Classificatory-Descriptive Period

There are five major archaeological paradigms, which include the Speculative Period that took place from 1492-1840, the Classificatory-Descriptive Period that took place from 1840-1914, the Classificatory-Historical Period that took place from 1914-1940, the New (Processual) Period that took place in the 1960’s up to the 1980’s, and the Post-Processualism that took place 1980 and present. During each period there were different interpretations of what archaeology was, there were new ideas of how to deal with archaeological finds, and just what classified as an “important or worthy” find. Two of these periods in particular will produce their own theories and procedures that will influence and maneuver the archaeology that people see present …show more content…
These were people who rather than going out and doing in-depth and firsthand investigations, relied in the ideas and recordings of other people who most often had a bias way of viewing the world. Therefore the accounts that were “collected” by the anthropologists were littered with information that wasn’t true or that contained some fictitious or omitted facts. The anthropologists of this time had a particular interest in the people who first inhabited the Americas however the people of the time didn’t consider Native Americans to be human and capable of much progression and ingenuity. Investigations during the age led to the unearthing of ruins and man-made mounds, the mounds ranged from small narrowed burial mounds to huge mound centers. The idea that “savages” had built them was ridiculous and so there was a large amount of speculation as to who built the mounds. There were several theories regarding these mounds, some very preposterous to be real, but it wasn’t until Cyrus Thomas linked pottery found in the mounds to Native Americans that credit was given tom their ancestors for building …show more content…
The subject of archaeology became know as “not merely a science of material culture, but concerns of human beings and their cultural behavior in the past” (Baker PowerPoint). This period sought to explain how people acted as individuals when faced with different levels of wealth, social status, and gender roles between men and women. Unlike the Processual period, the archaeologists of this time didn't want to make generalizations and assumptions on certain groups because they accepted the notion of individuality and cultural difference. The ideas of the time wanted to emphasize ideology, religion, gender and power as crucial and to modernize and evolve the meanings that have been designated to artifacts (Week 2 PowerPoint). According to Owen’s Theory and Paradigms archeological theorists of the time argued that the majority of archaeology is not scientific, but rather eternalizes the assumptions and fashions in the archaeologist’s