METHODOLOGY \PRINCIPLES \Archaeology \ 308theo
1: G. Buccellati, November 2004

Theory

Introductory
Theory of the archaeological process
The epigonic factor

Introductory

     The interest in theory has dominated the field of archaeology since at least the early seventies. The enormous effort in this regard has been characterized by an ongoing confrontation with existing, non-archaeological, systems of thought that have been applied to the data of material culture, whether resulting from direct excavations, or obtained from the ground surface during surveys, or again available as discrete items in a museum setting.It is to a much lessere degree that attention has been paid to a theoretical approach that focuses first and foremost on archaeology from within.
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Theory of the archaeological process

Excursus

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The epigonic factor

     It is generally the case that in the wake of innovative bursts of energy within a given intellectual field there develops a tendency to imitate extrinsically the surface of what has been creatively said at the origin. The epigones adapt the mechanics of an argument, with little or no critical judgment being brought to bear on the argument, and with even less original thought being displayed.
     Archaeological theory has lent itself to such a development to a degree, and in the immense literature on the subject one must be weary of the potential for such a phenomenon.
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