Behavioral Archeology

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Behavioral archeology is a branch of procedural archeology that deals primarily with the relationship between human behavior and archaeological remains. Here the formation process of archaeological sources is particularly strongly focused.

Emergence

Behavioral archeology emerged from a methodical criticism of procedural archeology. Up until now, archaeological work has always assumed that the archaeological remains represent the systems in the past. This premise only applies to very special cases such as Pompeii ; the majority of the archaeological sources emerge only after a number of transformations, which until then had little researched.

Principles

Behavioral Archeology set itself the goal of examining the general principles behind the relationship between human behavior and archaeological remains. For this purpose, the material culture was divided into a living system on the one hand and a rigid archaeological context on the other. The transformation of a living system into a frozen archaeological context and vice versa was examined. The transformations are divided into c-transformations and n-transformations.

Systemic and archaeological context

An important principle is the dualism between systemic and archaeological context. The systemic context describes a living culture in which objects are used and transported. The archaeological context, on the other hand, describes a bygone culture, i.e. a state in which the objects remain unchanged. How objects change from one context to the other is answered by various transformations that are the subject of research.

Primary, secondery and defacto refuse

Schiffer also divides deposited remains according to the type of deposit. Remnants that are deposited where they are used are primary refuse . An example of this is production waste that falls to the ground during production. Remnants that are relocated one more time after this primary deposition are secondery refuse . If the said production waste is swept away and thrown in the trash, it is a secondery refuse . Remnants that are not actually laid down but left are not laid down remains in the narrower sense, but they appear as such in the archaeological context and are therefore called defacto refuse . Coals that are left behind when moving are, for example, defacto refuse .

N transformations

Transformations that can be traced back to natural processes are called n-transformers ( n from natural ). In the natural sciences it is comparatively easy to establish general laws. Observations that are repeated over and over are declared general principles until they can be refuted by other observations. These can be profitably applied to the archaeological remains.

Behavioral archeology is mainly concerned with weather conditions. Here, on the one hand, experimental archaeological methods are used and, on the other, extrapolations are carried out. A well-known example is the work of Kenneth C. Reid. He dealt with the effects of ground frost on differently porous prehistoric ceramic types in the North American woodland culture . He put forward the thesis that today's distribution of ceramics has nothing to do with the actual distribution of ceramics, but only reflects a state of preservation in the soil. In fact, the further north you are, the less ceramics there is, i.e. the stronger the ground frost. Considerations such as these can be applied to any ceramic distribution.

C transformations

Transformations based on cultural handling are called c-transformers ( c from cultural ). C transformers can turn out very differently. Whether it is even possible to observe universal laws is still discussed. In behavioral archeology, the part of cultural behavior that transports objects from the systemic context to the archaeological context is primarily considered.

Schiffer himself tries to categorize such behavior by taking the transition between systemic and archaeological context as a principle. The following is the systemic context S and the archaeological context A . Four processes are possible ( SA, AS, AA and SS ). SA processes include throwing away, burying, losing and leaving objects. AS processes describe the renewed recovery of objects for cultic, economic or scientific reasons. Also, archaeological falls into this category. AA processes describe processes of relocating objects without salvaging them, such as plowing a field. SS processes are recycling, misappropriation and conservation.

Methods for analyzing the c-transformations are primarily the analysis of traces of use, which allow an assessment of the recycling behavior and the useful life of objects. Another important but controversial method is ethno-archeology . Here the observation of the throw-away behavior was used to form analogies. However, no universal law has yet been established for any of the methods.

criticism

Ian Hodder and Scott Hutson criticize behavioral archeology from a post-procedural point of view. In the relationship between man and artifact , the artifacts are implicitly based on Western meanings. In other cultures, however, a completely different evaluation system may also have led to different behavior. Universal laws are therefore difficult to establish.

Reinhard Bernbeck notes that Behavioral Archeology was originally intended as an aid to reconstruct the past. Over time, however, the search for the transformations has become an end in itself.

Gavin Lucas notes that the approach mainly deals with objects and their distribution. The findings and stratigraphy receive considerably less attention , although they also play a role in the formation processes.

literature

  • Reinhard Bernbeck: Theories in Archeology A. Franke Verlag, Tübingen 1997, ISBN 3-7720-2254-5 .
  • Ian Hodder, Scott Hutson: Reading the Past - Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 0-521-52884-4 . (Originally published in 1986)
  • Gavin Lucas: Understanding the Archaeological Record. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2012, ISBN 978-0-521-27969-7 .
  • Kenneth C. Reid: Fire and Ice: New Evidence for the Production and Preservation of Late Archaic Fiber-Tempered Pottery in the Middle-Latitude Lowlands. ( JSTOR 280512 ) In: American Antiquity, Vol. 49, No. 1. 1984, pp. 55-76.
  • Michael B. Schiffer : Archaeological Context and Systemic Context. ( JSTOR 278203 ) In: American Antiquity, Vol. 37, No. 2. 1972, pp. 156-165.
  • Michael B. Schiffer: Behavioral Archeology. Academic Press. New York & London 1976, ISBN 0-12-624150-3

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schiffer: Behavioral Archeology. 1976, pp. 2-4.
  2. ^ Schiffer: Behavioral Archeology. 1976, pp. 27-28.
  3. ^ Schiffer: Archaeological Context and Systemic Context. 1972, p. 157.
  4. ^ Schiffer: Archaeological Context and Systemic Context. 1972, pp. 160-162.
  5. ^ Reinhard Bernbeck : Theories in archeology. 1997, pp. 71-72.
  6. ↑ Kenneth C. Reid: Fire and Ice: New Evidence for the Production and Preservation of Late Archaic Fiber-Tempered Pottery in the Middle-Latitude Lowlands. 1984.
  7. ^ Reinhard Bernbeck: Theories in archeology. 1997, pp. 78-80.
  8. ^ A b Ian Hodder, Scott Hutson: Reading the Past. Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archeology. 2003, pp. 33-36.
  9. ^ Schiffer: Behavioral Archeology. 1976, pp. 30-40.
  10. ^ Reinhard Bernbeck: Theories in archeology. 1997, pp. 81-83.
  11. ^ Reinhard Bernbeck: Theories in archeology. 1997, pp. 83-84.
  12. ^ Gavin Lucas: Understanding the Archaeological Record. 2012, pp. 91-98.