Systems theory in archaeology
Encyclopedia
Systems theory in archaeology is the application of systems theory
and systems thinking
in archaeology
. It originated with the work of Ludwig von Bertalanffy
in the 1950s, and is introduced in archaeology in the 1960s with the work of Sally R. Binford & Lewis Binford
's "New Perspectives in Archaeology" and Kent V. Flannery
's "Archaeological Systems Theory and Early Mesoamerica".
s and the relative influence of these parts followed rules which, once formulated could be used to describe the system no matter what the actual components were.
Binford stated the problem in New Perspectives in Archaeology, identifying the Low Range Theory, the Middle range theory
, and the Upper Range Theory.
At the time Binford thought the Middle Range Theory may be as far as archaeologists could ever go, but in the mid-1970s some believed that Systems Theory offered the definitive Upper Range Theory.
Archaeologist Kent Flannery did some very important and pioneering work in this field in his paper Archaeological Systems Theory and Early Mesoamerica. Systems theory allowed archaeologists to treat the archaeological record
in a completely new way. No longer did it matter what you were looking at, because you were breaking it down to its elemental system components. Culture may be subjective
, but as long as you treat it mathematically the same way as you treat a retreating glacier then unless you attack the model of Systems Theory in general then your results were undeniably objective. In other words the problem of cultural bias no longer had any meaning, unless it was a problem with Systems Theory itself. Culture was now just another natural system that could be explained in mathematical terms.
values that Systems Theory requires for full use, as Flannery himself admits. The result was that in the long run Systems Theory was less useful in explaining change as it was in describing it.
Systems Theory also eventually went on to show that predictions that a high amount of cultural regularities would be found were certainly overly optimistic during the early stages of Processual archaeology
. Ironically enough this is exactly the opposite of what Processual archaeologists were hoping it would be able to do with Systems Theory. However it was not completely a disappointment and Systems Theory is still used to describe how variables inside a cultural system can interact.
If nothing else the use of Systems Theory was an important early step in the rise of the New Archaeology. It was a call against the Culture-Historical methods of the “old timers”. It was “proof” that archaeology could be done scientifically and objectively and that information about past lifeways could be discovered, and that the pitfalls that seemed so overwhelming could, perhaps, be sidestepped as long as archaeologists were rigorous enough.
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
and systems thinking
Systems thinking
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
in archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. It originated with the work of Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy was an Austrian-born biologist known as one of the founders of general systems theory . GST is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics, and other fields...
in the 1950s, and is introduced in archaeology in the 1960s with the work of Sally R. Binford & Lewis Binford
Lewis Binford
Lewis Roberts Binford was an American archaeologist known for his influential work in archaeological theory, ethnoarchaeology and the Paleolithic period...
's "New Perspectives in Archaeology" and Kent V. Flannery
Kent V. Flannery
Kent Vaughn Flannery is a North American archaeologist who has conducted and published extensive research on the pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, and in particular those of central and southern Mexico. He has also published influential work on origins of agriculture and...
's "Archaeological Systems Theory and Early Mesoamerica".
Overview
Bertalanffy attempted to construct a general systems theory that would explain the interactions of different variables in a variety of systems, no matter what those variables actually represented. A system was defined as a group of interacting partPart
Part may refer to:*Part *Part , a relation in mereology*Part , the music played or sung by an individual instrument or voice*Parts , a 1997 children's book by Tedd Arnold...
s and the relative influence of these parts followed rules which, once formulated could be used to describe the system no matter what the actual components were.
Binford stated the problem in New Perspectives in Archaeology, identifying the Low Range Theory, the Middle range theory
Middle range theory (archeology)
The middle range theory in archaeology links archaeological data describing how people use objects with the human behaviors or natural processes associated with this use...
, and the Upper Range Theory.
- The Low Range Theory could be used to explain a specific aspect of a specific cultureCultureCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, such as the archaeology of MesoamericaMesoamericaMesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n agricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. - A Middle Range Theory could describe any cultural system outside of its specific cultural context, for example, the archaeology of agriculture.
- An Upper Range Theory can explain any cultural system, independent of any specifics and regardless of the nature of the variables.
At the time Binford thought the Middle Range Theory may be as far as archaeologists could ever go, but in the mid-1970s some believed that Systems Theory offered the definitive Upper Range Theory.
Archaeologist Kent Flannery did some very important and pioneering work in this field in his paper Archaeological Systems Theory and Early Mesoamerica. Systems theory allowed archaeologists to treat the archaeological record
Archaeological record
The archaeological record is the body of physical evidence about the past. It is one of the most basic concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record....
in a completely new way. No longer did it matter what you were looking at, because you were breaking it down to its elemental system components. Culture may be subjective
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
, but as long as you treat it mathematically the same way as you treat a retreating glacier then unless you attack the model of Systems Theory in general then your results were undeniably objective. In other words the problem of cultural bias no longer had any meaning, unless it was a problem with Systems Theory itself. Culture was now just another natural system that could be explained in mathematical terms.
Criticism
Unfortunately archaeologists found it was rarely possible to use Systems Theory in a rigorously mathematical way. While it provided a wonderful framework for describing interactions in terms of types of feedback within the system, it was rarely possible to put the quantitativeNumerical data
Numerical data is data measured or identified on a numerical scale. Numerical data can be analyzed using statistical methods, and results can be displayed using tables, charts, histograms and graphs. For example, a researcher will ask a questions to a participant that include words how often, how...
values that Systems Theory requires for full use, as Flannery himself admits. The result was that in the long run Systems Theory was less useful in explaining change as it was in describing it.
Systems Theory also eventually went on to show that predictions that a high amount of cultural regularities would be found were certainly overly optimistic during the early stages of Processual archaeology
Processual archaeology
Processual archaeology is a form of archaeological theory that had its genesis in 1958 with Willey and Phillips' work Method and Theory in American Archeology, in which the pair stated that "American archaeology is anthropology or it is nothing" , a rephrasing of Frederic William Maitland's...
. Ironically enough this is exactly the opposite of what Processual archaeologists were hoping it would be able to do with Systems Theory. However it was not completely a disappointment and Systems Theory is still used to describe how variables inside a cultural system can interact.
If nothing else the use of Systems Theory was an important early step in the rise of the New Archaeology. It was a call against the Culture-Historical methods of the “old timers”. It was “proof” that archaeology could be done scientifically and objectively and that information about past lifeways could be discovered, and that the pitfalls that seemed so overwhelming could, perhaps, be sidestepped as long as archaeologists were rigorous enough.
Further reading
- Sally R. Binford & Lewis Binford (1968). New Perspectives in Archaeology. Chicago, Aldine Press.
- K.V. Flannery (1968). Archaeological Systems Theory and Early Mesoamerica". In Anthropological Archaeology in the Americas, ed. by B. J. Meggers, pp. 67-87. Washington, Anthropological Society of Washington.
- Bruce Trigger (1989). A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge University Press: New York