Archaeology, Anthropology, Science,

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Chapter 2

• Archaeology, Anthropology, Science,
• and the Humanities

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Chapter Outline

• So Whats An Anthropological Approach?
• The Culture Concept in Anthropology
• Scientific and Humanistic Approaches in
  Archaeology
• Conclusion Scientist or Humanist?

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An Anthropological Approach

• Anthropologists believe the best understanding of
  the human condition arises from a global,
  comparative, and holistic approach.
• Archaeologists are anthropologists who specialize
  in the deceased.
• Archaeologists draw upon each of the sub-fields
  of anthropology.

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Kinds of Anthropologists

• Anthropology embraces four primary fields of
  study
• Biological anthropology
• Cultural anthropology
• Linguistic anthropology
• Archaeology

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Kinds of Anthropologists
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Culture

• Integrated system of beliefs, traditions, and
  customs that govern or influence a persons
  behavior.
• Culture is
• Learned
• Shared by members of a group
• Based on the ability to think in terms of symbols

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How Anthropologists Study Culture

• Ideational perspective
• Focus on ideas, symbols, and mental structures as
  driving forces in shaping human behavior.
• Adaptive perspective
• Isolates technology, ecology, demography, and
  economics as the key factors defining human
  behavior.

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Culture as Ideas

• This perspective emphasizes ideas, thoughts, and
  shared knowledge and sees symbols and their
  meanings as crucial to shaping human behavior.
• According to the ideational view of culture, one
  cannot comprehend human behavior without
  understanding the symbolic code for that behavior.

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Culture as Adaptation

• An adaptive perspective is primarily concerned
  with culture as a system.
• Social and cultural differences are viewed as
  responses to the material parameters of life,
  such as food, shelter, and reproduction.
• Human behaviors are seen as linked systemically,
  such that change in one area (technology) will
  result in change in another area (social
  organization).

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Characteristics of Science

1. Science is empirical, or objective.
2. Science is systematic and explicit.
3. Science is logical.
4. Science is explanatory and, consequently,
   predictive.
5. Science is self-critical and based on testing.
6. Science is public.

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The Scientific Method

1. Define a relevant problem.
2. Establish one or more hypotheses.
3. Determine the empirical implications of the
   hypotheses.
4. Collect appropriate data.
5. Test the hypothesis by comparing these data with
   the expected implications.
6. Reject, revise and/or retest hypotheses as
   necessary.

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• Inductive reasoning
• Working from specific observations to more
  general hypotheses.
• Deductive reasoning
• Reasoning from theory to account for specific
  observational or experimental results.

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• Multiple working hypotheses
• A set of hypotheses that are tested against the
  empirical record from the simplest to the most
  complex.
• Bridging arguments
• Logical statements linking observations on the
  static archaeological record to the dynamic
  behavior or natural processes that produced it.

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• Testability
• The degree to which ones observations and
  experiments can be reproduced.
• Objectivity
• The attempt to observe things as they are,
  without prejudging or falsifying observations in
  light of some preconceived view of the world.

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The Scientific Cycle
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Science Is Not Infallible

• Although philosophers of science rarely agree on
  many points, they do generally agree that
• There is no single right way to do science.
• A scientific approach cannot guarantee truth.

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A Humanistic Approach

• Humanists tend to emphasize the dignity and worth
  of the individual.
• Humanistic-style inquiry begins with the premise
  that all people possess a capacity for
  self-realization through reason.

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Humanism

• A doctrine, attitude, or way of life that focuses
  on human interests and values.
• In general, a humanistic approach tends to reject
  a search for universals and stress instead the
  importance of the individuals lived experience.

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Scientist or Humanist?

• When archaeologists wish to seek and understand
  patterns and regularities in prehistoric
  cultures, they are scientists.
• When they wish to understand the history and
  culture of particular past societies, they are
  humanists.

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Scientist or Humanist?

• When archaeologists wish to test their ideas
  about the past, they are scientists.
• When they wish to present their results in a way
  that will be meaningful to the public, they are
  humanists.

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Scientist and Humanist

• The scientific method is critical for checking
  whether the conclusions derived from humanistic
  approaches are correct.
• A humanistic approach is good at generating
  ideas, but less useful for testing those ideas.
• Good archaeologists know they need a humanist in
  their hearts, and a scientist in their hands.

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Quick Quiz
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• 1. Which of the following is a field of
  anthropology
• Biology
• Languages
• Linguistics
• Archaeology
• None of the above.

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Answer D

• Archaeology is a field of anthropology.
• Others include Biological anthropology, Cultural
  anthropology, and Linguistic anthropology.

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• 2. The ideational perspective of anthropology
• Focuses on ideas, symbols, and mental structures
  as forces in human behavior.
• Considers the ideas of technology, ecology,
  demography, and economics as factors that define
  behavior.
• Is primarily concerned with culture as a
  system.
• All of the above.

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Answer A.

• The ideational perspective of anthropology
  focuses on ideas, symbols, and mental structures
  as forces in human behavior.

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• 3. Which of the following are characteristics of
  science?
• Objective, logical, explanatory.
• Objective, subjective and processural.
• Based on an untested idea.
• Objective, logical, explanatory, unproven.
• All of the above.

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Answer A

• Science is objective, logical, and explanatory.