Michael Brian Schiffer
Encyclopedia
Michael Schiffer is one of the founders and pre-eminent exponents of behavioral archaeology. Schiffer's ideas, set out in his 1976 book Behavioral Archaeology and a number of journal articles, are mainly concerned with site formation processes. His most important contribution to archaeology is his rejection of the common processualist
assumption that the archaeological record is a transparent fossil record of actual ancient societies. Schiffer explains that artefacts are destroyed and transformed by numerous cultural and natural processes.
In his 1972 American Antiquity
article Schiffer explained that artefacts generally pass through numerous social contexts of procurement, manufacture, use, recycling and disposal and that the same kind of artefact can enter the archaeological record
at many points through this trajectory. As societies become more sedentary, the archaeological record typically seems to be one of garbage disposal.
Schiffer's body of theory and method is based on the idea that cultural and natural processes (C-transforms and N-transforms) convert the 'systemic context' (the original dynamics between culture and material objects) into the 'archaeological context' (the record of artifacts examined by archaeologists). Although this approach has been criticised, notably by Lewis Binford
, it has permanently affected how archaeologists interpret the archaeological record.
In the 1980s Shiffer's interests expanded to include technological change, especially historic electric and electronic technologies
. In the 1990s he also engaged with Darwinian evolutionary theory
in his archaeological work. This work has been favorably reviewed but Schiffer remains best known for his behavioralist archaeology publications. He is currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona
.
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...
assumption that the archaeological record is a transparent fossil record of actual ancient societies. Schiffer explains that artefacts are destroyed and transformed by numerous cultural and natural processes.
In his 1972 American Antiquity
American Antiquity
The professional journal American Antiquity is published by the Society for American Archaeology, the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The journal is considered to be the flagship journal of American archaeology.American Antiquity is a quarterly...
article Schiffer explained that artefacts generally pass through numerous social contexts of procurement, manufacture, use, recycling and disposal and that the same kind of artefact can enter 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....
at many points through this trajectory. As societies become more sedentary, the archaeological record typically seems to be one of garbage disposal.
Schiffer's body of theory and method is based on the idea that cultural and natural processes (C-transforms and N-transforms) convert the 'systemic context' (the original dynamics between culture and material objects) into the 'archaeological context' (the record of artifacts examined by archaeologists). Although this approach has been criticised, notably by Lewis Binford
Lewis Binford
Lewis Roberts Binford was an American archaeologist known for his influential work in archaeological theory, ethnoarchaeology and the Paleolithic period...
, it has permanently affected how archaeologists interpret the archaeological record.
In the 1980s Shiffer's interests expanded to include technological change, especially historic electric and electronic technologies
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
. In the 1990s he also engaged with Darwinian evolutionary theory
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in his archaeological work. This work has been favorably reviewed but Schiffer remains best known for his behavioralist archaeology publications. He is currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
.