ANT-309 Lecture Outline Wednesday February 6, 2008
A Artifacts
1 Polythetic: they must consider multiple traits not merely a single trait-- although many classification systems will emphasize one over others.
2 Monothetic: A classification system based on only one trait
3 Diagnostic traits: the traits that tell us the most
4 Type: a class of items defined by clusters of similar attributes or traits
5 Difficult: with pottery, must consider
a overall shape
b color of the clay-- paste
c presence or absence of a slip
d possible designs on the slip
6 Normative concept: Implies adherence to traditions or norms
a large proportions of the members of a society follow the norms
b Norms develop generally over the long haul- not over night
7 Principle of limited possibilities. For some functions there are simply not many possibilities
8 Mental template-- the mental image that a craftsperson has in their mind of the culturally acceptable style
9 Two approaches
a Lumping
b splitting
10 Morphological type-- a type defined strictly on the basis of the shape or morphology of items
11 Functional types: Projectile point versus drill
12 Temporal type-- A morphological type to which a time dimension has been added on the basis of data in addition to basic morphology (e.g.,dating associations)
11 Morphological type-- a type defined strictly on the basis of the shape or morphology of items
B Descriptive integration or the construction of Culture Histories
1. Archaeological terms
a. Component-- a culturally homogeneous unit within a single site. It refers to actual materials left behind by people at one particular site-- that is it is NOT an abstraction.
b. Horizontal stratigraphy-- where components are separated horizontally.
c. Phase: an archaeological unit possessing traits sufficiently characteristic to distinguish it from al other units similarly conceived
d. Archaeological culture: “ an assemblage of artifacts that recur repeatedly associated together in dwellings of the same kind and with burials of the same rite. The arbitrary peculiarities of implements, weapons, ornaments, houses, burial rites, and ritual objects are assumed to be concrete expressions of the common social traditions that bind together a people.” V. Gordon Childe
e. Complex-- sometimes used instead of Culture-- when archaeologists feel that a pattern is less definitive and more tentative-- (also the term Pattern itself is sometimes used- David Fredrickson 1974)
f. Tradition -- Phases that persisted for a long time. Defined by Willey and Phillips in the 1950s
g. Horizon-- A style that persists only briefly over a wide area Defined by Willey and Phillips in the 1950s; Examples:
i. Early or Chavin Horizon in Peru
ii. Bead Horizons in Central California