Transcript Prehistory of Archaeology

Agenda
• Intellectual development of Archaeology
• A Prehistory of Archaeology
• Radical ideas
• Key ideas and concepts and individuals contributing to the
trajectory of modern thought.
Prehistory of
Archaeology
Paradigms that governed interpretations of ancient
civilizations
• Sixteenth century:
Arch Bishop Usher declares
earth created on October 23 in
4004 BC, based on biblical
genealogy at 7:30 am.
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.
• Antiquarianism; efforts at
classification
• Interest in antiquities
expands following
Napoleon's invasion of
Egypt.
• Rosetta stone discovered
• Hieroglyphics deciphered
(1822) Jean Jacques
Champollion,
Important individuals contributing to early archaeological
theory and practice
• James Hutton—Charles
Lyell: develop concept of
uniformitarianism.
• Thomas Jefferson—
application of Principle of
Superposition, systematic
excavation (early 1800s)
on his property in Virginia.
Radical ideas
• Recognition of
stratigraphy!
• Extinction – not a
static environment!
• A changing Earth!
• Great age of Earth
hypothesized!
• Recognition that
there was a time
when humans did
not know of metals!
• George Cuvier—studies
fossils of extinct animals,
sets out rudimentary theory
on evolution.
• Thomas Jefferson—Principle
of Association
• Jean Lamarck—determines
Earth much older than 6000
years based on geology and
fossils (early 1800s).
Suggests 100s of thousands
of years.
• Charles Lyell—expands on
principle of
uniformitarianism (1830s)
• Charles Darwin—Alfred
Wallace establish principle
of natural selection (1859)
and conceive of
evolution of species.
• Christian Thomsen—
Three age system
• Jens Worsae—
chronological validity
to three age
system—adds
principle of
association (1870s)
More people
• Heinrich Schliemann—
First systematic excavation
linking historic documents
to prehistory—stuns the
world with discovery of
Troy in 1876.
• Accidentally Invents
“scientific” archaeology.
• Squire and Davis—
systematic recording of
earthen mounds in Ohio and
Mississippi Valleys. (1870s).
• Provide valuable maps and
illustrations for future
analysis.
Davis
Squire
• Gregor Mendell—
works out genetic
mechanism for
inheritance of traits
(1870s-80s).
• If only Darwin had
known.
• Karl Marx—links
economic basis of
societies to political
systems—works out a
theory of society and
capitalism.
• Lewis Henry Morgan—
postulates history in
stages—links culture
stages to technology.
Early proponent of
unilinear cultural
evolution (1860s).
This theory is now
discredited.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stop
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.
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.
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.
• 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.