Difference Between Archaeology And Post-Processual Archaeology

The development of archaeology has created two types of archaeology, which are post-processual and processual. Both distinct schools goal is to develop an explanation and explain the past. Despite their similarities, both types of archaeology gather information and explain the evidence differently. Processual and post-processual both have their own historical development, expressed goals, theoretical orientations, and the types of cultural reconstruction made. Processual archaeology is known as the new or scientific archaeology because it requires computers, absolute data techniques, and using the scientific method (hypothesis). W.W. Taylor came up with this in the mid 1940’s because he argued that the methods that archaeologist used

It aroused because of the disagreement of the new archaeology, since it focused too much on environmental adaptation, did not take in account human knowledge, and it was too rationale. Post-processual wanted to get rid of limits like gender, age, which are important in a culture. It wanted to take in those feminist theories like whenever women made pottery by looking at the ethnographer, look at a single gender community, and then bringing historic stuff to explain “how do we know this happen.” Humans are free agents who act in their own interest rather than following rules and even though they know the rules they choose to modify them. Hodder found out that by talking to people they tend to explain things different and that each one has a different history which causes them to retain certain

The first one is technology/economy because its purpose is to help organize the behavior of the people in a culture and call social artifact (help see how people interact with each other). Then goes social/political helps archaeologist see the political view and the social group those persons belong to. Lastly, is religion/ideology which are artifacts like a figurine incest burner, which helps organize people (what they should do). The type of science processual archaeologist formulate or argue is that it needs to be tested before saying something, focus on explanation as opposed to explication, excavating 100% of the sight before going deeper instead of digging a few holes in the ground, and deconstructive of the past waves. Based on system theory, which the goal is to understand the complex factors that drive cultural change and explain people’s adoption to the environment factors. After excavating 100% of the sight (context) then we can talk about the behavior in a sight. If a person cannot use logical hypothesis deduction that cannot be tested do not ask the question and do not say things if you do not have evidenced. The meaning of artifacts is that by taking the architecture archaeologist could figure out the past cultures life and by looking closely which artifacts are related with that. These artifacts help us look at the community, but earlier