The Americanist Literature for 1983

A Year of Contrasts and Challenges

Bibliographic Data

ID4533684
AuthorsRobert C Dunnell (corresponding author)
Year1984
Volume88
Issue4
Pages489-513
Publication date1984-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/504738
OpenAlexW2333472973
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited56

In contrast with the consolidating character of the Americanist archaeological literature of recent years, the literature for 1983 contains both shifts in emphasis and emerging challenges to the theoretical position that has dominated the past two decades. The outcome of these changes is by no means settled, but Americanist archaeology is nevertheless more diverse than it has been for many years. Substantive contributions remain conservative and largely within the culture historical framework. The dominance of lithic and faunal studies in their respective domains is giving way to innovative work in ceramic analysis and paleoethnobotanical studies. Cultural resource management (CRM) continues to be the center of debate, but in 1983 theoretical challenges of wide potential impact have been added to the more pragmatic considerations of past years. A brief examination of historical archaeology, only recently drawn within the Americanist approach, shows it to reflect the main themes and problems of the larger disciplines. Only in the area of field techniques is development apparently linear and progressive. The most important development, however, is the continued appearance of non-materialist, non-scientific interpretive models, particularly those that can be loosely termed "symbolic approaches." These approaches are in direct opposition to the basic tenets of the new archaeology that have served as the theoretical core of Americanist archaeology for two decades. The rise of alternative approaches is seen as a direct consequence of the failure of the new archaeology to develop theoretical tools for assigning meaning to archaeological phenomena in a way that is consistent with its materialistic underpinnings

Archaeology · Dominance (genetics) · Epistemology · Materialism · Opposition (politics) · Political science · Sociology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Natural History · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Philosophy

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