Robert Dunnell
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Dunnell was a theoretical archaeologist. He received his PhD from Yale University
in 1967. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington
.
Among Dunnell's research was the role biological evolutionary
theory can be used as a model for theories of cultural evolution. Dunnell felt the biological model was often incorrectly applied, he advocated the use of a Darwinian
model. Dunnell's approach advocates the evolutionary model to explain (cultural) variation, while exposing the pitfalls of using analogy to explain historical events.
Dunnell's geographical interests included the U.S. Midwest.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1967. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
Among Dunnell's research was the role biological evolutionary
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
theory can be used as a model for theories of cultural evolution. Dunnell felt the biological model was often incorrectly applied, he advocated the use of a Darwinian
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
model. Dunnell's approach advocates the evolutionary model to explain (cultural) variation, while exposing the pitfalls of using analogy to explain historical events.
Dunnell's geographical interests included the U.S. Midwest.
Selected bibliography
- Style and Function: A Fundamental Dichotomy. American Antiquity 43:192-202, 1978.
- Evolutionary Theory and Archaeology. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory: Selections for Students, edited by Michael B. Schiffer, pp. 35–99. Academic Press: New York, NY, 1981.
- Science, Social Science, Common Sense. Journal of Anthropological Research 38:1–25, 1982.