Comments on Archaeological Data Requirements and Research strategy

The attempt to delineate the processes underlying cultural evolution has become a central problem for archaeology today. Yet, present attempts to explain prehistoric culture change are based on exceedingly fragmentary archeological evidence, a fact resulting partly from inappropriate research strategies and partly from the “one-man scholar” basis on which archaeological research has been traditionally organized.This paper shows that certain long-held assumptions about the nature of culture which have governed excavation strategy and methods limit the value of currently existing data for attacking processual questions. The paper also examines both the quality of archaeological data required for discovering evolutionary process and the research strategies necessary for recovering these data. It argues that these research strategies cannot be put into effect unless the scale of archaeological staff, facilities, and funding increases greatly, and equally important, unless the concept of how research is organized changes.