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Behavioural Archaeology
Behavioural archaeology is an archaeological theory that expands upon the nature and aims of archaeology in regards to human behaviour and material culture. The theory was first published in 1975 by American archaeologist Michael B. Schiffer and his colleagues J. Jefferson Reid, and William L. Rathje''.'' The theory proposes four strategies that answer questions about past, and present cultural behaviour. It is also a means for archaeologists to observe human behaviour and the archaeological consequences that follow. The theory was developed as a reaction to changes in archaeological thought, and expanding archaeological practise during the mid-late 20th century. It reacted to the increasing number of sub-disciplines emerging within archaeology as each came with their own unique methodologies. The theory was also a reaction to the processual thought process that emerged within the discipline some years prior. In recent years the use of behavioural archaeology has been regarded as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, archaeological site, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discipline involves Survey (archaeology), surveying, Archaeological excavation, excavation, and eventually Post excavation, analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethnoarchaeology
Ethnoarchaeology is the ethnographic study of peoples for archaeological reasons, usually through the study of the material remains of a society (see David & Kramer 2001). Ethnoarchaeology aids archaeologists in reconstructing ancient lifeways by studying the material and non-material traditions of modern societies. Ethnoarchaeology also aids in the understanding of the way an object was made and the purpose of what it is being used for. Archaeologists can then infer that ancient societies used the same techniques as their modern counterparts given a similar set of environmental circumstances. One good example of ethnoarchaeology is that of Brian Hayden (1987), whose team examined the manufacture of Mesoamerican quern-stones, providing valuable insights into the manufacture of prehistoric quern-stones. Many other studies have focused on the manufacture and use of ceramics, architecture, food, fiber, and other types of material culture. In the best cases, these studies have inv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ascher
Robert Ascher (April 28, 1931 – January 8, 2014) was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnomathematician, and experimental filmmaker. He is best known for his contributions to experimental archaeology and for his collaborative work on ''quipu'' with his wife, Marcia Ascher. He was commonly referred to as "Bob" by friends, colleagues, and family. Education He earned his B.A. in anthropology from Queens College, City University of New York in 1954. After a brief period of service in the United States Army, he pursued graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received his M.A. in 1959 and his Ph.D. in 1960. His doctoral dissertation was titled ''The Nature of the Imitative Experiment in Archaeology''. Career Soon after receiving his Ph.D., Ascher joined the faculty at Cornell University as part of the anthropology department, where he was promoted to full professor in 1966, and later to emeritus professor in 2002. In the early 1960s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tucson Garbage Project
The Tucson Garbage Project is an archaeological and sociological study instituted in 1973 by Dr. William Rathje in the city of Tucson in the Southwestern American state of Arizona. This project is sometimes referred to as the "garbology project". History Dr. Rathje (also known affectionately as "Captain Planet") and his students studied the contents of Tucson residents' waste to examine patterns of consumption. Quantitative data from bins was compared with information known about the residents who owned them. The results have shown that information people freely volunteered about their consumption habits did not always tally with the contents of their waste bins. For example, alcohol consumption was proven to be significantly higher in reality than in the questionnaires completed by the people studied. Such findings have highlighted the difference between people's self-reported and actual behaviors. Such findings cast doubt on the reliability of historical record when applied to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Archaeology
There are two main approaches currently used to analyze archaeological remains from an evolutionary perspective: evolutionary archaeology and behavioral (or evolutionary) ecology. The former assumes that cultural change observed in the archaeological record can be best explained by the direct action of natural selection and other Darwinian processes on heritable variation in artifacts and behavior. The latter assumes that cultural and behavioral change results from phenotypic adaptations to varying social and ecological environments.Boone, J.L & Smith, E.E. (1998). Is It Evolution Yet? A Critique of Evolutionary Archaeology. ''Current Anthropology'', Vol. 39, No. S1. Special Issue: The Neanderthal Problem and the Evolution of Human Behavior (June 1998), pp. S141-S174. The University of Chicago History of evolutionary theory in archaeology Evolutionary archaeology in the 19th century Over the past decades the term ‘evolution’ has undertaken several definitions and im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Schultz Martin
Paul Schultz Martin (born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1928, died in Tucson, Arizona September 13, 2010)Mari N. Jensen. '. University of Arizona. Retrieved 2010-09-17. was an American geoscientist at the University of Arizona who developed the theory that the Pleistocene extinction of large mammals worldwide was caused by overhunting by humans. Martin's work bridged the fields of ecology, anthropology, geosciences, and paleontology. In 1953, Martin received his bachelor's degree in zoology from Cornell University. In 1953 and 1956 he completed his master's and doctorate programs at the University of Michigan and then proceeded with postdoctoral research at Yale University and the University of Montreal. Martin's early interest embraced ornithology and herpetology and he conducted extensive fieldwork from 1948 to 1953 in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He published biogeographies on the birds of the Sierra de Tamaulipas and the herpetofauna of the Gómez Farias (= El Cielo) region of T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Processual Archaeology
Processual archaeology (formerly, the New Archaeology) is a form of archaeological theory. It had its beginnings in 1958 with the work of Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips, ''Method and Theory in American Archaeology,'' in which the pair stated that "American archaeology is anthropology, or it is nothing" (Willey and Phillips, 1958:2), a rephrasing of Frederic William Maitland's comment: "My own belief is that by and by, anthropology will have the choice between being history, and being nothing." The idea implied that the goals of archaeology were the goals of anthropology, which were to answer questions about humans and human culture. This was meant to be a critique of the former period in archaeology, the cultural-history phase in which archaeologists thought that information artifacts contained about past culture would be lost once the items became included in the archaeological record. Willey and Phillips believed all that could be done was to catalogue, describe, and create ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Industrial Archaeology
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, documents and other items associated with the production, manufacture, extraction, transport or construction of a product or range of products. The field of industrial archaeology incorporates a range of disciplines including archaeology, architecture, construction, engineering, historic preservation, museology, technology, urban planning and other specialties, in order to piece together the history of past industrial activities. The scientific interpretation of material evidence is often necessary, as the written record of many industrial techniques is often incomplete or nonexistent. Industrial archaeology includes both the examination of standing structures and sites that must be studied by an Excavation (archaeology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Experimental Archaeology
Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological Hypothesis, hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks or feats. It employs a number of methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches, based upon Archaeology, archaeological source material such as ancient structures or Artifact (archaeology), artifacts. It is distinct from uses of primitive technology without any concern for archaeological or historical study. Living history and historical reenactment, which are generally undertaken as hobbies, are non-archaeological counterparts of this academic discipline. One of the main forms of experimental archaeology is the creation of copies of historical structures using only historically accurate technologies. This is sometimes known as reconstruction archaeology or reconstructional archaeology; however, reconstruction implies an exact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Anthropologist
''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ... (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John Wesley Powell. The current editor-in-chief is Elizabeth Chin ( ArtCenter College of Design). The journal publishes research articles from all four subfields of anthropology as well as book reviews and obituaries, and includes sections on Public Anthropologies, Multimodal Anthropologies, and World Anthropologies. The journal also maintains a website with essays, virtual issues, teaching resources, and supplementary material for print articles. Past editors F. W. Hodge (1899–1910) J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Behavior
Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity (Energy (psychological), mentally, Physical activity, physically, and Social action, socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external Stimulation, stimuli throughout their life. Behavior is driven by genetic and environmental factors that affect an individual. Behavior is also driven, in part, by thoughts and feelings, which provide insight into individual Psyche (psychology), psyche, revealing such things as attitude (psychology), attitudes and value (personal and cultural), values. Human behavior is shaped by Trait theory, psychological traits, as personality types vary from person to person, producing different actions and behavior. Social behavior accounts for actions directed at others. It is concerned with the considerable influence of Social relation, social interaction and culture, as well as ethics, interpersonal relationships, politics, and Conflict (process), conflict. Some behaviors a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
