The application of source criticism to archaeology

In an attempt to establish a source‐critical system, the author first classifies the data into direct and indirect evidence. He then gives the main factors that may influence the representativity of material remains. These arc physical, economic, and research factors. The principles of source criticism are briefly outlined. Its object is to examine the effect of the factors that have influenced the representativity of the sources from the time they ceased to be an active part of a culture. The procedure is framed within the source‐critical method, whose function is to determine the general and specific representativity and information value of the data, which should be quantitatively defined as far as possible.