Archaeological Theory:

Archaeology as Popular
Culture

Nothing is more difficult to

predict than the past
Archaeology 1B

Archaeological Theory a brief history

Archaeological theory = Intellectual framework(s) we use to
understand or interpret the past from the archaeological evidence

Archaeological Theory a brief history

Three principal theoretical frameworks

CULTURE HISTORY

DESCRIPTION

PROCESSUALISM

EXPLANATION

POST-PROCESSUALISM

INTERPRETATION

Archaeological Theory Culture History

CULTURE HISTORY
Description and classification of
artefacts and sites
Devising chronologies of past events
based on artefact typologies and
site stratigraphy
Identification of past ethnic
groups/archaeological cultures
based on similarities in material
culture

DESCRIPTION

Archaeological Theory Culture History

CULTURE HISTORY
1950s advent of radiocarbon
dating
Criticisms of culture history
1. Accounted for change in
terms of external pressures,
i.e. demic/cultural diffusion
2. Ethnic groups dont equate
to material culture
3. Pessimistic

DESCRIPTION

Archaeological Theory Processualism

PROCESSUALISM

EXPLANATION

New Archaeology = Explaining change

through scientific hypothesis testing
Reconstructing social organization,
economy and environment
Universal laws to explain human
behaviour
Prevailing theoretical framework

Archaeological Theory Processualism

PROCESSUALISM
Criticisms
No universal laws identified
Concept of objective reality
unsound
Archaeological interpretation
is subjective

EXPLANATION

Archaeological Theory Post-processualism

POST-PROCESSUALISM
Interpretive archaeologies
All forms of reconstructing or
remembering the past depend
on contemporaneous social
conditions
Historical particularism

INTERPRETATION

Archaeological Theory Post-processualism

POST-PROCESSUALISM
Human agency
Minority groups
Archaeological evidence = text
that can be read in different
ways
Many different ways of
interpreting the past = multiple
narratives or meanings

INTERPRETATION

For details see

http://www.catalhoyuk.com/

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Constructed c. 3000 BC to c. 1600
BC
Main features
1. Banked circular ditch
2. Two main entrances
3. 56 Aubrey holes
4. Concentric circles of sarsen
stones
5. Bluestone circle and inner oval
Located in a rich archaeological
landscape

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Cemetery for elites
Cremated remains of men,
women and children = elite
families?
Stonehenge = a place for the
dead

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Cemetery
Stone Agefor
Lourdes
elites
Numerous skeletons with
pathologies buried near
Stonehenge
Amesbury Archer
Many of these individuals were
non-locals
Bluestones traditionally believed
to have curative properties
Stonehenge = a place of healing

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Cemetery
Soundscape
for elites
Stonehenge designed as a
soundscape
Stones positioned at points of
sound cancellation

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Celestial
Cemetery
Observatory
for elites
Stones were aligned to allow
specific astronomical events to
be observed e.g. summer and
winter solstice
Predicting the seasons would
have been extremely important
to early farmers

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Cemetery for elites
Stone Age Lourdes
Soundscape
Celestial Observatory

Stonehenge Multiple Narratives

Archaeological Theory Post-processualism

Professional credentials do
not give archaeological
narratives weight over nonacademic interpretations
Non-academic narratives of
Stonehenge proliferate

Archaeological Theory Post-processualism

Archaeological Theory Post-processualism

POST-PROCESSUALISM
Principal criticism
No explicit methodology
veracity of different narratives

INTERPRETATION

Archaeology as Popular Culture

Archaeology is a modern construct it
tell us as much about our own society
as it does about the past
What is the value of archaeology?
To understand its value we need to look
at how the public view archaeology and
the study of the past
Holtorfs definition of popular
culturehow people choose to live
their own lives and what they find
interesting

Archaeologists searching
for the past will instead
find their present.
Cornelius Holtorf
Archaeologists fulfil a
social role that is widely
appreciated in society.
Cornelius Holtorf

Archaeology as Popular Culture

To some extent we all
(professionals and public alike)
create the past by preferring
certain interpretations, artefacts,
sites, etc
Arguably, archaeology exists
today only through public
interest
Archaeology is in the service of
society

Public Perception of Archaeology

<2% of the public have contact with an
archaeologist
Perceptions of archaeology are
influenced by the media literature,
gaming, TV, cinema
Distortion for the sake of narrative

Public Perception of Archaeology

Archaeologists = gun-toting
adventurers or explorers, looking for
treasure in exotic locations
Archaeology = exciting, risky but
rewarding
Sinister undertonesexcavation is
synonymous with the underworld and
disturbing the dead

Archaeological Reaction
Some archaeologists are outraged by
these distortions
Hugely successful and renowned for
making British Archaeology accessible
Large amounts of funding
Still heavily criticised
3 day deadline
Time-condensed for entertainment
value

Archaeological Reaction
Popular archaeology is a threat to
academic archaeology
Holtorf: misconceptions held by the
public should be used to
guide archaeology as a
developing discipline
understand what the public
want/expect of archaeology

Archaeology as Popular Culture

Media portrayals highlight
inequalities and malpractice in the
archaeological profession
Persistence of western imperialism
and Eurocentric archaeological
practice and interpretation
Looting indigenous cultural
heritage

Archaeology as Popular Culture

Value of archaeology to present-day
society?
Holtorf argues that what the public
want is to experience archaeological
excavation
Archaeology is about and for people,
or it is nothing

Archaeology is as much
a set of experiences as
it is a body of
methodological
principles or
techniques. Michael
Shanks

Archaeology as Popular Culture

Many archaeologists are beginning to
respond to the expectations of the
public
Public viewing platforms
Community archaeology
Open-access laboratories
Academic emphasis on impact
Open-access publication

Guided Reading
Holtorf, C., 2004. Archaeology as Popular
Culture.
Johnson, M., 1999. Archaeological Theory.
Wiley-Blackwell.