Archaeology and the concept of evolution have been linked since the beginning of the discipline as it emerged in Europe in the early/mid 19th century (Trigger 1989 59, 108). In fact, the influence of evolutionary thought on archeology began in 18th century during The Age of Enlightenment, well before Charles Darwin’s theory was posited in 1859 (Trigger 1989: 59) as many believed that human societies, like species, evolved from the simplest form to more complex states. One of the early concerns archaeology was attempting to understand that process of change and how and why there were inequalities (varying levels of social complexity) among human societies (Chapman, 2003: 4). The biological evolutionary model provided a structure for the study …show more content…
Contributing greatly to that preoccupation was European colonialism and imperialism that brought the West into contact with varied cultures exhibiting diverse levels of social complexity (Chapman 2003 : 4; Trigger, 1989:52). Social complexity as defined by archaeologist Joe Tainter, is the differentiation in social, political and/or economic structure combined with organization that integrates diverse structural parts into a whole. That is to say, identify the elements and the principles upon which the elements interact. (Kohring and Wynne-Jones, 2007: 33) The attainment of social complexity has been measured in terms of socio-political organization with key identifiers, such as cities, writing, bureaucracy and social stratification (Kohring and Wynne-Jones, 2007: 15). The cultural evolutionary concepts of the Enlightenment influenced the theoretical framework of archaeology and help guide 19th century archaeologist to postulate that all human societies, as biological organisms did, progressed in stages (Barton and Clark 1997:
Jared Diamond, author of the Pulitzer Prize Winning, National Best Selling book Guns, Germs and Steel, summarizes his book by saying the following: "History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves." Guns, Germs and Steel is historical literature that documents Jared Diamond's views on how the world as we know it developed. However, is his thesis that environmental factors contribute so greatly to the development of society and culture valid? Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History is the textbook used for this class and it poses several different accounts of how society and culture developed that differ from Diamond's claims. However, neither Diamond nor Traditions are incorrect. Each poses varying, yet true, accounts of the same historical events. Each text chose to analyze history in a different manner. Not without flaws, Jared Diamond makes many claims throughout his work, and provides numerous examples and evidence to support his theories. In this essay, I will summarize Jared Diamond's accounts of world history and evolution of culture, and compare and contrast it with what I have learned using the textbook for this class.
Stephen Shennan's concern with how non-state agrarian societies have been characterized by archaeological studies in the past is well founded. Characterizing (and categorizing) non-state societies as stepping-stones evolving into future states is an outdated approach to these studies. The approach he proposed would focus on our understanding the archaeological record as the remains of social practices, rather than generalized social institutions. He refers to Bourdieu's theory of practice, and stresses the need to ground social archaeology in the micro-scale of day-to-day activities in our analyses. The study of long-term change, patterns of inequality, domination and resistance can be investigated through statistical analysis of the distributions of outcomes.
Myers, provider of source material for Edie Heydt's notes from "Human Origins," fall 1997, Alfred. Much of the material in the notes is paraphrased, and the original information sources are unknown. Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution, pub. 1979 by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637. H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau, copyright 1996 by Dover Publications, Inc.,
Processual Archaeology, was a movement in the archaeological field that began in the 1960‘s and changed the course of archaeology forever. Anthropologists such as Julian Steward were absolutely influential on many archaeologists and anthropologists during the early 1960s with his theories of cultural ecology which established a scientific way of understanding cultures as human adaption to the surrounding environment (Steward, 1955: 36-38). It was approaches such as Stewards that led eventually led to a rejection of culture-historical approaches to the archaeological record and propelled the ideas of cultural evolution and its reaction with the environment. This approach to cultural systems was essentially a rejection of the culture-historical approach of determinism by suggesting that the environment influences culture but is not a deterministic feature and that both culture and the environment were two separate systems that are dependent on each other for change (Steward, 1955: 36).
Evolution can be seen throughout all aspects of life, but for each aspect evolution does not occur in the same process. In his article entitled “Natural Selection, Scale, and Cultural Evolution,” Dunnell emphasizes and explains why evolution has made such a small impact on archaeology. Cultural evolution and biological evolution are not the same. Biological evolution uses theoretical propositions that explain the mechanisms of biological adaptation and evolution. The laws of cultural evolution “are not theoretical propositions but rather empirical generalizations” (Dunnell, 1996: 25). Cultural evolution does not explain the differences among the occurrences cultural phenomena. Dunnell’s main goal is to effectively formulate ways to integrate evolutionary characteristics and anthropological theory (Dunnell, 1996).
The collapse of a complex society is the resultant force of rapid simplification (Tainter, 1990). Whether intrinsically or extrinsically inflicted, exploitation of the very factors with which societal complexity is achieved may initiate the collapse of a civilization (Tainter, 1990). A total of six factors signal the attainment of societal complexity (i.e., urbanization, complex economy, scientific enhancement, public architecture, state religion, and social organization). The collapse of the Inca Empire stood as an example of both intrinsically and extrinsically derived simplification of its complex society. Intrinsically, many of the factors that built societal complexity were poorly establish, predisposing
In my visit to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), I observed many interesting things concerning the issue on evolution and natural selection. An example of evolutionism I saw in the AMNH was the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution. This hall concentrated on human evolution and how certain traits arose through successful generation—such as the change in the skeletal system as a result of walking upright. Fossils of Australopithecus afarensis, which is believed to be the earliest human relative, are dated back nearly 4 million years.
Tuttle, R.H. (2015) ‘Human evolution’, in Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: http://www.britannica.com/science/human-evolution (Accessed: 14 March 2016).
Discussions in the 1970’s and 1980’s within both sides of the debate indicate population change, behavior change and natural processes to be the large determining factors (Attenbrow, 2004). Many archaeologists accepted there was a continuing increase over time in the number of archaeological sites established and used, as well as in the number of artefacts accumulated in individual sites, particularly in the past 5000 years (eg. Johnson 1979:39; Bowdler1981; Morwood 1984:371, 1986, 1987; Ross 1984, 1985:87; Beaton 1985: 16-18; Fletcher-Jones 1985: 282, 286; Lourandos 1985a: 393-411, 1985b: 38; White and Habgood 1985; Hiscock 1986) (Attenbrow, 2004). Population change refers to the changes in number of people or size of the population, behavioural changes referring to changes to activities such as tool manufacturing, subsistence practices as well as the use of space within a site (Attenbrow, 2004). Whilst natural processes include geomorphological and biological process that may have affected the archaeological record (At...
In order to examine the evolutionary approaches of Leslie White and Julian Steward, we must therefore discuss about what the theory of neo-evolutionism is. Neo-evolutionism is a nomothetic theory which is based on using the general principles of evolution to explain how cultures change through time. This theory is a “reformation” of the late nineteenth century evolutionary theory of cultural evolution. (Erickson 1998:116) Cultural evolution explains that all cultures, progress through different evolutionary stages, which starts from a “simple”
The cultural innovations analyses presented here illustrate the presence of cumulative cultural evolution in the upper Paleolithic and portray how a steady rate of change continuous with that seen in later human history. This should serve to encourage interests in the internal process of evolution that may tend to produce a smooth curve, including the possible the autocatalytic effects of the increasing technological
Griswold, W. (2013). Cultures and societies in a changing world. (4th ed.). United States of America: SAGE publications Inc.
A civilization is compiled of eight features. 1. Cities 2. Well-Organized Central Government 3. Complex Religions 4. Job Specialization 5. Social Classes 6. Arts and Architecture 7. Public Works 8. Writings
According to The Society for American Archaeology, the definition of Archaeology is, “to obtain a chronology of the past, a sequence of events and dates that, in a sense, is a backward extension of history.” The study of ancient civilizations and archaeology is rather ambiguous due to the primitive nature of the time period. With little imagery and even less textual evidence, professionals in the field must work diligently when studying their subjects. Naturally, archaeologists cannot see or communicate with those whom they are studying, so they must be extraordinarily meticulous when analyzing past cultures. This relates to all aspects of the ancient world including; foods, raw materials, artifacts, agriculture, art work and pottery. All of these elements can collectively provide new and innovative information to curious archaeologists who may wish to gain a better understanding of those who came before us. This information is equally beneficial for both historians and archaeologists who plan to compare the histories of societies from all around the world. In the world of archaeology, archaeologists strive to better explain human behavior by analyzing our past. Therefore, the study of archaeology is a key element in understanding a time before our own.
Archaeologists are scattered across the gamut. Considering knowledge of human past is valuable to numerous academic disciplines. Varieties of archaeological application include: cultural resource management, heritage conservation, historic preservation,