggests 100s of thousands of years.

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• Charles Lyellexpands on principle of
  uniformitarianism (1830s)
• Charles DarwinAlfred Wallace establish principle
  of natural selection (1859) and conceive of
  evolution of species.

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• Christian ThomsenThree age system
• Jens Worsaechronological validity to three age
  systemadds principle of association (1870s)

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More people

• Heinrich SchliemannFirst systematic excavation
  linking historic documents to prehistorystuns
  the world with discovery of Troy in 1876.
• Accidentally Invents scientific archaeology.

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• Squire and Davissystematic recording of earthen
  mounds in Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. (1870s).
• Provide valuable maps and illustrations for
  future analysis.

Davis
Squire
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• Gregor Mendellworks out genetic mechanism for
  inheritance of traits (1870s-80s).
• If only Darwin had known.

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• Karl Marxlinks economic basis of societies to
  political systemsworks out a theory of society
  and capitalism.

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• Lewis Henry Morganpostulates history in
  stageslinks culture stages to technology. Early
  proponent of unilinear cultural evolution
  (1860s). This theory is now discredited.

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Unilinear Cultureal development

• Postulates that all cultures pass through
  specific phases from savagery to barbarism to
  civilization and the stages are bands / tribes/
  chiefdoms / states.
• Goes further to link a specific list of traits
  (including technologies) to these stages which
  could be observed archaeologically to rank
  societies on a development curve.

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Impact of theory

• Unilinear Cultural Development theory influenced
  interpretation of ancient civilizations and
  cultures. It created a technologically informed
  hierarchy of cultures (compared to Victorian era
  European civilization, which was viewed as a
  model for the ultimate development of superior
  civilization).
• This culture paradigm dominated into the early
  20th century and influenced Nazi propaganda and
  was combined with NeoDarwinism to foster the idea
  of a master race.

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Using the trait list

• UCD theory allowed anthropologists in the 19th
  century to conveniently classify cultures in a
  hierarchical scale (naturally with white European
  culture at the top). Moreover, lack of culture
  complexity came to be equated with evolutionary
  primitiveness.
• Although obvious problems existed in the system
  these were generally explained away.

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The paradigm shift

• As culture research progressed during the early
  20th century many anthropologists questioned the
  trait list and addressed the glaring problems.
• Multilinear Culture development theory emerged as
  a new framework for interpretation.

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Multilinear Cultural Development

• Postulates that the assumption of stages or
  linear development is a false premise and
  unproven by evidence.
• Culture stage is not directly linked to
  technology, economy, or complexity of social
  development.
• Any society can pass through stages or skip over
  so-called stages, even retrograde.

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Stop
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MCD

• Postulates that resources and environment
  influence culture development and technological
  change.
• Examples a stone age culture can be a complex
  state or a metals based culture may only rise to
  level of chiefdom, and so forth.

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Significance of these theories

• ICD theory fundamentally racist and Eurocentric.
  Was used to by colonial empires justify
  eradication of uncivilized races.
• MCD forced reevaluation of the accomplishments of
  ancient cultures and of modern peoples living
  under prehistoric conditions.

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Influence on/of archaeology

• Early researchers sought to classify cultures on
  the linear continuum.
• But inconsistencies and new data from archaeology
  contradicted the dominant paradigm and eventually
  forced a change in ideology in the scientific
  community.

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• As we shall see, concepts of civilization,
  humanity and evolutionary theory will become
  tightly interwoven. This is especially true when
  we examine the fate of Neanderthal.

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