Definition: The quintessential "young turk" in his day, American archaeologist Lewis Binford dang near revolutionized the field of archaeology in the 1960s, concerning the use of
ethnoarchaeology (the study of a living culture's habits to identify past behaviors) and the related concept of
processual archaeology (arguing that you cannot understand an archaeological site without knowing how it came to be created). Also known for a long-standing debate with French archaeologist
François Bordes over the kind and quality of information that can be gleaned from
Mousterian archaeological sites. Truly one of the most influential archaeologists in American archaeology, Binford got his MA and PhD at the University of Michigan and is currently emeritus professor at Southern Methodist University.
A (very) Brief Bibliography
Binford, Lewis R. 1962 Archaeology as anthropology. American Antiquity 28217-225.
--- 1964 A consideration of archaeological research design. American Antiquity 29(4):425-441.
--- 1989 Debating Archaeology. San Diego: Academic Press.
--- 1978 Nunamuit Ethnoarchaeology. New York: Academic Press.
--- and Sally R. Binford 1966 A preliminary analysis of functional variability in the Mousterian of Levallois facies. American Anthropologist 68238-295.
---, Sally R. Binford, Robert Whallon, and Margaret A. Hardin 1970 Archaeology at Hatchery West. Memoirs, Society for American Archaeology 24
--- 1981 Behavioral archaeology and the "Pompeii Premise". Journal of Anthropological Research 37(3):195-208.
--- 1983 In Pursuit of the Past. London: Thames and Hudson.
