Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process

Lewis R. Binford

doi:10.2307/2693985

journal article Oct 01, 1965

Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process

Lewis R. Binford

American Antiquity Vol. 31 No. 2Part1 pp. 203-210 · Cambridge University Press (CUP)

View at Publisher Save 10.2307/2693985

Abstract

AbstractIt is argued that the normative theory of culture, widely held among archaeologists, is inadequate for the generation of fruitful explanatory hypotheses of cultural process. One obvious shortcoming of this theoretical position has been the development of archaeological systematics that have obviated any possibility of measuring multivariate phenomena and permit only the measurement of unspecified “cultural differences and similarities,” as if these were univariate phenomena. As an alternative to this approach, it is proposed that culture be viewed as a system composed of subsystems, and it is suggested that differences and similarities between different classes of archaeological remains reflect different subsystems and hence may be expected to vary independently of each other in the normal operation of the system or during change in the system. A general discussion of ceramic classification and the classification of differences and similarities between assemblages is presented as an example of the multivariate approach to the study of cultural variability. It is suggested that a multivariate approach in systematics will encourage the study of cultural variability and its causes and thereby enhance the study of culture process.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

28

[1]

10.2307/277514

[2]

Longacre (1963)

[3]

10.1525/aa.1954.56.3.02a00200

[4]

Brew (1946)

[5]

10.1525/aa.1955.57.4.02a00050

[6]

Deetz (1960)

[7]

10.2307/278380

[8]

Cronin (1962)

[9]

Linton (1936)

[10]

Ritchie (1955)

[11]

Willey (1958)

[12]

Caldwell (1958)

[13]

Herskovits (1948)

[14]

Taylor (1948)

[15]

(1964)

[16]

10.1525/aa.1962.64.6.02a00030

[17]

10.1525/aa.1954.56.1.02a00050

[18]

Redfield (1941)

[19]

Rouse (1939)

[20]

Mckern (1935)

[21]

10.2307/276087

[22]

10.1086/soutjanth.19.1.3628924

[23]

White (1959)

[24]

Caldwell (1962)

[25]

10.2307/277517

[26]

10.2307/277290

[27]

Aberle (1960)

[28]

10.2307/277515

Cited By

272

Isochrestism and style: A clarification

James R. Sackett · 1986

Journal of Anthropological Archaeol...

Style and Ethnicity in the Kalahari: A Reply to Wiessner

James R. Sackett · 1985

American Antiquity

Style and Social Information in Kalahari San Projectile Points

Polly Wiessner · 1983

American Antiquity

Metrics

272

Citations

28

References

Details

Published: Oct 01, 1965
Vol/Issue: 31(2Part1)
Pages: 203-210
License: View

Authors

L

Lewis R. Binford

Cite This Article

Lewis R. Binford (1965). Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process. American Antiquity, 31(2Part1), 203-210. https://doi.org/10.2307/2693985

Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process

You May Also Like