Americanist Stratigraphic Excavation and the Measurement of Culture Change

Authors: Lyman R.L.; O'Brien M.J.

Source: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 06, Number 1, March 1999 , pp. 55-108(54)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

Many versions of the history of Americanist archaeology suggest there was a “stratigraphic revolution” during the second decade of the twentieth century—the implication being that prior to about 1915 most archaeologists did not excavate stratigraphically. However, articles and reports published during the late nineteenth century and first decade of the twentieth century indicate clearly that many Americanists in fact did excavate stratigraphically. What they did not do was attempt to measure the passage of time and hence culture change. The real revolution in Americanist archaeology comprised an analytical shift from studying synchronic variation to tracking changes in frequencies of artifact types or styles—a shift pioneered by A. V. Kidder, A. L. Kroeber, Nels C. Nelson, and Leslie Spier. The temporal implications of the analytical techniques they developed—frequency seriation and percentage stratigraphy—were initially confirmed by stratigraphic excavation. Within a few decades, however, most archaeologists had begun using stratigraphic excavation as a creational strategy—that is, as a strategy aimed at recovering superposed sets of artifacts that were viewed as representing occupations and distinct cultures. The myth that there was a “stratigraphic revolution” was initiated in the writings of the innovators of frequency seriation and percentage stratigraphy.

Keywords: chronology; culture change; stratigraphic excavation; stratigraphic revolution

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211

Publication date: 1999-03-01