Theories of Archaeology
Theories leading up Contemporary Archaeology
Theory?
A theory is simply an idea!
Low Level- the observations and
interpretations that emerge from handson archaeological field work.
Middle Level- links archaeological data
with relevant aspects of human behavior
High Level- seeks to answer the ‘WHY’
questions
Creationism
What is Creationism? Creationism is the idea that a higher
power, in many cases God, created man and placed them here
on earth along with the animals and plants and everything
that is present today. It argues that all life on earth was been
created exactly as it is in the present, and any alterations
would run counter to God’s plan.
Fixity of species.
Great Chain of Being
Essentialism
Grand Design.
Evolution
What is Evolution? Evolution is the theory
in which humans evolved, or changed
over time, from a common ancestor.
Evolutionary Theories
John Ray (1627-1705), an ordained
minister, was the first to identify species.
In 1735 a Swedish botanist named Carolus
Linneaus (1707-1778) wrote a book called
“systema Naturae” or System of Nature,
where he classified all animals.
Key Contributors to the Theory of
Evolution Cont’d
Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), in 1749,
developed the theory of “degeneration”
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) (Charles
grandfather) also began to express ideas of
natural selection and evolutionary thought.
Key Contributors to the Theory of
Evolution Cont’d
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)
was the first European to come up with an
organic theory of evolution
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), in
1798, argued that human populations
double every 25 years, it increases
exponentially while food production
remains stable, thereby creating a struggle
for existence
Key Contributors to the Theory of
Evolution Cont’d
James Hutton, a geologist, argued in his work
Theory of Earth in 1784, that the earth was formed
entirely by natural processes not by a divine flood of
global proportions.
His work was later refined by Charles Lyll in 1833.
There view that the earth had been formed completely
from natural processes that are still in operation today
became known as Uniformitarianism.
Key Contributors to the Theory of
Evolution Cont’d
George Cuvier (1769-1832),
developed the theory of
catastrophism in 1830
Russell Wallace developed the
theory of evolution based on natural
selection simultaneous to Darwin.
Darwin
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Charles Darwin began to formulate this theory of evolution
while aboard the HMS Beagle.
Darwin boarded the Beagle being a staunch believer in fixity of
species.
During a stopover in the Galapagos Islands, Darwin noted the
flora and the fauna of S. America showed striking similarities to
those in the Galapagos.
Darwin collected 13 different varieties of finches, these finches
shared similarities and clearly represented a closely affiliated
group
This lead Darwin to believe that the finches had all descended
from a common, mainland ancestor, and had become modified in
response to the varying environments of the islands.
Darwin’s Theory
1. Species produce offspring faster than the food supply
increases
2. No two individuals of a species are exactly alike
3. Because there are so many individuals in a species there
is a struggle for existence, favorable characteristics will
survive
4. Those favorable characteristics are inherited and passed
on
5. Over long periods of time those successful variations will
produce new species
From Biological Theory to Social
Theory
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) argued that human progress is not
an accident, that social institutions progress from a simple form
to a complex form and that each culture passes through these
same phases.
This idea fine tuned by Spencer, Edward B Tylor (1832-1917)
and Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881) was known as
Unilinear Cultural Evolution .
Unilinear Cultural Evolution “Stage”
“savage” stage as hunters and gathers
“barbaric” stage of farming
“civilized” stage of modern western culture.