Changing Directions from the NA Binford’s call for Science resulted in a push in that direction with a focus on ultimate causation Binford’s focus on culture reconstruction was transformed into humanistic archaeology, e.g., post- processualism New Archaeology Scientific Post Archaeology Processualism Evolutionary Theory

Dunnellian Science Archaeology: the science of artifacts. Epistemology: how we bring confidence to our conclusions. How do we establish certainty in our inferences derived from the analysis of artifacts? Science: an intellectual structure designed to build knowledge. Science is more than method although method is a component of science. Science has ideas and empirical entities. We test our ideas about the things against things themselves. This testing allows us to be wrong. [The goal of evaluation is “falsification” not confirmation.

Dunnell: what kind of science is archaeology Ahistorical science (essentialist) –What is essentialism? Do you remember? sciences in which the materials don’t change. The empirical basis of these sciences are not mutable… chemistry, physics. –Physics was the model of science used in the New archaeology And it won’t work? Why not? Historical Science (materialist) –What is materialism? Only variation is real. The empirical world is in a constant state of becoming What kind of science is archaeology? Ahistorical or historical?

DUNNELL: WHAT IS THEORY Theory is explanatory. It tell us why some portion of the world is the way it is. It is also conceptual Cause (addressing the question why is lodged in theory. Ultimate causation: Why change occurs? Why agricultural evolves? Why states evolve? These questions are very different than New Archaelogical focus on How (culture process) Distinction between cause and reason. –Cause is external to actors ( in our case people). –Reasons are equivalent to decision making or intentions of actors Reasons are not explanatory because intentions vary by context.

Comparison of New Archaeological and Dunnellian Science New ArchaeologyDunnellian Science GoalsExplain the archaeological record EpistemologyConfirm ideas through hypothesis testing Falsify hypotheses To build more complete ideas Model of scienceAhistorical (essentialist) Historical (materialist) ExplanationsProcessual How change occurs (systems theory) Why (ultimate causation- evolutionary theory)

Components of Post-Processual Research Structure  Interpretation, not explanation.  Interpretation as relative, contingent and subjective (because objectivity is not possible) giving voice to the disenfranchized  Multiple views/voices of the past---  Big ideas: ideology, gender, power, agency, ethnicity  How distinguish between various versions of the past? ( Evaluation is not stressed.)  Political context of archaeology

Ian Hodder Post-processualism (a la Hodder) Central concern: Social Action What is social action?

Crucial Definitions in Post-Processualism (From Hodder) Archaeology: meaning and action are connected Meaning is variously defined: –Individual meaning: derived from sense experience –Collective/social meaning--- known as constituitive meaning –Action: people are actors or agents, constructing their cultural reality. –This is the distinction between CAUSE AND INTENT Artifacts: are both “things” [material culture] But artifacts also embody meaning… they are symbols –What is a symbol? –The methodology of getting at symbolic meaning Artifacts as symbols closed tied to the distinction between Function versus meaning Function ( as in the New Archaeology is not meaning). Meaning is intention, action. People construct meaning in the process of living Constructing interpretations of the past is inseparable from the social political context of the present. No true independence between ideas and thing.

Some Contrasts between New Archaeology, Dunnellian Science, and Post-Processualism New ArchaeologyDunnellian SciencePost-Processualism GoalExplain the Past and build knowledge Explain the past and build Knowledge Interpretation or understanding; contingent on specific events and context ArtifactsFoundational--- the archaeological record The science of artifacts Represent meaning to social actors Role of human action Deterministic; human action embedded in a larger system Human action or intent is variable; not knowable archaeologically and not explanatory Human action is knowable archaeologically What is meaning Meaning defined in functional terms (considered above) Archaeological meaning is explanatory Constitutive meaning--- meaning in a social context Separation of Ideas an things Separation of ideas and things--- allows for evaluation Separation of ideas and things—human ideas determine what we can know Ideas are embedded in things

Discussion Questions for Shank’s article: Archaeology and Politics How does Shanks define Science? Is this different than the way that Dunnell defines science? How? What is critical theory? Elements of critical theory most significant to the development of post-modern theory in social science and archaeology more particularly? Critical questions asked of anthropology relative to critical theory? What are the areas of dispute that make archaeology political? What is the role of archaeology in the development of new nation-states (post-colonial)? Generally: identify ways in which this article by Shanks is post-processual?