Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Direct historical approach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The direct historical approach was an archaeological and anthropological technique developed and promoted by such American scholars as William Duncan Strong, Waldo R. Wedel, and others during the 1920s and 1930s.[1]
Proponents of the methodology argued that one could extrapolate backwards in time from known historical periods into prehistory. By studying a site with known historical occupations and then excavating it to establish prehistoric activity, it was reasoned that by using analogy and homology based on the historical data, theories could be postulated about the past society that had used the site long before the historical records were made.[citation needed]
The approach works well where continuity can be demonstrated but is less useful in regions where significant differences between prehistoric and historic societies are known.[citation needed]
- ^ Lees, W. B. (April 18-22, 2001). "The impact of the River Basins Surveys Program in historical archaeology" (PDF). Paper presented at the 66th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana.. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
 |
This article relating to archaeology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |