ANTH 240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Processual Archaeology, Fertile Crescent, Neolithic Revolution
23 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Paradigms: culture history: migration, diffusion, catastrophe, processualism: explain process w/ grand narratives, post-processualism: processes, w/ agency and diversity. Diffusion: spread of ideas, objects, practices btwn cultural groups: via trade, conflict, social engagement. Migration: movement of people across geographic and cultural boundaries that leads to exchange of ideas, objects, practices. Silk road trade route important for diffusion/migration: 4000 mi trade route china fertile crescent, beginning 207-220 ce (han dynasty, aided the spread of religious movements. Cultural evolution: culture is a form of extrasomatic adaptation; change occurs in response to environmental change, competition, etc: analogy: darwinian evolution. Tool use, control of fire, control of plants (domestication), agriculture, development of elites go along w/ environmental change and biological evolution (brain capacity) Development of things like religion aren"t survival-based. Functionalism: cultural practices and institutions can be explained by their functional relationship to other elements of that culture. Processualism merges functionalism and cultural evolutionary perspectives.
