ANTHR219 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Taphonomy, Processual Archaeology, Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew Of Kaimsthorn
20 Oct 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Organizing time by rock layers and their fossil contents. Kind of increasing complexity of life over time. History is what living society does with its past. Most common approach in anthropological archaeology up until. Culture as focus of study; is a body of shared ideas/ values, beliefs. Want to discover shared ides behind technology, other aspects of culture= mental template or the indian behind the artifact. Definition of adaptation, diffusion, invention, migration, persistence, popularity, trade Lewis binfrod, kent flamery, william rathje in usa. Interest in how and why questions, the processes behind culture. Followed logical positivist perspective of philosophers, like karl. All explanations must assume form of a hypothesis or on absolute covering law, which is then tested with archaeological evidence. Interested in general processes of cultural evolution- origins of culture, agriculture, civilizations; all of big questions in cultural evolution. Or as body of methods and theories to understand past human behavior.
