Applying Evolutionary Archaeology

A Systematic Approach

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology, Anthropology, History
Cover of the book Applying Evolutionary Archaeology by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman, Springer US
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman ISBN: 9780306474682
Publisher: Springer US Publication: May 8, 2007
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
ISBN: 9780306474682
Publisher: Springer US
Publication: May 8, 2007
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Anthropology, and by extension archaeology, has had a long-standing interest in evolution in one or several of its various guises. Pick up any lengthy treatise on humankind written in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the chances are good that the word evolution will appear somewhere in the text. If for some reason the word itself is absent, the odds are excellent that at least the concept of change over time will have a central role in the discussion. After one of the preeminent (and often vilified) social scientists of the nineteenth century, Herbert Spencer, popularized the term in the 1850s, evolution became more or less a household word, usually being used synonymously with change, albeit change over extended periods of time. Later, through the writings of Edward Burnett Tylor, Lewis Henry Morgan, and others, the notion of evolution as it applies to stages of social and political development assumed a prominent position in anthropological disc- sions. To those with only a passing knowledge of American anthropology, it often appears that evolutionism in the early twentieth century went into a decline at the hands of Franz Boas and those of similar outlook, often termed particularists. However, it was not evolutionism that was under attack but rather comparativism— an approach that used the ethnographic present as a key to understanding how and why past peoples lived the way they did (Boas 1896).

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Anthropology, and by extension archaeology, has had a long-standing interest in evolution in one or several of its various guises. Pick up any lengthy treatise on humankind written in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the chances are good that the word evolution will appear somewhere in the text. If for some reason the word itself is absent, the odds are excellent that at least the concept of change over time will have a central role in the discussion. After one of the preeminent (and often vilified) social scientists of the nineteenth century, Herbert Spencer, popularized the term in the 1850s, evolution became more or less a household word, usually being used synonymously with change, albeit change over extended periods of time. Later, through the writings of Edward Burnett Tylor, Lewis Henry Morgan, and others, the notion of evolution as it applies to stages of social and political development assumed a prominent position in anthropological disc- sions. To those with only a passing knowledge of American anthropology, it often appears that evolutionism in the early twentieth century went into a decline at the hands of Franz Boas and those of similar outlook, often termed particularists. However, it was not evolutionism that was under attack but rather comparativism— an approach that used the ethnographic present as a key to understanding how and why past peoples lived the way they did (Boas 1896).

More books from Springer US

Cover of the book The Pulmonary and Bronchial Circulations in Congenital Heart Disease by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Consciousness and Self-Regulation by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book VLSI for Wireless Communication by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Concepts, Mechanisms, and New Targets for Chemotherapy by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book The Neural Crest and Neural Crest Cells in Vertebrate Development and Evolution by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Medical Neuropsychology by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Archaeological Pathways to Historic Site Development by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Electronics in Experimental Physics by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Stabilization of Superconducting Magnetic Systems by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Highlights of Nitrogen Fixation Research by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book The Limits of Idealism by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Theoretical Perspectives in Environment-Behavior Research by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book International Investment, Political Risk, and Growth by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book The Ocean Basins and Margins by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
Cover of the book Civil Society and the Professions in Eastern Europe by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy