3: Contemporary Archaeology (1960s and Beyond)

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Learning Objectives

Explain what processual archaeologists thought was lacking from the classificatory-historical approach.
Describe the integration of ethnographic techniques with archaeology.
Explain the multiple approaches to analysis that arose from processual archaeology.
Describe the basic principles of post-processual archaeology.
Explain the goals of contemporary archaeology.

3.1: Evolution of Archaeology
Franz Boas and the American archaeologists developed the classificatory-historical paradigm but it had its limitations. In the 1960s, archaeologists began to develop new approaches to address those limitations.
3.2: Archaeology Today
Today both processual and post-processual paradigms are used in archaeological research. Both approaches contribute to meeting archaeology's one overarching goal: managing, conserving, and preserving the material remains of past societies for future generations.
3.3: Chapter Three Review
Review important concepts and definitions of key terms.

Image: Archaeological Excavations at a prehistoric American Indian site in North-central Oregon (USA). 1977. By John Atherton under CC BY-SA via flickr.