Evolutionism and North America's archaeological record

Abstract

The archaeological record of North America has long been a laboratory for evolutionary studies. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, culture historians would regularly turn to evolutionism as a source of archaeological explanations. Sometimes the explanations were broadly Darwinian in nature, with reference to processes such as selection and genetic transmission, and other times they were based more on the evolutionism of the classic nineteenth-century culture theorists. The archaeological literature of the closing decades of the twentieth century and beyond suggests a heightened interest in employing Darwinian theory. No one, however, has suggested that Darwinism can solve all of archaeology's problems. Rather, advocates have pointed out that it might solve some of archaeology's historical – read evolutionary – problems. Despite the interest shown thus far, evolutionary archaeology needs to move beyond a narrow reading of Darwinism and become a more inclusive approach. Examples from North America underscore the point that studies of cultural transmission and human behavior are important components of an evolutionary archaeology.

Keywords:

• Darwinism
• drift
• evolution
• phylogeny
• selection
• transmission

Acknowledgements

I thank Michael Shott for asking me to do this review and Marcel Harmon and Robert Leonard for helpful comments on various sections. Many of the ideas expressed herein have crystallized during my collaborations with Lee Lyman. Illustrations are by Dan Glover; part of Figure 3 was prepared by John Darwent.

Notes

Michael J. O'Brien received his PhD from the University Texas at Austin in 1977. He is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Dean of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri. His interests include evolutionary theory, particularly applications of evolutionism to the archaeological record.

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Notes on contributors

Michael J O'Brien

Michael J. O'Brien received his PhD from the University Texas at Austin in 1977. He is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Dean of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri. His interests include evolutionary theory, particularly applications of evolutionism to the archaeological record.