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Nunamiut
Ethnoarchaeology
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Lewis R. Binford
~ Oeparlmenl 01Anthropology
University 01New Mexico
---,...-' Albuquerque, !'JewMexico
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SrudlesinArche%gy ACADEMIC PRESS New York San Francisco London ó-O~~-b,
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AcompleulLrI01t¡desinIhhurlelsppea,saltiteendofIhisvolllme. A5ubsidiaryofHarcourt Brace[ovanovích, Publishers
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Thla book,.dedlcatedlo
ALBERTC. SPAUIDING
CoPnlGtrTe 1978.aYACADEMICPaESS,INe. ProJ...,,'oJAothropolog¡¡
ALLJJOHTSII.E$I!JI.VED. Unlve""t]Io/California,SantaBarbara
NOPAll.TO.. TtUSPUBLlCATION MAYBEREPRODUCEOOk
TUNSNITTb11'1Al'iY~MOR BY ANY MEANS,ELECTRONIC
oa WBOIANICAL, lNCLlJDINO PHOTOCOPY.II.EC01l0INO.011.ANY
INPOI:WATION 5TOII.AGIlANDIU!T1lIEVAL'"TEM,WITlIOUT
P!IlNIISION INWIIUTINOPROMTUI!PUIlLlsnER.
ACADBMIC PR.ESS.lHC.
111F1ftIIIA,-.NcwYIlfl."'"York1001»
Unlt,dKintdDm &lido,.Pflbtlslt.by
ACADEMICPRESS.'Ne. (LONOON) LTD. -.
14/21o.al~Ofod.u.doftNWI 1DX
LibnryofCongressCall1OSinllnPublicationDatl
8inford,t.ewaRoberll,Dale
• Nunamiulcthnoarchacology.
(Studiesinarcheologyseried
8ibliography: p.
Indudestndex.
l. fskimos--Aluka--Economiecondilionl. 2. Eskimos
-Aliukll--Food. 3. Eskimos--Alaska--Anlíquilies.
4 Aluka--Antiquities. 5. Animalremains (Archaeolo~)
--Alukl. l. Tltle.
¡':99.nIJ56 )01.5'2'09798 77-7712R
I~DN O 12-100040--0
'1UH1l!.DIN milUNrrl!OSTATI!So.AMElUCA
Contents
Acknowledgmente. xl
Abbrevlatlons. xiii
Introductlon 1
1 The Economlc Anatomyof 5heepand Carlbou. 15
Meal Utl/lty. 15
Comporlsonsbetween 'heAnImal., 18
Constroctfon ofa MearUtlllty l"dexíorAriotomfcalPort. o/Coribou and Sheep, 19
BoneMarrow and the Constructlon o/oMarrow Inda. 23
BoneGrease and the CorutructfonofGrelJleUtilfty Indlces. 32
Cultural Bla.veDU. ObJectltleFood Prriference•• 38
2 SomeGeneralConslderaUona:Butcherlng.KiliSlte•• andRecordlnsProcedun••41
ButcherlngProcedure, 48
RecordedCose, o/InltJalFleldButcherlng, 51
Cach'ngondSecondary Ffeld Butcherlng. 55
ButcheringVarlablllty, 59
Summaryo/ButcherlngData, 60
Meosurlng Dlsmemberment, 64
Ivil I
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(vIII/ Cante_ Contents (IxI
ColculatlngtheNumbero/Indivlduals from Done Counu. 69 6 Summer. 255
MeasurlngGeneralUtlllty InReall.tlc Terma. 72
ConllumptJon inthe Contcmporary Villogcand Inthe Po.t. 257
Looklng01the Emplrlcal World. 75
SummerHuntlng and Logl.tics. 265
Sexand AgeDoto. 85
SummerResldentlolLocallon.01'heRecentPa.t, 320
Summol'Y. 87
Modellng theSummcrRe.identlolSfte•• 327
3 Meat Star.ge. 91 Summary. 342
Dry Storage. 91 7 Fan. 345
ButcherlngProcedureJollowedforDrylngCarlbou Meot. 94
Contemporary FoilHuntlngStrotegy, 346
Dry/ngRocks. 97
Consumptlon ondStorogeInFallRe.ldentfaltocatlon••369
Constroctlon o/theDryingUtfllty l"deJe,101
Late FoilSheep Huntlng ond theUse o}Sheep InFoilResldentlalSUes, 406
Sorne EmplrlcolMaterialRelatlvefaDryMearStores, 111
Summary, 416
Evo/uotfng the Ut/lltyofMode/. ond Indlce.. 111
ProceSl/ngDebrl.from DrylngActlv/llee, 114 8 Wlnler, 425
FrozenStorage. 123
Wlnter ResldentlolLocatlons. 428
4 food Prece••lngand Con.umptlon. 135 Modeling FaunolContentso}WlnterStora. 435
ConsumerDC!!mand. 135 ConsumerDemandandMNls RepreMntedInoRe.ldentlolFauno'AasembJoge. 447
Food Shorlngondthe Dfstrlbutlon 01AnatomlcalPomfaConsumere:. 139 9 Conclusl6ns, 451
Consumptlon andFoodProcess'ng, 144
Partem,o/ProceNfngBonesJorMarrow. 152 Part1:The Meanlnflful Anolysl.01Auemb'ogeContenta, 452
Manufactureo/BOReGreax. 157 Part 1(:Toword'he Meanlngful Anolyal.ofPattemlngInAseemblageCharacterlstlc••
Locatlon. andRe.ponslvenento GeneralSy.tem Chonge, 482
Manufacture0180neJufceondRelotedMarrow-Proceu'ngInSummerSltes. 163
Summary. 165 References. 499
5 Sprlns. 169 Index.503
Early Sprlng MordtorlngandEncounterHuntfng. 169
Mld.prlngorMlgradon Huntlng, 171
LoleSprlngHunllng. 178
SprlngCon.umptfon IntheContemporaryVillogeondInthePost, 191
Mobl1lty. SprlngDrylngActlvllle•••ndRe/oledLogistfc•• 223
Glimp.esIntothePoat-SummerStorageunderMoblle Condlllo,.. When Meat WaaDrled
larHumonCon.sump"on. 235
The SprlngSV.tem. 245
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Acknowledgments
There are no adequate words te express ficult conditions and certainly enjoyingvery
rny gratitude to the people of Anaktuvuk few personal cornforts. Many of the resulta
Pass, Alaska, for thetr patience and kind reported stemdlrectly from the hard workof
attention to educating me in the ways of the followingpersons:CharlesAmsden,Clin
Nunamiutsubsístenceandsurvíval.Through tonBinford,MarthaBinford, CathyCarneron,
out my entire experience amoog the Nuna Don Campbell,T. WeberOretzer, PattyMar
miut, JohnnyRulland was myconstantcom chiando,MiloMcLoud,BiIIMorgen.IohnOr
panionandfriendoTohim1oweaveryspecíal fali,Caroline Reeves. [ean-Phllippe Rígaud,
thanks. He will alwajs occupy an equally MikeRotonda.PeggySchneider,jackSnyder,
spedalplaceinmymemory.Manyofthe peo Robín Torrence, Dan Witter, Allison witter,
ple of Anaktuvuk Pass weJcomed me into and Richard Wortman.
theirhornes,ontheirtrtps,andintheircamps; Yetotherpersonscontributedtothe success
they were "informante." and they helped ofourfieldwork in Alaska. Paul Shannahan,
with the logistics formy research teams. The our bush pilot, was elways cheerful at the
followingpeoplecontributedtime, guidance, prospect of aplane full of bones, dogs, Es
information,encoumgement,and cornpanion kimos, students,oralmostanything.He kept
ship to me and rnycrew membcrs: BobAh U9infoodandf1ewU5outofsorneofthemost
gcok, jack Ahgook, Noah Ahgook, Rhoda improbableplaces onecould Imagine.
Ahgook, Danny Hugo. EllenHugo, Martina Jim Crowder, a former trader te the
Hugc. Zacharias Hugo, Arctic john. Elyjah Nunamiut, gavemeaccess tohis tradingrec
Kakinya, Anna Morry, Billy Mcrry, Susan ords, provided many hours of fascinating
Morry. David Mekiana, Rachel Mekíana. jus conversationabout the old days, and putup
ticeMekiana, Raymond Paneack, Robert Pa with verydirtyanthropologistsand students
neack, Roosevelt Paneack, Siman Paneack, alhis hotel in Fairbanks.
SuziePaneack,jarreRulland,LazerusRulland, WilliamE.Woodcock, A.L. Miller,and Ar
Ruth Rulland,andLouisaStein.1oweaspecial nold Weichert flew their small plane aHthe
debt toCyrusMekiana, whopermitted meto way from MilesCity, Montana, to take the
see the diaryofhis father (HornerMekiana), excellentaeriaIphotographsthat servedasthe
and the récordsofhis father's sto-c. basis for most of the regional maps of the
My crew members were dedicated and researcharea.Theysuffcredbadweather,(1I1
chccrful, In-queuüy worklng undcrVl'ry dlí- tUl\.'ShOl'k,andil flighlinhl¡\tXIX(¿lny~m Ihi\(
Ixll
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[xIIJ AclmouN'edgmentll
neneofus willeverforget. 1trulyepprecíate 3.8, and 6.18 were rendered by[ene Gulko.
theirhelp, talent, and expertise. The typingwasdonebyLisaEdelhoff. These
john Qack) Campbell convlnced me that people made a substantial eontribution, and
Anaktuvuk was the place to work and Ihat 1 becamenearmembersofthefamilyduringthe
could in fact accompUsh my reseerch goals preparationof this book.
there.Hevisitedmycampssevera!timesand 1am particularly grateful lo the following
was alwaysawelcomesourceoí information persona for the use of their photographs:
and fun. WendellDswalt(Figure 5.34),RobertRausch
My friend [ohn E.Pfeiffer made the long (Figure 2.1), and John M. Campbell (Figure
trek from Pennsylvania lo Anaktuvuk Pass 5.1).
and shared caribou meat and long hours of Without the support of the Wenner-Gren
conversation.Hehelpedmetoseethegoalsof Foundation for Anthropologieal Research
Abbreviations
my workmorec1earlyinthemidstoítryinglo (grantNo. 2376),the NationalScienee Poun
getplanesintofeedthecrewe,makingcertain dañen. end the Doris Duke Oral History
that bonebags did not get IOSI, and keeping Foundation, this work could not have been
crewrnembersfromgettlngsickaftertheyfell aeeomplished. Lita Osmundson of the Wen
intoan ieyriver. ner-Gren Foundation was encoureging and
HereinAlbuquerquesevera! studentshave supportive ot the early phases of the work,
The fcllowíng are the abbreviationsmostcommonlyused in thís volume.
contributed significantly lo the analysis and particularly that done in 1969. Major finan
organization oE the data presented. [ack B. cing for the 1971 and 1972 work carne from ANATOMICALPARTS
Rertram, Robert Hitchcock, Richard Taylor, the National Science Foundation. Funds for ANT Antier OT Distal tibia
and Robert Vierra have helped me a great my work in 1970 and during the winter of 5K 5kull TAR Tarsals
deal. To them 1am most gratefu1. 1971carne from the DoriaDukeFoundation. MANO Mandible AST Astragalus
The ílluetretícne were prepared by Alen To these agendes simple expresetcns 01 AT Atlas CAL Calcaneus
OsbomeandEmilyAbbink, andFigures3.5, gratitudeare inadequate. AX Axi. MT Metatarsal
CERV Cefvícalvertebrae PMT Proximal metatarsal
mOR Thoracíc vertebrae OMT Distal metatarsal
LUM Lumbarvertebrae PHAl1 Plrst phalange
PElV Pelvis PHAl2 Second phalange
SAC Sacrum PHAl3 Third phalange
R Rib.
5T Stemum
se Scapula INDEXES FOR MODELlNG
H Humeros GUI General utility index
PH Proximal humeros IGUI Inverse general utility index
OH Distal humeros MGUI Modified general utility index
RC Radío-cubitus IMGUI Inverse modified general
PRC Proximal radio-cubitus utility index
OC Distal radio-cubítus CMGUI Conservativemodífiedgeneral
CARP Carpals utility lndex
MC Metacarpal ICMGUI lnverseconversative modified
PMC Proximal metacarpal general utility index
OMC Distal metacarpal MUI Meat utility index
F Femur MI Marrow (utility) index
PF Proximal femur GI Crease (utility) index
OF Distal fe-mur WG¡ WhHe-grease (utility) index
T Tibia IWGI Inverse whtte-grease (utillry}
PT Proximal tibia Index
[xlIII
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Introduction
Befcre 1delve inlo the details of my work variabilítyin pnttemedconfigurations. lhave
aOlong the Nunnmiut, Iwant.t€Jlo'iel.feAh.-tIw sorne evídcnce for dynamics, changos that
ideasthjltprompk>d.,J;bestudy.Thesearevery occurred in the pasto I know that somcthing
basic ideas, indeed-they focus on the ques happened. that sorne dynarnics were upt.'ra
tionof precisely what archaeologists do. tíve, but1do not know why thc changosoc
Archaeologistsattcmpt lo make systcmatic curred: neitherdo Iknowanythingabout the
obscrvanons on the remains of past human charactcrnftherhanges.1'0makcostatcmcnt
bchavior: Ihat is, thev investtgatc the ar abouI the charactcr uf changos I must first
chaeological record. The archacological rec QSSigll ml'atlillg to the conternporary fects oí
ord, howcver, iscontcmporary, and any ob thc archacological record.
scrvations thal 1,as ,10nrchaeologist, make Supposc1observethatameta'hlUI isprl's
through the excavatlon of an archaeological ent in a particulararchaeologlcal sttc. Exarn
sitearecontemporaryobservations.Myinter ining additional sttes. I may note that metal
est isin (he past but rny observationsareon tools are present in some but not all of 'he
the present. sites. Accuratedatingtellsmethatallthesites
Tu pursue my interests1mus! accompllsh without metal tools Me older than the sitos
two quite separare kinds uf acts: (o) I mus! with metal tools. Imay nsscrt Ih.11thispattem
prnjl'('( my HlIlh'll1l'"rMY obscrvatlons.1l'(U n-ñccts lllt..'cvcuts of thc iuvcntiun uf 11H.'1.11·
ron-lyilltut111'p.rstand (/1)Imustassígumean lurgy. If I also discovcr 1l1l't.11 louls ;\1 .1(
inglo my observations. 1accomplish thefirst chaeologlcal sltes in adjacent regions .11 time
throughmethodsofdating.Jmay thenexam periodsincreasinglymorerecentasafunction
me these proicctod and ternporally arrangcd of theirdistencc from the reglen initiallyob
obscrvuñons for forms of pattcming. JfIfind scrvcd. Imay asscrt thet th¡s paucrn rcflccts
11I
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[2] IncroductJon IntroductJon 131
the spread DEmetallurgy tootherplaces.The Thus. the archacologíst might vlcw a recov ThisvicwpropOSl'Sthatculture,theideasor wíllv.uy wilhIn...r"'lilUI,u'\llólrtiv" .,itu,\ti...nl,llhl'
definitionDEsuchpattemsin no way tellsme ered artifact and make judgments as to the "idcational guides for living" hcld in thc groupant.lthl'charnctcrl.ft,lsksbdnJ:f'l'rl,unw..l.\V,,
whytheyexistoMyassertionsare descriptions skillof the maker, his artistic sense, and the minds of men, is simply projected into theír would Ih.'rdutl'~'llp~'(1vólri,\bilílyinIhl'"r(h,l""ln~k,d
of the world as known and do not provide degreethathe seemedtosharecertainartlstic products.Theproductscan thusbevíewedas recordlorcñectIhl'St.'diffr-rentsítoóltion!'.
enswers to the question oíwhy the world is vetues of the archaeologist's culture. The accurate reflections of mental templetes, so Aut'mblag...smaythereforebeexpectedlot,dlibilvari
the way it appears. meaning archaeological remains carried be culturein turncanbeseenasa modelofpast .abilily coecomuaat wilh the variou, "slrurlurol\
Let'stakeanotherexample.tf1(a)observea carneastatementon thecharacterand quality dynamicsnurmallydiscussedinthecontextof pu!l<.'~"(G\',lrin,; 1%2) uf n rummunil)' Ihruu¡th 111'
seriesofsmaU,moldedobjectsintheformofa of the maker. Ifartifacls were crude by the artifact production. Few would disagree Ihal .annualadaplivl'cyetv.Inólddition,manv,'1:O;:O;l'mbl,l~l'S
human Iemale, (b)assertthateachobjectisa archaeologist's standards then the makers planningIscharacteristicofacts offabrication may be expectod lo vary directly wilh·lhl·dl'J;n.''''!t.
mother goddess, (e)project into the past a werecrude. Ifartífactswere "beauñfu!"then andthatfabrication planaare guídedbysorne whirt1thecommunitymay beparliliont'dinlt. sp('dfir
seriesoí archaeologicalassernblages, sorne DE the makers were advanced and had "ad· ideas regarding the desired outcornes. This kinds01task groupings for p('rformingwork al dif
which yield mothergoddesses,(d)recognizea venced" aesthetíc senses. "fabrication model" comes ínto question fbeereexntpelcolcle'duoltnlls'K.hInibsith,u'rrtr,dlal's(s"lt'ambvl,'ml~.t.'l'yvuafrisalb'¡i;lmit.y'nmlsal'y{
patterned distribution both temporally and Gradually, this paradigm forgivingmean~ whl'nWl'ask whetheritisrelevanttoal!facts
cornmunilylir..-an<.\(,lnm'l.1lwaysb.,.'t'llJ"I·t'll-...l Inl']l
spatially,and(e)ask thequ~slion. "Whywere ing to the contemporary faels gave Wé1Y to and palternsobservablein the arch<1eological hilo¡t~imil.uilil'si\s;¡dm.·..lr..·r¡"O....ion"rIlw<"tllltinuilil's
mothergoddesses invenled and incr~asingly otherarguments. Itwas rt'aStmed thatilper (t'curd.15it<1nadt'tluatt'<1ndaccuratl'dynamic amun,: lhl' pl'r!i\,nS pl'rrtlr\11ill~ lllt' ,1..1s.Símil,mhl'S
distributed overwidergeographical areas?" I son'soveralJ intelligenn'orcapacity for"hu mnde! that aCl'ounts for Ihc frct.luency vari nlolY1'llu"l1yrdll..·.1nmtinui\i.'sinth\'...h,1r,Kh'r01lhl'
havealready restricted rny thinkinglo apar manness" isnotnecessarilydirectly transiat abilily in an archacological <1ssemblage?Do ilct~ p"rfllrnll'd. Dillt'n'nn's n1ólY,lris.' whl'n thl' ,.r
ticularcontextinvolvingreligion, cults, ritual ablcintoaccomplishments,andthatmanyin makersarrivc uo a site and procccd to fabri g.lni/.,lliun uf ,lclivitil'S VMi..'" h'mpor,llly and1tlr
behavior, and the like. 1may then seck lo tdligent m,-'" can produce crude pmducls. catl'an<1ssembl.l~t.'ofh)(}lsrt'lillivl'tu,1mt'nlal sp,lli"ny, r...~u'lil1';in ,1v.Hid\' ,,1'\~""n\t>li\~l' 1)'J'<'"
understandIhedistributionandlhecuntextof Fi\cturs ulht'r than thust' inlrinsic Iu thl' <1r tcmplale of what iln ilppropriatc "as· ,hM,I\"l"ristÍf,,1thl' hIt·uf,1¡;IVI'nnJlnmunilyIlIinl<.'hl
appearance of these Iittle fernale effigies in tifact's maker condition his behavior, 50 we semblage"shouldlookJike?Isilreasonablelo 1':172:1321.
termsofargumentsabouttherole of religion can not legitimatelyuse the human producls expect Ihal men carry in theirheads fabrica At the time1wrotethe foregoingstatement
in human life, the symbolic importance of recovered archaeologicallyas a statementon tionplansforwhatarchaeologicalsilesshould there was no directempiricalsupportfor lhe
femalesandfertility, andsoon. Butsuppose1 the "quality" of the produeers; rather Ihe looklikeaftertheyleave? An uneasinesswilh argument. It represented a plausible view of
hadatimemachineandwasabletodetermine productsare tobeseenasastalementon Ihe Ihe basic model linking Ihe dynamic past to archa{!ologicalformalion processes, butthere
thatthl?objectsare not mothergoddessesbut "culture"ofthe makers.Forinstanee,accord~ the static facls 3f Ihe contemporary ar werenoempiriealstudieslodemonstrateIha!
toys, or perhaps magieal devices used to di ing to a commonly ciled statement, cultures chal;>ologieal record leads me to question the what was plausible was indeed realistic.
vine the sex of children before birth. Under are "hislorically crealed designs for living, relevance ofthis linking model. In>dd~"onlngth.eMI'OR'fé"r'l>1
these ascriptions of "meaning" I would be explicit and implicit, raliona\' irrational. and Under the "Iraditionalisl" paradigm, the ~gehetwoon-~ ~.na-mics'...nd1'1'('5
directed to pursue very different lines oí non·ralional, whichexislalanygiven thneas compositionofanassemblageismeasuredby ent stalie-data, 1was issuing anothcr chal·
thoughtin seekingan explanationfor tht.'cf potential guides for the behavior of man rclalive frequt.'ncit.'sof recognized dasses of lengelo the lhen prl'vailingviewofIhe past.
figies' appearanceandgeographicalsprcad.If IKroeberand Kluekhohn1952:971."8uilt into artifacts.Redundaneyisaccepledas"patlern· Underthe fabricalion model characlerislicsuf
1am to make aceurale statements abauI the this definition of cullure are lhe rules for its iog" and hence a manifestation of the "cul_ thearchaeologicalrecordwerelinked directly
past or even to engage in relevanl forms of ownexplanation.Cultureissaidtobehistori tural norms" of behavior transmitted and to differing mental lemplales, which in turn
thought I must have a relatively aecurate cally c!"ealed. Thus iI is not surprising Ihat, shared among Ihe peopll;> represented. The were labulatl'd ilnd summ.lriud as a "Imil
understanding of the context in which Iht' viewinghuman prnductsas rdlectiuns\,fthe aS~l'mblagt.· is t'l)uated wilh lhe comll1unily. lis!" uft'nullleralt'dcullurl'. Iwa!'sUAA,-'sting
Ifacts of the archaeological record carne into culturecarriedbythe makers, wecan hopeto The expectation isthatifwe are dealingwith notonlythattht'archaeolu~icill(t'cordderiV\.'~
b.€'ing. cnnvert ctJntt'mporary ubservatinns intu the (t'milins uf idcnlkill ur rclill,-'dgruupsuf (rom <.1lt .ld,'pl.lliun but "Isu IIIflI ada,'MlillllS
The-reJevantputtoalet01slaticfactsofthe statemt'nts about past culture, We can com pt.'oplc Ihe cnmposition of Ihe assemblages hllVealltheprofX'rtiesufasystemin which vari·
contemporaryardteological recordcan--onJy pare the contemporary facts uncovert>d as a should besimilarsincetheyshareacommon ous componenls are rcsponsive lo une
be Ihe conditions that brought,the obwrved result of excavation wilh other, similarly re· body ofculture. 1challenged this paradigm: anotherin theirongoingopcration. The basic
lads into existenc:e. Much of the history uf coveredremains,t'valuatethedifferencesand elemcnls or componen!s uf !he system are
archacologicalwork hasbecncharacterizedby similftritit'~,..nd arran~l' Ihem laxnnomic<1l1y Thl'b..·hilvil'rillm,...lt·1n..("~ni"_l'Sthatbl..havit'ri~llw unilsof(.rganintiun rathl'rth<1ndiscreteelt'·
ehangingvicwsasloIheconditiunsprodudn,; tuexpn'ss Iht, de~rt'e h) which they indicalt' tlyn,lInk~I,1,1\I,ll'l,lti"ll.1"'1'1'1\,drawIIp..tnóln'J'l'rltlin.' mt'nts as vit'weJ by us in Iht' cont'-'mpmary
tllrullur,¡lt>.\lk~T<'UIlJ,lile!~']lp"ril'nn'ttlmt'l'lo.:hant;
archacological faels. Far many years--and sharedculture. Whenatempur<11asscssmt'nl world. On(>cannut undcrstand the workings
io¡;ur v,lri,lt>ll'nll1ditiun~io lhcircovimomt'nt, bolh
even today in many places-the dynamic can bemade, we can trace, through our as· social ami physical. OUr ~llpedatioos, then, are for of an automobile through a strategy Ihat
standing behlnd an archaeological fact was sessmentsofsimilariliesand differences, the variabililyin tht' ard'laeologicóllr{'("orolorene-clava enumerates alllhescrews, nuts, springs, and
IhoughtlobesimplyIhemakerofIhearlUact. historyol cultural developmt>nl. ri...tyufdilfl'rt'nlkindsufcupingsilualions. Aclivilies otherparts.Cnemustfirsldevelopsomeway
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141 lntrodudlon Introductlon 151
uf fl'cogni:r.ing baslc functlonnl componvnts. dynnmlcs. wcdiffl'rl'd(Inthc chamcterof thc planationsoffcrcdinanswcrtuthcqucsnonof the world works. Undvrcrisis condiuons wc
suchas cnrburetore, distributurs, andvoltage dynamlcs believcd responsible for obscrvcd why the worldisthc wayitappearstobe,The mustevaluntcourrulesforknowiug. not Pro
regulators, and then seeklounderstand how ercbaeologicel faet! and therefore on the rnethodsufhypothesistesting,deductíverea posals for understanding whal is known. To
these units articulate with one another and meaningsIhat couldberationatlyassignedlo soning. and so on that characterize an epís my knowledge there are no procederes that
ínterectunderdifferingconditionsexterna!lo them. lemology based on scíentifíc rnethods in no areclear-cut whenaparadígrn Isquestioned.
the system lo which they are responsive. In a more basíc sense, we were arguing wayaddress themselvesdirectlyto theprob Atsuch timeswecanonlyattempttodemon
Waysofdevelopingarealisticappreciationfor abouItherelevanceofconceptsandinmmthe lemoíknowingwhattheworldisHke:theyare strate that the world is different from the
the characteristícs ofa system ofadeptation operational deflnitions associated with thcse part of a procedure Ior evaluating Prcpo picturewe wouldobtain hadthe conventlons
must be sought, since the model of a" au concepts. Definitions are basic tools used to sitions as to why it ís the way it appears. previously assumed becn npplicd lo given
tomobileorotherhandyrnechanícalsystcmis give meaning lo what we see. Thcy providc when wc doquestton ourconventions for expericnces. We must oncmpt to ínvcnt ncw
apt lo mislead us if wc attcmpt to use it lo thc links betwecn conccpts, our íools Ior knowingwcarequcstioningquitedirectlyour convcntions more'lpprtlpri.l!l' Inoutexpon
apprcciate the organizational propertics of a thinking about the world. and observable view of the world, the meanings we give to ence and seck lo dimin<1le ambiguities Ihal
flexiblebehavioralsystem.5uchflexibilitycan propertiesof Ihe world. JIis Ihe operalion of experience. This questioning produces whal might plague the use of these new conven
~ thought uf ",5 dcriving frum rcspunsiVl' translaling perccptinns inlo cognitiw units Kuhn(l1.J64)hascallt'd ilcrisispailld-.1 perind linns. This is ,1 prllblem (lf dl'vl'1nping nt.'w
mndific.ltillnS thruugh thl' uSt,' uf .,ltl'rníllivl..' th.11prnvidl'sthl' nw.lnin~forSl'nsoryl'xpt'ri tiuringwhi\:h11h'CllIlVl'lltinnsforkn(lwin~arl' ennn'pls and .1ssocinll'J "opl'r.llitllMI <h'fi·
stratq~icsand vari"bk' means to ¡lCcomplish cnces. The conccplsare Ihe conwntiuns thal unn'rtain ant1 no one knnws how to give nitions," ne.'w Iinks bt!twcen expl'rienee ilnd
similar ends. "'w-.. give the"paradigmatic"charactertoanyfield meaning lo what he sees. During such a our tools for m,,'aningfully describinr; il. We
U"""",-,~-,,io)'lohl'mab(~. ,~.",rast ofendeavor. IfwequestionIhe utilityeitherof period, therefurc, Ihere is no agreemenl on may~t.'l'k1<1juslifyboththt'concl'ptsandthl'ir
dynilmics wc miW"t 4'U1hdpatt·_mueD, varí conceptsnrof thl' ddinitinnsassnciatl'd with probll'm, pron'durt', or nims tlf,1 scit.'nct.'. ddiniti<H1S lo <IUf nll1('.lgul'S. Slil'h justifi<..1
aboility in thc .,JlI:haculugical r..·coro that is them, we arequeslioningthe basic ¡'culture" lion normal1y consistsllfargumentsas lo Ihe
dir~clJy reIerahle not lo differences-btttween ofascience,Atthis poiotwearenolquestion· In such Iim~'sof crisis this (tlnniel "v\'r lh\",lims \,f re<llity basis fllr the concept. and in turn Ihe
sY~J~{Jl.s,but todifft'ri"g51oft'so[/J-siNgle5.'1$/cm. iog a IhcuryabuuI Ihe way Ihe world wurks, sdl'nn'willb..Cl,m\,',lCult'.W('"ndthllSl'whl'SO.H\,'our utilily of the conccpt for Ihinking abOUI l'X
We mightalsoimagineIhat systt.'ms diHering since such theories are always phrased in .,llilud\,' will hop..lo m.1kl'nl'Wdi!i(ovt'rh'~; ,md wc periencc.
in overall or~ani7..ali()ncould Wl'1\ share very terms uf understandings ab<lOt the Wi\Y Ihe Sh,,11 hop.: Il' 1:>1' hdpl'd in this by.1 nl'.....lyl'n'rkd Sd,,'nce is b,1Sl'd on Ihl' pn'mist' Ih.1tIht'
simililrstri'l!l'~iesuf,ld.lplillitm. 5i1l'SI1MI.ll' worldis.Tlworil's.1ttl'mpttoanSWt'rt111'<llIt'S ';"¡"Illilk sy...l'·IIl. -1huso WI' ...h'll1 1,110.\, 1111' ",n',.h'sl l'xlt'rnal world is kntlw.lhlt', .llld kl1tIW.ll"JI\"
IU,llly n'pn'st'nl .1Il....IIl~tIUS silU;llitllMIst.lks liun, "Why is11ll'world 11n'W,lYit apP('<1TsIn ;nkn'~('"Ilw1.,'~iI\~lIg'·"I',·rim,·nl.W.'sh"lI1I.,ilI1"s tf;rl'rI11/; lh.ltis,itis<Il"l·l'ssiblt'. Wlwnourtuols
mighl be groupl'd, under Ihl..' lfi'ldilional be?" OfcourseIhewayIh,,'world"appl'arsto ,1~lh'll'S"',("r,1lI,lSop,·.wdIIp'Il'W...i~I,I'"mil',\...".rl" fnr appr,,'hcnding thl' world are questioned
mcthodsofanalysis,assimilarsystems, 5uch bl''' is condilioned quite directly by our onft'wIll'Wellpl't)!:f,i~tw'rniln-'lslns',hAounlddWfulr'nSihs,hllluhs,lilwiilth\,'vn\'tn'wi1l"hr\g"~uI'· thi!re isbul one rccourse: toSt'ckt'xpait'lICt's¡rr
argumenlsareplausible.butas with thebasic paradigm or set of convenlions (or giving mt.'nlsagainslOUT(lwn m(lsln.'ceol thl'l'rit's. BUlIhe theulflrld, experiences Ihal can elucidale the
challengeto the fabrication modelilself there meaningloexperience. WE'may queslio,n the nl'wlyrisinf;slrurtun." Ih.' buldnt'ss01which wt'IIJ· usefulnt"s~ and accur,1CY o( our 10015 for ap
was no empirical dl'monstration supporting usdulness of thc(lries and slill operah.' in mirl', ísSl't'llt>yIh.,con"'I'nlilln¡¡lisl,lSiIm.>num,'nlIn pre-hl'ndingímd de-scribingreality.lnlurnwe
them. lerms of whal Kuhn (1964) hascalh.,,<t l10rmal 111\' h'ldl roll.,psl' uf scit'nn'. In th.' I'YI"" "f Ihl' follnW.l~trall'~yIha!, ili..hnped, willprompt
While such "processual" Vil'WS of thl' na sci('lfcr. Thill is,illlhough wc may bt.'skl..'plical f""\'.'"lillll,,hslnlll'prindplc"nly.-anhdpu~11'Sdl'1:1 ourinvenlivl'n",sssuchthnt n4.'W((lnCl'pts will
tureofthe link....gl'betWl'l..'nslalicardl,ll'ohlgi· aboul .1 given l'xptan<ltion for thl' world as ,1 sy...h'nl ,1'" ti1\'fh"~I'11 on.' Irolll ,Im"tl); ,111olhl'r rl'suit, new hltlls ror dl'scribing more .1'CU
cal facls ilnd past dynamics Wl'n.'being de known, sueh skt.'plicism in no wayqUl'stions p"ssit>ll' s)'sh'nl';. il is lhl' prindplt' nfsd.'rlin~ lhl' ratl'ly thc propertil's uf nalure. As Frands
veloped, argued, and made available in the our tools for knowing. We do not challl'nge simpl.'st syslt'm-tll" sim,,¡.'Ms!/slm,"fim,,/¡'-¡I","illi Bacon suggesled (in C(lmmin~ and Lin!'oC<ltl
tl,m. whi."h,,1"'lIrs,'ml'"nsinpr,lrliú'lhl' ··r!.lssk"l"·
-Iiterature,Iwascngagcdinrl'searchandcon Iheconvenlionswhl'rl'byWl'~ive.'me.,"in~f(l 1'147, 78--85),
sysl."" 1,1 Ih.·.I'lYJl'upp\'r Iq~q:l'tO---liJI
troversy primarily with Franc;ois Bordes re experiencl'.
~toardcienrgtatihne aaprcphroaeporlioagteicmaleanfaicntgs lorlb.'egagridviln'ng coOnvnetnhleioonlhse-trhhta'nudti,liitfywnefd(lourq(uncnslni'opnt!I'¡hlelld~ llllDl'sutriionngl'dti,mweshwt'nheInlwIheddpianrialdioignmalhcaosnVbet..'.'nn· .M1..,m'l1,1lll:>Iu,nind¡l:;'rI~hI,\''lSl<l'1T\',S11Il'1tl,1l1l1l<d1l;n,mlt'drpT~,\'tlll'rlunrfhIMI'tllul\r'.·0.1-1.',t1w11
h,,~ "['!'>I'n'I'" in I,Kl,'r in llll'\l~hl ,,11110' ,..lit"" ..1
Moustl'rian material from buth EUropl' and the rules h)r their appropriate USl'-Wl' are tions fur givin~ nll'ilning lo e.'xperit.'nCl' .1fl' n,llurt';b.'\"I'n.1lhislwtwitlwr~1lt'\\'S,IIl\"lhil1~1""',111
Ihe.' Ne.'arEast (sec 8inford 1')72; Binford and t.lucslinning Iht' wrycharílcIl'rufouralll'gl'd unth'ri\U,Kk, lhl'r",isgre.11 confusion. Some ,1..'Illvlhill~
8inford 1966, 1969). Thes<.' ar~uments weTl' knowing. Ihl'chilrilcll'rofourunderstc1ndin~ s"'l'k 111 t'valual", "n4,.'W" (nnn'pts and ddi· .",;, mu...lk,ldn""1 lo 1111' p,lflkulM~ IIwm...·lv.·~.
nol relalt.'d lo the character of pron..'sses re ofthe way Ihl' worldis, not simplyideasasto nitions through Ihe melhods o( normal "nti Ih('ir >;c'ri.'o;"ml I'rl!l'r; \\'h.l1' ml'n I'n Ilwir si.k
sponsible for culture changl" l'volulion, and why ilisIhóltway. Nurmalscicncl'in Kuhn's sl."Íl'nc,,'-lh,,' USI..' <.f de.'ductive reasoning, mu..lfptú'Ih,·ln.....I..."...for,1whill'1"1,lv11wlrti"ln'n...
Ihe Hke;they werea din'ctconfrontalion rl' (1964) ferm!; proct.'eds in Iht., wnlt.'xt of an hypolhl'sis Il'stin!;. .md tht' Iikl'. These by,mIlb.:~ill 1"I,llllili.lrill'Ih.'m'I·ln'.;wilh I,lds
garding the assumed Iinkage betwe..'n con assumed paradigm. Normal scil'nct' is con mt.'thodsd()nol wmk. They wcredesignedas The s..'arch fur cerlain, relevant l'xpl'rienn'
tcmporary archaeological facts and past cerned with evaluating fhe usefulness ufex- methods for l'valualing ideas about the way is Ihe coneern of Ihis book. Iam nol dirt.'clly
