Regarding Archaeology and its history, there are Processual and Postprocessual periods. Within the Processual period, archaeology is used to explain the past and how it has evolved. Ways of approaching this may be looking at philosophy, making generalizations, deductive reasoning, testing, and optimism. In the Postprocessual period, the neo-Marxist concept was key to …show more content…
The first step is knowing the problem of interest. For an example, during a band-society excavation a large hearth is discovered. One may question if it was used for ceremonial use or as every-day, utilitarian use. This is our problem of interest. In order to answer this question, data must be gathered and collected. Animal bones, arrowheads and spear points are found surrounding the hearth, unlike the smaller hearths containing tools and ceramics. Here a pattern is recognized and one can synthesize that this hearth has a different use than the smaller