Processual archaeology

on the discipline of archaeology as processualism did in the mid twentieth century (Trigger 2006). Processualism, or the new archaeology, revolutionised the way archaeologists thought and worked with its effects lasting until today both directly and indirectly. Even in modern archaeological settings, processual approaches define the discipline with archaeologists generally describing themselves as processual or post-processual. Although this dichotomy, defined by processual theory and the…

Hodder can indisputably be considered one of the most influential archaeologists of the last few decades. Following his studies at Cambridge, he established himself among the leading theorists and played a crucial role in bringing about the post-processual movement in archaeological theory (Yoffee 2003, 860). Hodder’s amount of academic contribution to the discipline spans a multitude of areas and issues. Several of these seem to have made especially large impact, such as his extensive…

A great debate has been ensuing for many years over the cause of the fall of the ancient Maya. There have been many academics who have attempted to explain the collapse of the civilization with a variety of possible explanations. Some hypotheses include war, while others consider the environment as a cause. However, Archaeologists have used two well known types of theory to make their arguments. The first type of theory is known as processualism. The academics who came up with theories based on…

Lone Woman until 2009. Because he was limited to sources from ignorant white men, O’Dell was unable to get an accurate portrayal of a Native American woman – more specifically, a Nicoleño woman. O’Dell’s sources are also heavily reliant on processual archaeology, the act of making a statement on an unknown culture based on the commonalities of other cultures around it, as in the Nicoleño people and the tribes that lived near them. A downfall to this would be trying to assume characteristics of…

INTRODUCTION Over five thousand years old, Stonehenge is a fascinating representation of human capability at a time before widespread technology. One of the seven wonders of the medieval world, Stonehenge is among the most recognizable monuments of its era, alongside the Colosseum in Rome and the Great Wall of China. In this paper, we will discuss the people who erected the monument, why and how it was constructed, and its perceived relevance ever since. WHO WERE THE PEOPLE THAT CONSTRUCTED…

Denham discusses three viewpoints, “farming/lanugage dispersal hypothesis,” “the concept of ‘low-level food production’ and “post-processual’ turn to study early agriculture” (Denham, 2007, 1). The first, idea, proposed by Peter Bellwood and Colin Renfrew explores the concept of how language and tribes were identified and formed through food production, and especially in how food was domesticated. Through demic expansion, former hunter/gatherer languages and genes are replaced, adapted or…