Fennoscandia archaeologica VI (1989)

Richard A. Gould

ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY AND THE PAST: OUR SEARCH FOR THE "REAL THING".

Abstract

Recent attempts by ethnoarchaeologists like Hodder and Binford to explain past human behavior lack credibility because they fail to identify or control for a wide enough range of relevant context. An alternative framework based upon "first order" and "higher or­ der" questions is proposed to provide a better approximation of the realities of past behavior represented in the potential archaeological record. This hierarchical approach permits ethnoarchaeologists, who normally observe fleeting and momentary behavior in present-day human societies, to recognize and evaluate the widest possible range of rel­ evant variables that structure the long-term historical reality referred to by Braudel as the longue duree.

Richard A. Gould, Department of Anthropology, Brown University. Providence, RI 02912, USA.

Ethnoarchaeology is an ethnographic approach an overall framework that belongs to the histor­ to the study of contemporary, living human ical sciences (geology, paleontology, paleoecol­ societies that seeks to identify behavioral reali­ ogy and astronomy) which assume that the prin­ ties that structure the potential archaeological ciple of uniformitarianism can serve as a bridge record. To do this, it combines with other ap­ to the past. That is, processes in nature observed proaches that have increasingly come to play a in the present can be assumed to have operated similar role with respect to natural factors that uniformly in a similar manner in the past. To do affect archaeological deposits and associations. this, these sciences require that the widest pos­ These latter include studies in processes of sedi­ sible range of relevant variables be identified, mentation and deposition, in the decay and dis­ measured and controlled for within the context persal of bone remains in geo-archaeological of the particular "past" being studied. By apply­ context (taphonomy), geochemistry, and other ing general uniformitarian principles such as, for approaches that Schiffer (1987) groups under the example, neo-Darwinian concepts of natural heading of "natural formation processes" in the selection and evolution in biology, or more re­ archaeological record. Schiffer's distinction be­ cently, plate tectonic theory in earth history, tween such natural processes - earlier referred general syntheses can be subjected to a continu­ to in his writing as "N-transforms" - and beha­ ous process of empirical testing, usually via vioral factors ("C-transforms" in Schiffer's ter­ lower-level operational principles that facilitate minology) has important implications for the this testing process. An example would be the way archaeologists attempt to infer past human array of operational theories in use today within behavior from archaeological materials. evolutionary biology and ecology - such as opti­ First, it implies that the same degree of scien­ mal foraging theory, succession theory, pre­ tific control is needed in data collection and dation theory, limiting factor theory, input-out­ analysis for ethnographic materials as is already put studies relating to energy flow, and others - widely in use in geo-archaeology, taphonomy, which provide controlled frameworks for empir­ and other explicitly "scientific" approaches ical testing of the more comprehensive theories within archaeology. These approaches fit within that stand behind each discipline.

3 So a second implication is that there is a viewed by (Earle and Prencel, 1987). This trend necessary and complementary relationship be­ has provided some stimulating ideas and debate, tween theory and empirical research. While this but it could also damage the scientific credibility relationship has been caricatured as a simplistic of the discipline. So far, such interpretations kind of Positivism by some of our leading theor­ have not figured prominently in publications on ists in archaeology (Binford, 1985: 583-9; Hod­ Finnish archaeology, but students here are (quite der, 1986), it continues to be a key component rightly) asking questions about this trend and in the process of archaeological inference. It is a what it might mean for archaeology. Some arch­ truism in the historical sciences, as in science aeologists are dissatisfied with what they per­ generally, that the credibility of a theory or gen­ ceive to be the narrowly constrained and even eral principle depends upon its ability to account antihumanistic direction to scientific archae­ parsimoniously for the observed data in particu­ ology. They regard scientific approaches and lar cases and, that, in each case, the theory must assumptions, particularly uniformitarian assump­ be able to withstand the test represented by that tions, as inadequate to explain all of the com­ data. plexities of human expressive behavior as they In short, the operating principles of the his­ often appear in the archaeological record. Such torical sciences provide a starting-point for con­ dissatisfaction is understandable, and nothing I sidering the place that ethnoarchaeology occu­ might say here is intended to discourage arch­ pies within archaeology. Uniformitarian prin­ aeologists from attempting innovative approa­ ciples and assumptions are widely shared in Fin­ ches to overcoming the apparent limitations of nish archaeology today, as witnessed by articles the archaeological record. We should always try that have appeared in the journal on subjects to generate the ful1est possible explanations for such as paleoenvironmental reconstruction and the variability represented by material associ­ prehistoric plant use, especially by means of ations in the archaeological record. But neither fossil pollen studies (Siiriliinen, 1982; Donner, can we ignore the limitations imposed by a scien­ 1984; Hicks, 1985 ; Tolonen, 1985), and are part tifical1y controlled approach to the archaeologi­ of a long-standing Scandinavian scientific cal record if we want to produce credible ex­ tradition of paleoenvironmental research related planations of past human behavior. to Pleistocene geology (including glaciology and varve studies) and palynology. However, there is a third implication to Schiffer'S view that under­ Competing "Ideas" of History lies all of these studies and makes it especially important for achaeologists to view their discip­ Ethnoarchaeological research initial1y consists of line first and foremost as a historical science. observing and recording the flux of everyday hu­ This is the assumption that there is a credible, man activity. In many respects, it resembles the knowable past - a historical reality that lies kind of participant-observation study of human outside the domain of individual, subjective im­ behavior carried out by sociaUcultural anthropol­ pressions and opinions. It is the domain of beha­ ogists, and it calls for many of the same skills. vioral realities that I referred to earlier, and it Above aU, there is a need to control for ethno­ applies equal1y to our concept of the human past centrism. For the ethnoarchaeologist, there is a as structured by natural factors and those of a kind of "double ethnocentrism" that must be more culturally constructed nature. It is the "real recognized and controlled for. First, there is the thing" that we seek to know through our achaeo­ ethnocentrism imposed by one's own culture and logical studies. Such knowledge requires an or­ personal experiences within that culture, and. ganized, controlled approach to the archaeologi­ second, there is the temptation to view past hu­ cal record (and, I would add, to the materials of man behavior in relation to the cultural categor­ historic archaeology as well as those of prehis­ ies and experiences of the culture being studied. tory). The Critical Theorists are not wrong when they Not al1 archaeologists, however, share this point out how our ideas of the past are strongly view. Right now we are seeing a surge of interest conditioned by the cultural1y and historically in subjective and intensely particularistic modes dominant assumptions of the present. Learning of archaeological interpretation, as evidenced by the language of the society being studied and the recent ethno-archaeological studies of Hod­ residing within that society so as to experience der (a leading proponent of this view), Paleo­ and understand the dominant cultural assump­ lithic cave art research (Conkey, 1984), and the tions of that society are both essential elements subject of Critical Theory in archaeology re- in this process of what I term "interactive ethno-

4 archaeology." It is not enough to measure and true in some quarters. But if we wish to choose control for such variables as diet, refuse and dis­ intelligently among these alternatives, a shared card patterns, technological materials and skills, framework for evaluating these different com­ settlement patterning and other similar sorts of peting ideas of the human past is needed. I am "external" forms of behavior, although I con­ suggesting that the opportunity and ability to sider these to be an essential part of ethnoarch­ choose intelligently rather than speculation, aeological field research. The ethnoarchaeologist however ingenious, logical or sincere, it may be, must also experience and control for different is a more appropriate kind of intellectual free­ ideas of history and the human past that arise in dom for archaeology. different cultural contexts. The philosophical objection to science as Collingwood's concept of the "idea of history" means of understanding the human past usually (Collingwood, 1946) is often invoked by arch­ arises from a sense of human freedom of action aeologists as a model for our study of the human and thought being constrained and even, to a past. It is certainly true that the past is over, and degree, determined by factors outside the con­ that anything we might say about the past today trol of the individual. Science, among other consists of our ideas about it. However, during things, discovers and measures the effects of fieldwork, an ethnoarchaeologist should ex­ "real world" conditions, usually in the form of perience different, culturally constructed ideas general principles or laws, that can be observed about the human past. These "emic" or insiders' and tested in the course of their operations in concepts of human history have their counter­ actual situations. Such general principles, not part within our own, Western culture, which is science, are what act to constrain human activity internally complex and contains many subgroups in particular situations. Failure to recognize such constituted along religious, linguistic, and other constraints when engaged in activities where lines. These are the "alternative Western arch­ such principles are relevant leads inevitably to aeologies" referred to by Hodder (1986, bad results. In scientific archaeology, ideas 157-164), and they include historical and arch­ about the human past lack credibility whenever aeological "pasts" that range from attempts by they exceed the limitations set by "real world" ethnic or special interest groups like Native factors known to have been operating during the Americans, Blacks and feminists to redress per­ period being studied. ceived imbalances in their history to such fringe For example, there was an attempt to posit a products as Atlantis and the Chariot of the "Pleistocene Overkill" argument for the Aus­ Gods. (In Helsinki I discovered a bookstore tralian continent (Martin, 1967) to explain the named "Rajatietoa" where virtually all of the extinction of megafauna there at the end of the current examples of this genre are to be found, Pleistocene. Because of Australia's unique bio­ and they occur in other bookstores as well.) A geographical history, with its early isolation from relatively new and popular kind of novel based the Asiatic mainland, the indigenous mammals on archaeological themes from the remote past, (with the possible exception of bats) there were usually the Paleolithic, has also appeared (best­ all marsupials. It is safer, therefore, on uniformi­ sellers include titles like Clan of the Cave Bear tarian grounds, to assume that the ancient and Reindeer Moon). The recent popularity of marsupials of Australia behaved more like their such books demonstrates the existence of modern marsupial counterparts in similar en­ alternative ideas of history. vironments than like modern placental mam­ Whether constructed from historic and arch­ mals. None of the modern marsupials of Aus­ aeological evidence or by pure fantasy, these tralia exhibit herd behavior or could reasonably alternative ideas about the human past require be termed "gregarious mammals." Even the so­ choices. That is, they are competing for accept­ called "mobs" of Australia's largest living ance. Collingwood does not provide a frame­ marsupial, the red kangaroo (Megaleia rufa) dis­ work for evaluating competing ideas of history, perse when pursued and lack any kind of herd so archaeologists must construct one for instinct or herd leadership. If one accepts this themselves. I realize that some of my colleagues assumption, it means that Aborigines living in (Hodder, in particular) will object by claiming Australia during the Pleistocene and until the that such an effort to set limits on speculation arrival of Europeans depended primarily upon represents an assault on human freedom of ex­ hunting game animals individually or in rela­ pression. My answer to that is that we are always tively small groups, rather than by means of free to speculate. I am sure the "rajatieto" will large, organized mass kills of entire herds, as continue to flourish and will even be accepted as posited by Martin. Thus it is unlikely that the

5 extinction of large-bodied Pleistocene mammals populations found an increasingly indented could ever have been due to human hunting ac­ coastline with even greater abundance of coas­ tivities alone. This alternative view is supported tal-marine and estuarine resources. She argues by archaeological evidence from Pleistocene that the more arid interior of Australia was fossil deposits at Lancefie1d, Victoria, where ex­ settled later, after the better-favored coastal cavators (Gillespie, Horton, et.a1.1978) have areas were occupied. So far, the archaeological found that large-bodied mammals like Macropus evidence tends to support her view, since most titan (a large-bodied animal probably ancestral prehistoric sites in the 40,000 to 30,000-year to modern kangaroos) persisted for thousands of range are located either along the coast or on is­ years while human hunting populations were lands that were once hills on a Pleistocene coas­ present in the same area, as shown by archaeo­ tal plain that is now submerged. An example of logical sites not far away dated in excess of this latter case would be Bowdler's (1984) exca­ 30,000 years. That is, human hunters and vations at Cave Bay Cave on Hunter Island, off Pleistocene megafauna co-existed in Australia the north coast of Tasmania and in what is now for at least 7,000 years before these species be­ the Bass Strait. came extinct. Martin's hypothesis, however, There are some difficulties with this idea. For would require that we accept the idea of their instance, it depends heavily upon negative evi­ extinction fairly shortly after the human species' dence, such as the expectation that most Aus­ arrival on the Australian continent, probably be­ tralian sites of Pleistocene age probably lie sub­ tween about 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. merged on the continental shelf, where access by In short, Martin's idea of history exceeds the archaeologists is difficult (although not imposs­ limits of what we know, based on scientifically­ ible, as recent Paleo-Indian studies in under­ based uniformitarian assumptions, about past water archaeology at submerged sites in Florida and present marsupial behavior. Therefore Mar­ demonstrate). Another example of negative evi­ tin's idea, which might perhaps be true in other dence upon which this hypothesis depends is the parts of the world where similar Pleistocene ex­ relatively late date for the earliest sites of tinctions occurred, such as North America and Pleistocene age in the arid central and western Europe, was probably not true for Australia, parts of Australia. So far the earliest site re­ where different biogeographical conditions oper­ corded for this region is only about 22,000 years ated. When tested empirically by means of arch­ old (Smith, 1987), so Bowdler~s idea continues aeological evidence, such as at Lancefield and at to stand. But it should also be remembered that other archaeological sites of Pleistocene age in arid Australia has never received the same de­ Australia, Martin's idea does not stand up. The gree of archaeological sampling and testing as archaeological evidence is more congruent with the more coastal areas. So archaeological com­ some other kind of explanation for Pleistocene parisons of this kind are not really appropriate extinctions of large-bodied mammals in Aus­ until better controls are available, in this case, in tralia, perhaps due to climatic changes which ap­ the form of better geographical sampling. Sites pear to have been underway around 15,000 years like Lake Mungo in western New South Wales, ago (Bowler, 1976). where radiocarbon dates in excess of 30,000 As a footnote to this example, an alternative years are available, could perhaps be viewed as idea of history regarding the spread of early hu­ an exception to Bowdler's argument. Today this man populations into the Australian continent site lies in a semi-arid area of ancient sand which does not require mobile human hunters dunes. But these huge, semicircular dunes once pursuing herds of large game has been proposed enclosed freshwater lagoons connected to the and is now undergoing archaelogical testing. Murray-Darling River system, which was more This is the "Strandlooper Hypothesis" (Bowd­ extensive during the Pleistocence than it is to­ ler, 1977) which argues that early human popu­ day. Thus the possibility exists that Lake Mungo lations in Australia were primarily adapted to represented a riverine extension during the coastal and marine resources and spread along Pleistocene of Bowdler's coastally adapted hu­ the shorelines and coastal plains of the conti­ man populations. nent. This idea fits the ecological facts of Aus­ These examples show that archaeologists in tralian biogeographical history better than Mar­ Australia must choose among competing ideas tin's. Bowdler points out how, as world sea lev­ of Pleistocene prehistory in the same way that els rose towards the end of the Pleistocene due archaeologists everywhere must make similar to the discharge of water into the world's oceans choices. Collingwood recognized the importance as the continental glaciers retreated, human of the "idea" of history as a construct within the

6 human mind, but he did not approach this con­ What is important here is the assumption, made struct from a scientifically controlled point of explicit elsewhere by Braudel, that there is such view. But if we accept Collingwood's view that a thing as human history that exists as an exter­ history is an idea of the past, why should scienti­ nal reality, beyond the flux and subjectivity of fic approaches to the idea of the past be more the moment. For Braudel, this external reality credible than any others? represents: " .. . a mathematical, godlike time, a notion easily mocked, time external to men, 'exo­ Historical Science and Braudel's Concept of genous', as economists would say, pushing "Longue Duree" men, forcing them, and painting their own individual times the same color; it is indeed, While ethnoarchaeologists observe and measure the imperious time of the world." (1980: 78) short-term behavior within the context of living, present-day societies, their goals are not the Attempts by historians to reconcile or integrate same as those of cultural anthropologists and these two concepts of time constitute, for Brau­ ethnographers. For ethnoarchaeology, these ob­ del, servations are really a means to an end. That end " ... the two contradictory movements of the is perhaps best described by historian Fernand mind, confining them within either the narro­ Braudel, whose work is (belatedly but deserv­ west limits of the event or the most extended edly) receiving more attention from archaeolo­ longue duree." (1980: 79) gists. Braudel's credibility in archaeological cir­ cles rests mainly upon his monumental study, A further paradox exists whenever we consider The Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip II the longue duree described by Braudel. Does this (1966), although it is his essays collected under time move in one direction ("time's arrow"), or the title of On History (1969; in English in 1980) does it operate cyclically, moving in a repetitive that are most often cited by archaeologists. For manner like the planets or the seasons? For Braudel the human past presents a series of Braudel, the longue duree of human history is a paradoxes that historians must struggle to "great structure" that: resolve. One such paradox involves the inherent difficulties of recording and integrating im­ " . .. travels through vast tracts of time without changing; if it deteriorates during the mediate, short-term human experiences of the long journey, it simply restores itself as it moment with the long-range developments that goes along and regains its health, and in the can be observed in human history - Braudel's final analysis its characteristics alter only very much-cited concept of longue duree. Related to slowly." (1980: 75) this view, he also points out how long-term his­ tory involves patterns akin to structural pro­ It is a kind of "slower tempo" in human affairs, cesses in nature studied by scientists - a domain bordering on the motionless, and forming a kind inhabited by archaeologists (who are mentioned of infrastruture for observing and evaluating the but whose time-scales are longer than even the more explosive, short-term events of human his­ longest duree discussed by Braudel) - and the tory. An example of this would be Braudel's particularities of the present or short-term, view of the institution of mercantile capitalism in which, in fact, does not exist except as a moment European history in relation to ships and naut­ arbitrarily frozen in time for purposes of study. ical traditions from the 14th to the 18th Cen­ This latter idea, termed "social reality" by Brau­ turies. Within the context of this grand structural del, is viewed as a kind of reality that does not theme, Braudel, in his study of the Mediterra­ lend itself readily to historical study, however nean world, observes and evaluates the particu­ much it may appeal to sociologists, anthropolo­ lar effects of geography and short-term historical gists and geographers. It is also the domain of events during the 16th Century. The results of ethnoarchaeology, at least when dealing with the this monumental effort at historical analysis can so-called "ethnographic present:" serve as a model for the discipline of archae­ ology, with the potential to resolve persistent "In its totality, social reality in flux is ideally, at every instant, synchronous with its history, debates in archaeology between scientific gen­ a constantly changing image, although it eralists and historical particularists, materialists might repeat a thousand previous details of a and mentalists, positivists and humanists, or thousand previous realities. Who would deny other contending points of view, however they it?" (Braudel, 1980:76) are labelled.

7 Ethnoarchaeology is a powerful tool for con­ 1986), Binford has argued that circumstantial structing and testing better approximations of and situational variables have more to do with the historical reality proposed by Braudel in his explaining variability in material assemblages concept of the longue duree. That reality, how­ than do cultural differences. This is a classic ever, is not self evident and must !:>e constructed theme in anthropology, and it has always en­ and tested in a particular way if it is to serve as joyed a close relationship to ethnoarchaeological an acceptable idea of history. Ethnoarchaeology interpretation. For example, the study by operates at two levels that may appear contradic­ Thomson (1939) of seasonality among the Wik tory. On the one hand, ethnoarchaeology per­ Munkan Aborigines of Cape York, in the tropi­ mits one to observe the widest possible range of cal north of Australia, is often cited by ethno­ differences in present day and recent human be­ archaeologists as a case of how seasonal differen­ havior, any of which could serve as a potential ces in economic activities produce differences in model for an alternative idea of the past. This material culture that could easily be mistaken for aspect of ethnoarchaeology possesses a wide ap­ the material by-products of different subcultu­ peal and is widely recognized by archaeologists res. While not exactly a new idea, this theme has (Watson, 1979:286). On the other hand, ethno­ been repeated and refined by Binford into a ma­ archaeology has the even more important role of jor position. It stands in clear opposition to the setting limits within which only certain possible more symbolic and ideational explanations of­ concepts of the human past, whether arrived at fered by Hodder and others who prefer to em­ logically or ethnographically, could reasonably phasize the culturally constructed nature of vari­ have been expected to operate. Since these two ability in the archaeological record. levels of ethnoarchaeological analysis are not en­ In one of his most recent efforts in this direc­ tirely congruent, there will always be debates tion, Binford (1986) argued that the notions of about the appropriateness of particular ethno­ style proposed by Sackett (1982) as potential in­ archaeological observations to interpreting the dicators of ethnic differences are unconvincing. archaeological record. Binford stresses, instead, the role of functional variables based upon the interaction of tech­ nology (in this case, related to Alyawara Abo­ rigine stone knife production) and such situ­ Controlling for Context: The Critique ational aspects of behavior as camp organization, personnel, raw materials, and other factors of "Context is everything!" Anthropologists and this kind that come together under certain cir­ archaeologists usually agree that it is always es­ cumstances. In this paper, Binford uses the sential to recognize and control for context in term, function , to refer not to the use or role of any kind of explanation of variability in human a particular kind of artifact, but to the relation­ cultural behavior, past or present. Recognition ship between technological variables within a of this fact has been one of anthropology's most particular cultural system and other situational important and enduring contributions. Disagree­ aspects of the circumstances under which mem­ ment, however, often arises over what constitutes bers of that cultural system behave. He sees this relevant context, and it is here that the strongest functional relationship as a more potent source differences arise over the role of ethnoarchae­ of explanations for unambiguous archaeological ology. These differences are especially strong to­ inferences than references to differences in eth­ day, as shown by the contrasting views of two nicity, symbolic meanings, or other cultural contemporary theorists and ethnoarchaeologists; norms. Binford and Hodder. Each of these ethnoarch­ I agree with Binford on the potential that such aeologsts asserts that one must control for con­ a general view has for interpretation of the arch­ text in order to draw archaeological conclusions aeological record. Elsewhere (Gould, 1980) I from ethnographic evidence. But each limits his have argued that all ethnoarchaeological expla­ definition of relevant context so narrowly that nation must be derived from an understanding the resulting conclusions lack credibility. Their of how each cultural system operates within the failures are useful, however, in helping us to ar­ context of its total biogeographical and sociocul­ rive at an ethnoarchaeological approach that will tural environment, with the aim of identifying overcome these difficulties. potential "archaeological signatures" of charac­ In a series of studies among the Nunamiut teristic kinds of situationaUy adaptive behavior. Eskimo (Binford, 1978) and, more recently, the What disappoints me in Binford's presentation, Alyawara Aborigines of Central Australia (1984; therefore, is how unconvincing his use of evi-

8 dence is in making the very sort of argument that eral individuals may participate in the pro­ is needed in ethnoarchaeology. duction of a single item like a stone knife. How­ For example, Binford never recognizes or con­ ever appealing Binford's argument may be, I trols for the fact that the Alyawara Aborigines in should point out that I saw this same kind of be­ his study live in relatively close proximity to Eu­ havior in which production activities related to ropeans and have regular access to important el­ the manufacture of domestic tools and imple­ ements of European-Australian economy and ments are parcelled out informally and per­ technology. My notes from a week spent at this formed by different individuals among the Nga­ same locality with James O'Connell in 1974 tatjara Aborigines of the Western Desert in (very close to the time Binford was there) recall 1966-70. Such task-splitting characteristically Aborigines with strongly-held traditional values occurred in the context of Aboriginal reserves, but who also drove cars, used rifles and shot­ missions, and other settlements close to Euro­ guns, listened to radios in camp, ate from tins Australians - that is, in contexts similar to those and boxes of prepared foods purchased at a I observed among the Alyawara living at Macdo­ nearby store, depended upon water from a nald Downs. With respect to domestic tech­ nearby mechanical well, and relied upon a nology, such task splitting rarely, if ever, oc­ variety of metal tools such as axes and knives. curred among traditional, desert dwelling Abo­ These are, in fact, the same people pictured in rigines in the Western Desert. There was one the illustrations accompanying Binford's paper, important exception to this, however. During and these illustrations show metal tools in use ceremonies, intense task-splitting occurred in re­ for various parts of the manufacturing process lation to the applications of body decorations for stone knives. In short, 61ements of Eu­ and in the manufacture of sacred paraphernalia. ropean-Australian culture pervaded at every Perhaps we should reconsider the Alyawara as level. When I visited the Alyawara, I never saw a group of traditionally-oriented people who, by anyone actually using a stone knife of the kind 1974, were becoming integrated into a larger, described in this study for domestic or other ac­ market based, dominant cultural system in a tivities in or around the camp. Perhaps I missed manner not unlike American Indian reservations something, but it seems to me that there is a of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. The question here, which is: Who were these knives same can be said for Western Desert Aborigines being produced for? Such artifacts appear from the living in close proximity to Euro-Australian time to time for sale in various tourist shops in settlements, and several accounts of this kind of Alice Springs, so perhaps this is where they situation are available (Gould, 1969; Gould, went. Or perhaps they were being produced for Fowler and Fowler, 1972; Tonkinson, 1974, a museum collection somewhere (a fairly com­ 1978). At the Laverton and Warburton Reserves mon occurrence at that time). If the Alyawara in Western Australia in 1966-70, most were producing these items for their own use, it traditional material culture items were produced would be useful to know more about this. As it for sale to Euro-Australians, either directly or, is, we have control whatever over the systemic more often, indirectly through the agency of the relationship between what, by 1974, was an Native Welfare Department of Western Aus­ anachronistic technology for the Alyawara and tralia. Money received from the sale of these the wider context of contemporary Euro-Aus­ items was used to purchase tinned and packaged tralian culture. foods, ammunition, petrol for old cars, and a This is not a minor point. One of the most range of goods and supplies similar to those ob­ important interpretive arguments presented by served at Macdonald Downs in 1974. In keeping Binford in this paper has to do with the way with Binford's situational orientation in ethno­ Alyawara Aborigines parcelled out tasks, with archaeological explanation, the Western Desert different individuals picking up and carrying on people at Laverton and Warburton in 1966-70 tasks in a rather informal manner until the arti­ were behaving differently in relation to their fact was completed. Binford contrasts this beha­ mode of production of domestic artifacts under vior with the Nunamiut, where an individual will "reservation" circumstances than they had been generally perform all of the tasks related to pro­ while living under desert conditions with a mini­ ducing an artifact. Of course, Binford is correct mum of contact (in some cases, no direct con­ in questioning the assumption which he feels at tact) with Europeans. That is, the functional re­ least some archaeologists share that there is a 1 lationship - according to Binford's usage - be­ person = 1 tool equation in artifact production, tween technological behavior and circumstances and he cites his Alyawara case to show how sev- was of paramount importance in accounting for

9 this difference. These "reservation" circumstan­ to explain variability in contemporary material ces included a new demand for artifacts of a culture and in archaeology with reference to cul­ traditional character for a mass market, resulting turally constructed elements of human behavior. directly in a sort of low level mass-production Here, too, we can see a failure to recognize or involving small, informally constituted task control for relevant variables - in this case, of a groups using steel axes, metal files, steel knives, more circumstantial nature. Hodder recently metal pen-nibs, and other hand tools of Eu­ analyzed data collected during successive field ropean origin. I shall even suggest that in this studies among the Ilchamus (also referred to as case we may be seeing an example of the kind the Njemps) of the Baringo District of Kenya, to of alienation of the worker from the completed address the question of why it is that the Ilcha­ product described by Marx as one of the essen­ mus were the only society in that region to dec­ tial attributes of mass-production under the con­ orate their calabashs with incised, rectilinear ditions of an industrializing capitalist economic designs. He rightly notes the inadequacy of ex­ and social system. In order to find income to planations that rely upon empirical, correlative feed themselves and their families, desert-dwell­ evidence, such as the idea that increases in the ing Aborigines arriving on these reserves from size of a social group will produce greater styl­ the Western Desert changed their mode of pro­ istic complexity in order to facilitate social inter­ ducing domestic artifacts literally overnight in action. Or that increased social competition for response to altered circumstances brought about resources leads to increased stress and a need to by a European-introduced economic demand mark resources by means of symbolic devices structure. like decoration. Perhaps the Alyawara case is not an exact par­ Cordell, et. al. (1987) describe arguments of allel to that of the Western Desert people. How­ this kind as "empirical generalizations," and they ever, due to a failure to recognize or to control contrast such approaches with explanations for the context of recent historical circumstances based on laws: surrounding the functional behavior of the Alya­ wara stone knife producers at Macdonald Downs "Empirical generalizations, even when they in 1974, we cannot tell what it was that actually are correct, are not explanations. Because structured their behavior in relation to the vari­ they are not derived from any theory about ability that might appear in the material record. the way in which the world or some portion of it works, we cannot know within what con­ Binford's evidence is ambiguous and fails to pro­ texts they are to apply. There are no pro­ vide a convincing basis for his conclusions, cedures for evaluating empirical generali­ mainly because he defines the context of human zations." (Cordell, Upham and Brock, 1987: situations and circumstances too narrowly. The 574) . real lesson of the" Alyawara Day" described by Binford is that we need to avoid tunnel vision One can, therefore appreciate Hodder's efforts when developing situational or circumstantial ex­ to move beyond such empirical generalizations. planations, since most human situations involve In an earlier publication (1980) I addressed this levels of context that go beyond the most obvi­ problem by noting that empirically observed ous or immediate "facts" of the externally­ regularities in archaeological patterning, so observed situation. The Alyawara case is much favored by the first generation of "new" especially important, because this kind of situ­ archaeologists, cannot be taken seriously as cul­ ation commonly arises in ethnoarchaeological tural laws because of their failure to confront research today. Instead of pristine, unsullied and explain as fully as possible the totality of evi­ traditional societies (did these ever really exist?) dence represented by material associations in the we now find human societies with varying de­ archaeological record. Scientifically constructed grees and modes of involvement with world mar­ laws or "lawlike propositions" along the lines ket systems and nation states. To deal adequa­ advocated by Schiffer (1976), whether derived tely with these kinds of complex contemporary from ecological sources, like Optimal Foraging situations, ethnoarchaeologists will need to de­ Theory and Predation Theory in the study of velop a more comprehensive and better or­ hunter-gather behavior, or more strictly utili­ ganized approach to the recognition and control tarian concepts like Zipfs Law (a variant of the of the widest range of relevant variables in their Principle of Least Effort) or Christaller's idea of explanations. Central Place Theory applied to archaeological At the opposite extreme from Binford's cir­ settlement pattern studies. have, on the other cumstantial approach, we have Hodder's efforts hand. proved useful to explaining patterning in

10 the archaeological record. But the use of such as a low-status occupation. But Hodder argues laws is not intended to account for all of the spe­ that their field labor was important enough to cific attributes of cultural embellishment in such discourage the Ilchamus then from having many areas as social organization, artistic expression, children, since women could not function effec­ or cosmology and religious beliefs. Hodder's dis­ tively as producers (farm field laborers) and re­ satisfaction with such "incomplete" explanations producers at the same time. is understandable, although it misses the point However, the Ilchamus dispersed their settle­ that these are not covering laws. They are in­ ments around 1900, abandoned intensive agricul­ tended only as relative approximations of beha­ ture, and turned to cattle-raising as their prin­ vioral reality, without pretensions to the sort of cipal livelihood. Hodder mentions several fac­ completeness that Hodder seems to expect. tors that might have affected this change. The Hodder's explanation of Ilchamus calabash rivers, along which the earlier villages were decoration is based upon a symbolic linkage in sited, silted up. The village populations were Ilchamus culture between decorated calabashes getting too big. The British colonial presence as "female" objects and the female activities of wa:; being felt then, with pacification as one of its milking cows and reproduction. If, as Hodder main effects, so inter-tribal raiding was stopped. argues, Ilchamus males are to achieve their aims Hodder (1986: 113) observes: of creating wealth for themselves and their linea­ "But all of these factors are not reasons for ges by accumulating surpluses of cattle and by change - they are only conditions of change, increasing the number of children they have, since in all cases the Ilchamus could have they must depend upon women both as pro­ stayed living in the same or other large villa­ ducers (milkers and tenders of cattle) and as re­ ges." producers. Since women in Ilchamus society are effectively denied any public role in political Instead, Hodder attributes these changes to a set matters, which resides entirely with male elders of intentions based upon a pre-existing valuation who make decisions collectively, Hodder regards of cattle as wealth, with a corresponding devalu­ calabash decoration as a mode of expression ex­ ation of agriculture and womens' labor associ­ clusive to the women to enable them to over- ated with agriculture. Ilchamus women no longer . come their "severe mutedness" in an otherwise worked in the fields. He asserts that: public male world. Hodder expands upon the theme of the sexual "It seemed 'natural' in this context for the symbolism of decorated calabashes in other ways women to begin decorating milk calabashes as well, especially with respect to ceremonies - items connected with an aspect of life that related to reproduction and witchcraft. How­ everyone valued positively and thought im­ portant for various reasons. The calabashes ever, recognizing that an ethnographic descip­ became decorated as part of existing cultural tion, no matter how carefully analyzed in insider dispositions within a new context. The prin­ or "emic" terms, is still not an archaeological ciples and aestetic sense concerning decora­ explanation, Hodder incorporates an historic tion were extended from female and young component into his explanation. He notes that in male bodies to the new arena of child care the 19th Century the Ilchamus lived in large, and milk provision in order to make them crowded and defended settlements, in contrast beautiful." (Hodder, 1986: 113) to their present arrangement of dispersed indi­ vidual homesteads. They subsisted primarily on Perhaps. But is this transformational mode of intensive irrigation agriculture, with few cattle. explanation any more convincing than the sort Calabashes were not decorated, and the same of empirical generalizations discarded earlier by was true for pottery. However, Hodder notes Hodder? His argument suffers from an inverted that body decoration was prevalent then for wo­ notion of context in archaeological explanation. men and young male warriors. And the villages' When Hodder exhorts archaeologists to consider primary ancestral figure then was renowned for variability and change in relation to context, he his possession of unique decorated skin clothing really means only one kind of context - namely, and strong magical powers. The load of symbolic the specific, constructed context of the particular associations with this male ritual figure, called culture or culture-historical tradition. In his the "decorated one," included social and ritual ethnohistorical argument for the transformation prerogatives and was another important domain of decoration from human body designs to cala­ for Ilchamus decorative art. Women then served bashes among the Ilchamus, the problem is re­ as field laborers in what the Ilchamus regarded duced by Hodder to a search for historical ante-

11 cedents which, in the retrospective view gener­ Except for the presumed internal consistency of ated by present-day I1chamus values, is ration­ decoration aesthetics within I1chamus culture alized by an essential continuity of aesthetic as­ through the last 200 years, Hodder's symbolic sociations between females and decoration. explanation lacks controls within the domain of From an Ilchamus-centric point of view, it seems economic and residential behavior and is there­ an inevitable transformation from pre-existing fore no easier for us to evaluate than the conditions. But Hodder's aesthetic explanation "empirical generalizations" criticized by Cordell, is not convincing because he fails to control for et. al. Hodder's symbolic/transformational mode other, even more fundamental or "first order" of explanation is not necessarily wrong. There elements of the total context of Ilchamus culture may, indeed, be historical continuity and logical change. Hodder presents an explanation for consistency in the I1chamus decorative art symbolic changes that arose during a period of tradition, and the transformations in this art rapid and profound change for the Ilchamus, yet style may be causally related to changes in wo­ he does not deal in a detailed or controlled man­ men's roles within Ilchamus society. But for ner with the shift in settlement and economy by these claims to be credible explanations as op­ the Ilchamus around 1900. posed to merely stimulating possibilities, we In order to accept Hodder's symbolic and aes­ need to see a better definition of the ecological, thetic explanation, one must first accept his economic, and residential parameters of exist­ assertion that the shifts from nucleated villages ence for the Ilchamus under both their pre-1900 to dispersed settlements and from irrigation agri­ irrigation agriculture and post -1900 life as culture to cattle herding were not important. cattle-herders. The failure in this case lies in the From an archaeological point of view, this is po­ assumption that the only context that matters in tentially the most important aspect of Hodder's archaeological explanation - that is, which argument, yet he deals with it only in passing. If, needs to be controlled for - lies within the do­ in fact, it were possible to demonstrate that main of culturally constructed values and mean­ changes of this magnitude and rapidity in the ings. The ingenuity and internal consistency of economy and settlement of any cultural settle­ Hodder's argument has a certain appeal as an ment are of minor importance, we could accept exercise in anthropological aesthetics. It may be his claim that symbolic expression represents the good "emic" ethnology, in this case applied to principal domain of archaeological study. But the expressive aspects of Ilchamus material cul­ Hodder provides no details about these changes, ture. But it has very little to do with archaeologi­ and the reader is unable to control for these cal explanation. "first order" variables. For example, the Ilcha­ mus must have been extraordinarily ineffective farmers if, as Hodder asserts, their irrigation Controlling for Context: The Scientific Alterna­ agriculture could not support populations as tive large or larger than those subsisting later by means of herding. On general cross-cultural If, on the other hand, we approach archaeology grounds, agricultural intensification, especially as a historical science and consider ethnoarchae­ in the form of irrigation, usually affords oppor­ ology as a way of building bridging arguments tunities for population growth that exceed the between the flux of present-day human behavior potential of any other mode of subsistence and the longue duree of the human past, we can (Geertz, 1971; Boserup, 1965). If the Ilchamus avoid becoming trapped by overly restrictive prior to 1900 departed from that general pattern, notions of what constitutes relevant context in we need to know why. What combination of archaeological explanation. We can avoid pitfalls ecological, technological, social and agronomic presented by the extreme positions taken by Bin­ factors might have led the Ilchamus to be such ford and Hodder and the adherents of their re­ poor farmers that they had to restrict their popu­ spective views. While Hodder would like to lation size? And what opportunities did cattle­ restrict the role of ethnoarchaeology to a form herding afford for sustaining larger human popu­ of cultural anthropology for the purpose of gen­ lations than were possible under irrigation agri­ erating ideas about particular historical pasts in culture? If Hodder had answered these questions different cultures, he does not seem willing to in a controlled manner, we could evaluate the accept the constraining or limiting role that importance of his symbolic arguments. As it is, ethnoarchaeology also plays in allowing us to his symbolic approach raises more questions choose intelligently among these ideas. This may about Ilchamus culture change than it answers. stem from an unwillingness to recognize the

12 existence of an historical reality in the human logy for the Ngatatjara in no way reduces the past comparable to, say, the concept of plate tec­ needs for Western social scientists (including tonics in geology, neo-Darwinian evolutionism archaeologists) to understand and apply the rules in biology (and, particularly, in paleontology), of Western science in appropriate ways to their and similar sorts of syntheses achieved in other materials. The same anthropological concept of historical sciences. These are all ideas about the cultural relativism that enjoins us to understand past that require constant testing and evaluation and appreciate each culture's own system of with respect to the limits of their credibility. knowledge in its own right also requires us to Without recognized test implications, such ide&s recognize the importance of our own Western of the past would be impossible to evaluate. The scientific system of knowledge for ourselves. Not situation regarding the human past is the same, only is the "game" of science, with its particular whether or not the symbolists and phenomenol­ rules, the only game in town for Western social ogists in our discipline care to recognize it. Real scientists, but there is irony in the fact that this world constraints apply to our ideas about the very concept of cultural relativism is itself the past, and one of the most important roles of product of and an integral part of Western social ethnoarchaeology in developing credible ideas science. It will not be found in Ngatatjara cos­ about the human past is to inform archaeologists mology or in any other non-Western system of about what kinds of ideas are not possible by knowledge that I am aware of. Instead of ap­ evaluating them in relation to real world con­ pealing to the relativistic nature of Western ditions. Before zooming off to "higher order" scientific knowledge as an excuse for not doing explanations based on symbolic and expressive science, archaeologists and anthropologists need aspects of human behavior, we need to take a to look for ways to use the improved self-aware­ controlled look at how much of the variability in ness afforded by "emic" ethnology, Critical the archaeological record we can account for Theory, and other self-reflexive approaches to effectively in relation to human behavior appro­ provide better l~vels of control when they try to priate to these "first order" constraints. use scientific methods to account for variability Although attacked repeatedly and often by in past human behavior represented in the arch­ Hodder and others, the earlier work of David aeological record. Clarke (especially Clarke, 1972) offers a useful The key concept here is the use of controls. If guide toward a scientific approach to the study "context is everything", then the recognition and of the human past. The use of scientific prin­ control of relevant context should be of primary ciples and empirical testing of these general re­ concern in any attempt at archaeological expla­ lationships in particular cases and under con­ nation. If most differences among archaeologists trolled conditions has been caricatured by Bin­ arise from disagreement over what constitutes ford (1985) who views this as a crudely positivist relevant context, then it can also be said that kind of "natural scientific" approach to present most failures in archaeological inference can be and past human behavior and by Hodder (1986), traced to inadequate controls, often in the form who views it as an equally crude positivist assault of assumptions about the context that were over­ on the humanistic dimension of archaeology. looked and were, therefore, uncontrolled. It is Anthropological critics, steeped in the traditions interesting to see how, despite their diametri­ of "emic" anthropology, are quick to point out cally opposed positions regarding the way arch­ that this kind of science is merely one of many aeological explanations sh,?uld be developed forms of human knowledge. From this point of from ethnoarchaeological findings, both Binford view of cultural relativism, science, as the pro­ and Hodder believe it is possible to "read the duct of Western culture, is seen as relatively "no past" directly from the archaeological record. better" than other culturally constructed systems Yet, as Schiffer (1987) effectively demonstrates, of knowledge. Logically, this is true, but so, too, the archaeological record is subject to a wide is the opposite view derived from cultural rela­ range of transformation processes of both natu­ tivism in anthropology (although sometimes ral and cultural origin which must be identified, overlooked) that each culturally constructed sys­ disaggregated, and controlled for before one can tem of knowledge serves the needs of its own begin to infer the nature of the human behavior cultural system. Ngatatjara Aborigine cosmo­ indicated by these remains. That is, archaeologi­ logy, as a system of knowledge, may be right for cal explanation is an indirect process that must the Ngatatjara and should be understood relative proceed in an organized manner. to the internal needs of Ngatatjara society. But Ethnoarchaeological observations are needed recognition of the validity of Ngatatjara cosmo- for this indirect process, just as are approaches

13 like geo-archaeology, taphonomy, paleobotany, straints that could potentially structure the arch­ and other methods that control for what Schiffer aeological record must be asked first. If, as often refers to as the archaeological context. Accept­ happens, these do not account fully and parsi­ ance of this scientifically-controlled view effec­ moniously for the material associations, then we tively precludes direct explanations about the can proceed on to consider "higher order" human past from archaeological remains, whe­ questions of a more culturally constructed ther these take the form of inferences about nature. Earlier (Gould, 1980) I pointed out that "fossilized human behavior" or a search for indi­ systematic efforts to account for material associ­ cations of more culturally constructed kinds of ations by positing and testing first-order expressive and symbolic behavior. An ex­ questions of an eco-utilitarian nature in ethno­ perienced ethnoarchaeologist learns to suspect archaeological analysis can be expected to pro­ direct inferences about prehistoric human beha­ duce "anomalies" that will require higher-order vior based upon ethnographic analogues, be­ explanations that will exceed the uniformitarian cause so often they fail to control for critical assumptions normally used in the historical natural factors that have affected the archaeo­ sciences. While it is certainly true, as Watson logical record. Along with such natural factors (Gould & Watson, 1982:358) has pointed out, can be included later cultural factors that may be that there is no such thing as "cultural uniformi­ totally unrelated to the prehistoric cultural sys­ tarianism" it is also true that there are scientifi­ tem that produced the archaeological associ­ cally controlled and convincing ways to examine ations in question. Not only is this kind of argu­ general propositions about culturally constructed ment developed in detail by Schiffer, but it also human behavior in the past in relation to par­ applies in underwater archaeology and has been ticular cases. But this can happen only if one in­ discussed in detail by Muckelroy (1978). itially exhausts the first-order possibilities for ex­ In this latter case, Muckelroy developed the planation that !=ould be expected to structure the concept of "filters" that structure the archaeo­ potential archaeological record. These first­ logical record to varying degrees and must be order questions include Schiffer's "formation recognized and controlled for before cultural in­ processes" and Muckelroy's "filters," and they ferences about the human behavior that might also include eco-utilitarian factors that apply to have originally produced a particular set of the ethnographic behavior studied by ethnoarch­ underwater archaeological associations are at­ aeoh)gists. tempted. The actions of shipworms, silting, cor­ The most effective litmus test for ethnoarch­ rosion, marine growth, currents, wave action, aeological explanations is to look for higher­ and subsidence are all examples of filters operat­ order explanations that fail to consider more ing in the natural environment upon submerged comprehensive and parsimonious first-order ex­ cultural remains. But there are also factors like planations for the same material associations in salvage, dredging, industrial development, and the archaeological record. In a scientifically the use of explosives in underwater warfare credible approach, one cannot proceed to hig­ which represent cultural factors unrelated to the her-order explanations of material associations original formation of the site but which also can until one has exhausted the first-order possibili­ have important effects on the structure of sub­ ties. This is a materialist strategy for dealing with merged sites and associated materials. Ethno­ archaeological and ethnoarchaeological mater­ archaeological concepts like Murphy's "One ials, but, as I have emphasized elsewhere More Voyage Hypothesis" (Murphy, 1983) can (Gould, 1980: 159-60), it is not a materialist be evaluated in relation to archaeological mater­ philosophy. Once behavioral anomalies have ials only after these other controls have been ap­ been identified using a step-by-step, controlled plied in the context of particular sites. materialist approach, it is necessary to turn to Before going on to evaluate this example of explanations based upon the culturally construc­ ethnoarchaeological analysis more fully, let me ted principles that are demonstrably particular to stress that a controlled, scientifically credible ap­ the culture-historical tradition being examined. proach to ethnoarchaeological explanations of This is not a plea for a "balanced view". Nor is archaeological materials and associations requi­ it an attempt at a compromise position that will res not only that we ask the right kinds of provide archaeologists with a warrant to accept questions (questions based upon test impli­ any explanation of past human behavior that ap­ cations that can be evaluated) but also that these peals to them because of its ingenuity or consist­ questions mwt be asked in the right order. "First ency with respect to a present day, existing cul­ order" questions relating to the real world con- ture.

14 One More Voyage? tions about the dangers of operating supertank­ ers were borne out in the years following the Murphy's hypothesis rests upon a kind of limited publication of his book, the most spectacular uniformitarianism that applies only to contem­ example being the wreck of the supertanker, porary maritime behavior and its historical ante­ Amoco Cadiz, off the northwest coast of France cedents in the evolution of the Western capital­ in 1978 (Chelminski, 1987). istic-mercantile tradition. This is the same cul­ These ships were designed for short use-lives, ture-historical tradition identified by Braudel as - around five years in most cases. Because of an enduring theme (or longue duree) in Eu­ the high price and demand for oil, shipowners ropean history in his monumental study of the expected to amortize their ships within that Mediterranean region. Murphy (1983:75) notes amount of time and to clear a substantial profit, that modem shipowners, as well as those of the and in many cases they did. But, as Mostert recent historic past, tend to operate their vessels points out, this did not always mean the end of "just one more voyage" beyond their designed the ships' use at sea. Often, such ships were sold or safe use-lives. Initially, this model of human to other owners who continued to operate them behavior depends upon observations of contem­ beyond their intended or designed use-lives, porary and recent historical merchant shipping Such ships became increasingly vulnerable to practices in relation to the total context in which damage, due to metal fatigue in the hulls and they occur. worn-out machinery. And their subsequent The definition of exactly what constitutes "one owners were not always careful to maintain or more voyage" depends very much upon that con­ operate the ships according to their original stan­ text and th~ ethnoarchaeologist's ability to ident­ dards. Since such practices produce lowered sa­ ify and control for it as fully as possible. We do fety standards, these ships could not be expected not have to search far for contemporary or re­ to meet the requirements for registration in the cent examples of this kind of behavior. In 1973, leading maritime nations. So their registration following the Arab oil embargo in the Middle has been progressively transferred to countries East, it became necessary to ship oil by tanker that provide a specialized service to shipowners around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope to whose ships cannot meet these standards. Such European and American markets. With the high "f1ags of convenience" have led to an extraordi­ price of oil then, shippers were encouraged to nary number of older ships with registrations in order large numbers of giant ships, commonly such countries as Liberia, Panama and Malta, termed "supertankers". These ships had to be none of which is known for its indigenous mari­ built rapidly to meet this demand, so elements time industry. of mass production and simplified construction These ships continue to operate around the were emphasized along with great size. These world, often being passed from one set of were among the largest ships ever built, and owners to another, until, as Murphy's hypothesis their history and development are well docu­ predicts, some critical element of the ship's con­ mented (Mostert, 1974). Prefabricated structures struction or machinery fails. The existence of and all-welded steel hulls were used in building socio-economic institutions such as the "f1ag of these ships, many of which had single-screw pro­ convenience" indicates how well established this pulsion. As Mostert points out, these features, practice of always trying to squeeze one more along with the ever-present danger of fire and voyage out of a ship has become. explosion aboard tankers of any size, present An earlier example of this practice can be real dangers at sea. Very large all-welded steel found in the use of American-built "Liberty hulls can, under certain conditions involving Ships" in the years following World War II. Dur­ wave action, split from stresses imposed along ing the war it was apparent that cargo ships sunk the ship's length (termed "hogging" and "sag­ by German submarines had to be replaced ging"). The single-screw system of propulsion is quickly and that shipping tonnage in both the cheap to build and to operate, but it provides Atlantic and Pacific theatres had to be ex­ much poorer maneuvering than a twin-screw sys­ panded. This led to one of the greatest ship­ tem. Again, due to their great size, supertankers building expansions in history. Techniques of were hard to steer and even harder to stop when prefabrication and mass-production were com­ under way. So the risk of collision in crowded bined in American shipyards with standardized sea lanes, like the English Channel, was greater design and simplified engineering to produce with supertankers than with ships of more con­ 2751 of these ships between 1941 and 1945. As ventional construction. Mostert's dire predic- in the case of supertankers in the 19705, welded

15 hulls and single-screw propulsion were important season. When confronted by a storm, the engine features. These ships also used triple-expansion or perhaps the steering machinery fails, and the reciprocating steam engines of a type not built ship then drifts out of control onto a reef or or seen in widespread use since the early 1900s. other obstacle and is wrecked. The Great Lakes These engines of old-fashioned design produced contain many known "ship traps" where re­ relatively slow operating speeds and were not peated examples of this sequence of events have fuel-efficient, but they could be maintained and produced concentrations of shipwrecks that have repaired almost anywhere in the world (where attracted the attention of sport divers and arch­ the older, reciprocating steam technology was aeologists. still used in.many places). UQlike supertankers, Murphy's hypothesis has been a guiding theme these ships were smaller and less vulnerable to in the underwater research program carried out the stresses imposed by larger structures and by the Submerged Cultural Resources Unit of load. In general, Liberty Ships performed well the U.S. National Park Service at Isle Royale, in during the war, but they were designed as a war­ Lake Superior (Lenihan, 1987). This island is a time expedient and intended for a use-life of un­ good example of a Great Lakes "ship trap", and certain but limited duration (Bunker, 1985; Saw­ the waters around it contain the wrecks of nu­ yer & Mitchell, 1985). merous 19th and early 20th Century steamships. Immediately following the end of World War One of the important test implications of Mur­ II, however, 2i1 of these ships were transferred phy's hypothesis, as applied to the wrecks of Isle to private owners in the United States and over Royale, is that, if these ships were pushed "one 600 to owners abroad to help meet the increased more voyage" beyond the limits of their demand for commercial shipping during the designed use-lives, there should be indications of postwar reconstruction period. Some of these just what it was in each ship's machinery or ships continued in use until as late as the 1970s, engines that failed. Ships that broke apart and but many were lost in circumstances that fit Mur­ sank due to the failure of the hull, on the other phy's hypothesis. Splitting of the hull due to the hand, could diliprove this hypothesis. The pur­ combined effects of metal fatigue and general pose of the hypothesis, of course, is to direct to neglect as well as machinery failures were factors attention of researchers to the question of what in at least 14 cases, usually in the immediate con­ it was that failed when these ships sank at Isle text of a storm or some other hazard to navi­ Royale (and in deeper waters) in an organized gation (Bunker, 1985:191-204). Liberty Ships and controlled manner. The case of Isle Royale no longer operate commercially today, but their is an example of how important it is to identify wrecks can still be seen in some parts of the and control for the widest range of relevant con­ world and there is one preserved, operating textual variables. This starts with "first order" example restored and maintained by the U.S. aspects of the physical environment, such as National Park Service in San Francisco Bay weather, wave conditions, currents, geography, (Butowsky, 1985, Section 25; Sawyer & Mitc­ and, in this case, the relative effects of a fresh­ hell, 1985: 229-35). water as opposed to salt water environment on Other potential cases of the "one more voyage iron and steel steamships, and it extends to "hig­ hypothesis" abound, often in areas like the her order" variables having to do with the larger Great Lakes of North America. Here, ship­ culture-historical context of commercial shipping owners were tempted to push their ships up to in the Great Lakes region as a part of Western and beyond the limits imposed by severe storms mercantile capitalism. that arrive in the fall. Ore- and grain-carriers On must always remember, of course, that sometimes were operated late into the fall ships can be wrecked as a result of many differ­ season and were lost in these storms (Nordby, ent kinds of proximate causes. Bad weather, pers. comm.). In the Great Lakes, conditions hazards to navigation such as uncharted reefs, differ from the world's oceans because of the accidental collisions, and incompetence are only freshwater operating environment. In most a few examples of such factors which lead to the ocean areas, ships' hulls deteriorate more rapidly loss of ships - even ships that were new when than their machinery owing to the corrosive they were lost, like the Titanic and the Vasa. Use effects of salt water. But in a freshwater environ­ of hypotheses like the "one more voyage" argu­ ment, it is the machinery that is most likely to ment is intended to call attention to possible sys­ fail first. A typical scenario for this region, as temic factors that led to a particular ship's loss predicted by Murphy's hypothesis, is for an ag­ under these kinds of proximate conditions. Why, ing ship to attempt to operate late into the for example, did the Captain of the Titanic drive

16 his ship at high speed at night through seas also inhibit the activity of shipworms (Teredo known to contain icebergs? What social and cul­ navalis), which are the principal agents of tural factors arising from that period can help to destruction of wooden ship remains exposed account for such high-risk behavior? A con­ above the siltline in saltwater environments. So trolled study of the proximate conditions under wooden ships are extraordinarily well preserved which the loss of the Titanic occurred indicates in these two great bodies of water, as shown by that the captain's behavior was anomalous (a the example of the Vasa (sunk in 1628) in Swe­ conclusion also reached by the inquest that fol­ den and the wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge lowed the loss [Wade, 1986]). This, in turn, re­ (from the War of 1812) in lake Ontario. These quires us to seek higher-order explanations wrecks and others like them recorded by related to post-Victorian values such as mis­ Cederlund (1983) in Sweden and by Kehusmaa placed confidence in engineering (the idea that (1981; 1986, also Gronhagen & Konttinen, 1988: any ship could be "unsinkable"), the English 130) on the Sofia Maria in the northern part of class system (was the Captain trying to impress the Gulf of Bothnia, off the coast of Finland his influential first-class passengers with his show how widespread these conditions of good ship's performance?), or pressure from the preservation are. Along with shipwrecks, one White Star management to meet unrealistic should also be aware of the possibilities for dis­ schedules in an atmosphere of economic compe­ covering and recording well preserved wooden tition between passenger lines, symbolized by pilings and other underwater structures associ­ the Blue Riband award for speed at sea (a vari­ ated with harbors, port facilities, and fortifi­ ation, perhaps, on the "one more voyage" cations. theme?). The "one more voyage" hypothesis is But the attraction for archaeologists of the not intended to account for all shipwrecks. But Great Lakes and the Baltic region lies not only it does represent an example of how an ethno­ in the excellent preservation of shipwrecks but, archaeological approach can, through controlled more importantly, in the ways in which these re­ observations of contemporary human behavior mains can be examined from an ethnoarchaeo­ and use of historical sources, identify and evalu­ logical perspective, by controlling for the total ate potential systemic factors in the culture that relevant context and by evaluating these remains lead, ultimately, to particular kinds of ship­ in relation to these controls by asking appropri­ wrecks. ate questions in the right order. Since the "one This hypothesis can be extended and tested in more voyage" hypothesis assumes a particular any area or period in which the tradition of culture-historical context, it cannot be expected Western mercantile capitalism occurred. The to have operated in other culture-historical research at Isle Royale has particular importance traditions where long-distance seafaring was im­ for the Scandinavian region, because, aside from portant. For example, there is no reason to ex­ the Great lakes of North America, the Baltic Sea pect the material remains of the ancient is the largest body of fresh (or nearly fresh) Polynesians to conform to the test implications water in the world. The ethnoarchaeological of this hypothesis. Ethnographic studies on model described here briefly under the label of traditional Pacific Island systems of sailing, boat­ the "one more voyage" hypothesis can be tested building, and navigation (Gladwin, 1970; Lewis, under physical circumstances that are more like 1972; Finney, 1977; 1985) point to an entirely the Great Lakes than anywhere else. The Baltic, different nautical historical longue duree in in fact, is potentially a better area for such which concepts of mercantile capitalism played ethnoarchaeological hypothesis-testing for other no part. Limited archaeological finds from a reasons as well. The maritime history of the Polynesian voyaging canoe on Huahine, in the Baltic is much longer than in the Great Lakes, Society Islands, generally support this view as is the history of mercantile capitalism there. (Sinoto, 1983). It remains to be seen to what ex­ This great theme or longue duree evolved in the tent an idea like the "one more voyage" hypo­ Baltic much earlier than anywhere in North thesis could apply to other non-Western nautical America, thus offering nautical archaeologists an traditions and their archaeological by-products, opportunity for observing the development of as, for example, in Asia, where shipwreck this culture-historical tradition in relation to the studies are also gaining momentum. On the material remains it produced over an optimal other hand, archaeological evidence for the "one time-span. Furthermore, the same freshwater more voyage" hypothesis can serve to identify conditions that act to preserve metal hulls on the penetration of Western mercantile capitalism ships in both the Baltic and in the Great Lakes into non-Western contexts, such as the Pacific.

17

2 - Fennoscandia Perhaps the best potential example so far in under wartime cirumstances that called for nautical archaeology of the operation of the rapid, mass-production, but they proved to be "one more voyage" hypothesis comes from the maladaptive under the new cirumstances im­ wreck of the Trinidad Valencera, a ship from the posed by postwar commerce, where we find the Spanish Armada of 1588 wrecked on the west culturally-structured "one more voyage" effect coast of Ireland. This is a particularly important taking its toll. case, because it is solidly embedded in the cul­ In the case of the Trinidad Valencera, Martin ture-historical context of the longue duree des­ points out that the physical remains of the ship's cribed in detail by Braudel - that is, the evol­ hull bear the marks of mass-production for mer­ ving tradition of mercantile capitalism in relation cantile purposes. He notes that, during the 16th to maritime technology and commerce of the Century, Venice was struggling to maintain its Mediterranean region during the time of Philip position as an important trading center. In order II of Spain. A published account by Martin to be more competitive, Venetian shipowners (1979) of the Trinidad Valencera indicates that ordered ships built rapidly and in large numbers, this ship was built originally for the Venetians at using manufacturing shortcuts to accomplish Ragusa (Dubrovnik) as a merchant ship. Later, this. These included the use of iron nails to fas­ this ship was taken over by Philip II as he re­ ten hull planks instead of the traditional but quisitioned ships and supplies throughout his more laborious (and durable) method of drilling European empire for his assault on England in holes and inserting wooden pegs. And it in­ 1588. During her short career with the Armada, cluded the placement of these nails in straight the Trinidad Valencera was used as a transport lines (easier for untrained or unskilled shipyard for carrying troops and heavy equipment for the workers to accomplish) rather than in staggered planned invasion of England. This ship's history positions. Of course, iron nails corrode fairly was thus a mirror-image of the Liberty Ships des­ rapidly in a saltwater environment, and nails set cribed earlier. In this case, we have a merchant in straight rows along wooden planks will risk ship converted to military, wartime use, but still splitting the planks when the hull is stressed by bearing the marks of its mercantile origins. In movement at sea, Like the supertankers of the the case of the Liberty Ships, we find military 1970s, these ships were designed for relatively ships that later served as merchant vessels. short use-lives. Only in this case, wartime needs In both cases, elements of circumstantial ex­ instead of commercial expediency may have led pediency (a favorite theme of Binford's) played to "one more voyage" and the loss of the ship. a critical role in structuring the potential or ac­ There is documentary evidence (Martin, tual archaeological record, and these elements 1979:16) that the Trinidad Valencera was leaking must be recognized and controlled for. On the badly by the time she reached the Irish coast, other hand, this line of reasoning is quickly and that she was brought inshore before she exhausted when it confronts anomalous associ­ could sink in deeper water. Contrary to popular ations. Why, for example, would ships with impressions, the sea battles between the English steam engines of antiquated design, single screw fleet and the Spanish Armada produced few propulsion and other measurably inefficient sin kings and did little direct damage to the Ar­ technological features (that is, below the con­ mada. But the English did finally succeed in temporary state-of-the-art in marine engineer­ breaking up the Spanish formation, causing their ing) be found in association with other less­ ships to disperse to the north and west. Not only than-proven features in relation to operating did this mean they were unable to complete their conditions (such itS welded steel hulls)? To ac­ mission of transporting the Duke of Parma's count for such anomalies in American-built Lib­ armies to England, but they were also unable to erty Ships, one must move to a narrower but hig­ retreat southward to Spain back through the her-order, culture-historical context and control English Channel (that is, against the prevailing for changes that took place in the nature of ex­ winds). The real test for the Armada ships came, pediency, - that is, in the shift from wartime to not at the hands of the English, but in the face peacetime operating needs and conditions. It is of strong autumn gales in the North Sea and off in this latter context that the approach advocated the north and west coasts of the British Isles. by Hodder begins to make sense, but only after Many Armada ships, some weakened by battle one has effectively recognized and controlled for damage, others by the failure of a Mediterra­ the circumstantial factors that are affected by nean hull-first type of construction, and still this culture-historically determined shift in ex­ others that were trapped by a combination of pediency. Welded steel hulls were adaptive poor navigation and bad seamanship, were lost

18 at sea or came ashore on the coasts of Ireland, Martin's explanation may be correct, and it Scotland, and islands to the north (Mattingly, has a strong logical appeal and consistency with 1962; Martin, 1975; Martin & Parker, 1988; Fal­ the urgent, ad hoc manner in which the Ar­ lon, 1978; Gould, 1983). So the Trinidad Valen­ mada's ships, guns, supplies and crews were cera was not alone in her plight, which raises a assembled (Mattingly, 1962; 202-16). But more problem of explanation for archaeologists. It se­ than logic or consistency is needed for a credible ems clear that in some cases these sinkings were idea of the past based upon this variation on the due to failures in their essentially Mediterra­ theme of Murphy's "one more voyage" hypo­ nean-type construction, in which the strength of thesis (represented by Martin's explanation for the ship's structure was based on the integrity of the wreck of the Trinidad Valencera). The use the outer "skin" of closely fitted planks. This of this ethnoarchaeological mode of explanation egg-shell-like structure could collapse quickly if must arise from an organized and controlled broken at any point, and this does, indeed, seem study of the effects of various natural and cul­ to be what happened in the case of another fa­ tural factors that could have structured the arch­ mous Armada wreck, the Santa Maria de la Rosa aeological associations at the wreck site, along (Martin, 1973). It is still not altogether clear to the lines proposed by Muckelroy through the what extent the Trinidad Valencera shared the examination of "filters" on underwater site problems of other Mediterranean-built ships in assemblages or by Schiffer in his discussion of the Armada, due to this type of construction, or archaeological formation processes. I understand whether her plight was uniquely due to a failure that analysis of materials from the Trinidad Va­ of her hull due to shortcuts in 16th Century Ve­ len cera is continuing, and I hope that a more de­ netian shipbuilding. tailed final report will be forthcoming that will In the case of the Trinidad Valencera, a cred­ address and control for widest possible range of ible idea of the past pertaining to the loss of this relevant context at this important wreck site. ship (and other Armada ships as well) will de­ Meanwhile, the "one more voyage" hypothesis pend upon systematic recognition, disaggre­ and its variations stand as potential ethnoarch­ gation, and control for each of these different aeological explanations once the first-order lev­ technologies in relation to the immediate cir­ els of explanations at the Trinidad Valencera site cumstances of the sinking (such as weather, cur­ have been exhausted. rents, shoreline conditions) before higher order factors akin to the "one more voyage" hypo­ thesis can be effectively brought to bear. The The Future of Ethnoarchaeology patterning of material remains from the Trinidad Valencera is quite scattered, even for heavy, I found it interesting that two of the most re­ compact objects like cannons and anchors, which cently published analytical treatments of arch­ do not generally move once they come to rest on aeological theory arrive at diametrically opposite the seabed, and this scattering requires an ex­ conclusions about the usefulness of ethnoarchae­ planation. Where was the ballast (if any)? Was ology for future archaeological research. While the ship overloaded? I am not questioning the discussing ambiguities in the archaeological re­ historical accuracy of Martin's observations on cord, Schiffer (1987: 363) notes that: the nature of 16th Century Venetian shipbuild­ ing or his identification of relevant details of ship ". . . future investigators need not suffer from construction in the preserved planks of the these uncertainties because ethnoarchae­ ology, experimental archaeology, historical Trinidad Valencera wreck. But in order to evalu­ archaeology, geoarchaeology, vertebrate ta­ ate the importance of his higher order expla­ phonomy, and other fields have begun to nation for this wreck as an indirect expression of supply relevant general principles." the dominant values of the particular maritime­ mercantile society that produced the ship, we Hodder, (1986:117) on the other hand, takes the must first control for the first-order variables position that: that may have operated to structure the archaeo­ logical record and attempt to exhaust these "As ethnography becomes more like anth­ ropology and ethnohistory, and it needs to alternatives. The problem with explaining the incorporate the methods of these adjacent wreck of the Trinidad Valencera is that we have disciplines more fully, its independent exist­ too many competing ideas about how it may ence comes under threat - at least in its pres­ have come about and no clear framework yet for ent form. In its place we are likely to find choosing the most convincing of these ideas. material culture studies sitting astride many

19 disciplines, and a different ethnoarchaeology, past. There is nothing dehumanizing about the concerned with the archaeology of ethnic use of controlled arguments applied in the right groups and with an archaeological dimension order, - that is, from "first order" to "higher to ethnohistory." order" variables of human behavior that might have structured the archaeological record - to Which, then, is it to be? Can ethnoarchaeology construct a credible approximation of the "real serve the basic needs of archaeology and provide thing" represented by Braudel's concept of the a body of relevant theory that will help to longue duree as it applies to different cultural resolve the potential ambiguities of the archaeo­ traditions. The future of ethnoarchaeology de­ logical record for the purposes of inferring and pends, therefore, upon our willingness to use accounting for variability in past human beha­ ethnographic observations in an indirect manner vior? Or is ethnoarchaeology destined to be a as an instrument of choice to provide the best prisoner of the present, becoming simply a kind idea of the human past in relation to what the of ethnology of material culture with little rel­ recognition and control for the widest possible evance to the archaeological record? range of relevant context will allow. The answer depends on how ethnoarchae­ ology is used. In this paper I have argued that archaeologists cannot "read the past," as both Acknowledgements Hodder and Binford, in their different ways, have claimed. For them, ethnographic obser­ This article is based upon a paper read at the vations serve as analogues for a direct interpre­ Suomen Antropologinen Seura in Helsinki, tation of past human behavior. Whether these March 24, 1988. It has benefited from discussion analogues are based on circumstantial or sym­ and critical comments by colleagues and' students bolic elements of human behavior, they fail to at the Department of Archaeology at the control adequately for the total range of factors University of Helsinki, especially Dr. Ari Siiriiii­ that structure the archaeological record. Such nen, Marianne Schauman-LOnnqvist, Christian direct ethnographic analogues may serve as inte­ Carpelan, lussi-Pekka Taavitsainen, and Harry resting potential alternative ideas about prehis­ Alopaeus. toric human behavior represented by archaeo­ logical remains, but they remain speculative and lack credibility when they fail to recognize or observe the limitations imposed by real world constraints to speculation. This failure arises from a kind of tunnel vision with respect to what REFERENCES constitutes relevant context in archaeological in­ ference. A priori assumptions that limit ideas about what constitutes relevant context in arch­ Binford, Lewis R. 1978: Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology. Academic Press, New York. aeological reasoning are the single greatest - 1984: "An Alyawara Day: Flour, Spinifex Gum and source of disagreement in archaeological inter­ Shifting Perspectives." Journal of Anthropological pretation, with all that this implies about uncon­ Research, Vol. 40, pp. 157-82. trolled ethnocentrism by archaeologists. - 1985: "'Brand X' Versus the Recommended Pro­ duct." American Antiquity Vol. 50, no. 3, pp. What ethnoarchaeology offers is an organized 580-90. approach that can define relevant context in hu­ - 1986: "An Alyawara Day: Making Men's Knives man behavior for purposes of archaeological in­ and Beyond." American Antiquity, Vol. 51, no. 3, ference and control for this context in a way that pp. 547-62. Boserup, Ester 1965: The Conditions of Agricultural will select the most credible idea of the past from Growth. Aldine, Chicago. among competing alternative ideas. This limiting Bowdler, Sandra 1977: ''The Coastal Colonization of or constraining role of ethnoarchaeology may be Australia." In Sunda and Sahul, ed. by J. Allen, J. unpalatable to some archaeologists, especially Golson, and R. Jones. Academic Press, New York, pp. 205-46. those of the symbolist persuasion, who see it as - 1984: "Hunter Hill, Hunter Island." Terra Australis an affront to human freedom. But I would argue 8, Australian National University, Canberra. 148 that the opportunity and ability to make intelli­ pp. gent choices based on the use of scientifically or­ Bowler, J. M. 1976: "Recent Developments in Recon­ structing Late Quaternary Environments in Aus­ ganized and controlled frameworks is a better tralia." In The Origin of the Australians, ed. by R. way to think of freedom as it applies to archaeo­ L. Kirk and A . G. Thorne, Australian Institute of logical reasoning and our ideas about the human Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, pp. 55-77.

20 Braudel, Fernand 1966: The Mediterranean and the Gronhagen, J. and H. Konttinen 1988: Tietoa sy­ Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (2 vol.). vyyksistii: hylkytUlkimuksen opas. Valtion pai­ Harper & Row, New York. natuskeskus, Helsinki. - 1980: On History. Oxford University Press, London. Hicks, Sheila 1985: "Problems and Possibilities in Cor­ Bunker, John Gorley 1985: Liberty Ships. Ayer, Sa­ relating Historical/archaeological and Pollen-analyti­ lem, NH. cal Evidence in a Northern Boreal Environment: An Butowsky, Harry A. 1985: "Warships Associated with Example from Kuusamo, Finland." Fennoscandia World War II in the Pacific." National Historic archaeologica II, pp. 51-84. Landmark Theme Study, U. S. Government Printing Hodder, Ian 1986: Reading the Past. Cambridge Office, Washington, DC. University Press, Cambridge. Kehusmaa, Aimo 1981: "The 'Sofia Maria' - a Dutch Cederlund, Carl Olof 1983: "The Old Wrecks of the Koff Foundered in the Year 1859 Outside Oulu." Baltic Sea." BAR International Series 186, Oxford. Maritime Museum of Finland Annual Report 1981, 239 pp. pp.8-14. Chelminski, Rudolph 1987: Superwreck. Morrow, New - 1986: "Recent Investigations of the Sophia Maria York. Wreck." Maritime Museum of Finland Annual Re­ Clarke, David L. 1972: "Models and Paradigms in port 1984-85, p. 13. Contemporary Archaeology." In Models in Archae­ Lenihan, Daniel J. (ed.) 1987: "Submerged Cultural ology, ed. by David L. Clarke. Methuen, London, Resources Study: Isle Royale National Park." pp.I-60. Southwest Cultural Resources Center Professional Collingwood, R. G. 1946: The Idea of HislOry. Oxford Papers 8, Santa Fe, NM. 568 pp. University Press, London. Lewis, David 1972: We, The Navigators. University Conkey, Margaret C. 1984: "To Find Ourselves: Art Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI. and Social Geography of Prehistoric Hunter Gath­ Martin, Colin J. M. 1973: "The Spanish Armada Ex­ erers." In Past and Present in Hunter Gatherer pedition, 1968-70." In Proceedings of the 23rd Sym­ Studies, ed. by Carmel Schrire. Academic Press, posium of the Colston Research Society, ed. by D. J. New York, pp. 253-76. Blackman. Archon Books, London, pp. 439-61. Cordell, Linda S. Steadman Upham, and Sharon L. - 1975: Full Fathom Five: Wrecks of the Spanish Ar­ Brock 1987: "Obscuring Cultural Patterns in the mada. Viking Press, New York. Archaeological Record: A Discussion from South­ - 1979: "La Trinidad Valencera: An Armada Invasion western Archaeology." American Antiquity, Vol. Transport Lost off Donegal." International Journal 52, no. 3, pp. 565-77. of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Explor­ Donner, Joakim 1984: "Some Comments on the Pol­ ation, Vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 13-38. len-analytical Records of Cereals and their Dating in Martin, Colin J. M. and Geoffrey Parker 1988: The Southern Finland." Fennoscandia archaeologica I, Spanish Armada. Norton, New York. pp.13-17. Martin, Paul S. 1967: "Prehistoric Overkill." In Earle, Timothy and Robert W. Prencel 1987: "Pro­ Pleistocene Extinctions: The Search for a Cause, ed. cessual Archaeology and the Radical Critique." Cur­ by Paul S. Martin & H. E. Wright, Jr. Yale rent Anthropology, Vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 501-38. University Press, New Haven, CT., pp. 75-120. Fallon, Niall 1978: The Armada in Ireland. Wesleyan Mattingly, Garrett 1962: The Armada. Riverside Press, University Press, Middletown, CT. Cambridge, MA. Finney, Ben R. 1977: "Voyaging Canoes and the Mostert, Noel 1974: Supership. Knopf, New York. Settlement of Polynesia." Science, Vol. 196, no. Muckelroy, Keith 1978: Maritime Archaeology. Cam­ 4296, pp. 1277-85. bridge University Press, Cambridge. - 1985: "Anomalous Westerlies, EI Nino, and the Co­ Murphy, Larry 1983: "Shipwrecks as Data Base for lonization of Polynesia." American Anthropologist, Human Behavioral Studies." In Shipwreck Anth­ ropology, ed. by Richard A. Gould. University of Vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 9-26. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM., pp. 65-89. Geertz, Clifford 1971: Agricultural Involution. Sackett, J. R. 1982: "Approaches to Style in Lithic University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Archaeology." Journal of Anthropological Archae­ Gillespie, R., D. R. Horton, P. Ladd, P. G. Macum­ ology, Vol. 1, pp. 59-112. ber, T. H. Rich, R. Thome, and R. V. S. Wright Sawyer, L. A. and W. H. Mitchell 1985: The Liberty 1978: "Lancefield Swamp and the Extinction of the Ships. Lloyd's of London Press, Ltd. London. Australian Megafauna." Science, Vol. 200, No. Schiffer, Michael B. 1976: Behavioral Archaeology. 4345, pp. 1044-48. Academic Press, New York. Gladwin, Thomas 1970: Easl is a Big Bird. Harvard - 1987: Formation Processes of the Archaeological Re­ University Press, Cambridge, MA. cord. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquer­ Gould, Richard A. 1969: Yiwara: Foragers of the Aus­ que, NM. Iralian Desert. Scribners, New York. Siiriainen, Ari 1982: "Recent Studies on the Stone Age - 1980: Living Archaeology. Cambridge University Economy in Finland." Fennoscandia antiqua I, pp. Press, Cambridge. 17-26. Gould, Richard A., Don D. Fowler, and Catherine S. Sinoto, Yosihiko H. 1983: "The Huahine Excavation: Fowler 1972: "Diggers and Doggers: Parallel Failu­ Discovery of an Ancient Polynesian Canoe." Arch­ res in Economic Acculturation." Southwestern aeology, March/April, pp. 10-15. Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 28, no. 3, pp. Smith, M. A. 1987: "Pleistocene Occupation in Arid 265-81. Central Australia." Nature, Vol. 328, no. 6132, pp. Gould, Richard A. and Patty Jo Watson 1982: "A Dia­ 710-11. logue on the Meaning and Use of Analogy in Ethno­ Thomson, Donald F. 1939: "The Seasonal Factor in archaeological Reasoning." Journal of Anthropo­ Human Culture." Proceedings of the Prehistoric logical Archaeology, Vol. 1, pp. 355-81. Society, n.s. 5, pp. 209-21.

21 Tolonen, Mirjami 1985: "Cereal Cultivation with Par­ Wade, Wyn Craig 1986: The Titanic. Penguin Books, ticular Reference to Rye: Some Aspects on Pollen­ New York. analytical Records from SW Finland." Fennoscandia Watson, Patty Jo 1979: ''The Idea of Ethnoarchae­ archaeologica II, pp. 85-89. ology: Notes and comments." In: Ethnoarchaeology, Tonkinson, Robert 1974: The Jigalong Mob: Aborigi­ ed. by Carol Kramer. University of Columbia Press, nal Victors of the Desert Crusade. Cummings, Menlo New York, pp. 282-87. Park, CA. - 1978: The Mardudjara Aborigines. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

22