Meanwhile, in the Americas, Alfred V. Kidder conducted extensive work at Pecos Pueblo in New Mexico, using pottery typology and stratigraphy to construct cultural sequences. He emphasized anthropology’s role in archaeology, leading to the integration of archaeology within broader social science frameworks.
The 20th century saw the rise of academic departments, field schools, and national archaeological surveys. Gordon Childe, an influential Marxist archaeologist, promoted a theoretical framework that linked material culture with socioeconomic evolution. His concept of the “Neolithic Revolution” introduced the idea that agriculture and settlement transformed human society.
New Archaeology and Beyond
By the 1960s, a new generation of archaeologists—led by figures like Lewis Binford—launched what came to be known as the “New Archaeology” or Processual Archaeology. This movement emphasized hypothesis testing, scientific rigor, and the use of models to explain cultural change. Binford argued that archaeology should focus on cultural processes and universal laws rather than mere description.
However, this scientific positivism soon faced criticism. In the 1980s and 1990s, Post-Processual Archaeology, led by Ian Hodder, challenged the idea of objectivity. Post-processualists emphasized human agency, symbolic interpretation, and the role of ideology in shaping material culture. They viewed archaeology as a narrative and subjective endeavor, closely tied to the present. shutdown123