Definition: Structuralism, which started out as a theory of language, ended up impacting most of the social and historical scieces including archaeology during the latter half of the twentieth century. Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure believed that there are subconscious (but identifiable) structures in our language, that everyone in a culture must follow in order to communicate successfully. Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss took that notion and argued that there are also subconcious (but identifiable) structures in our behavior. These structures are, in Levi-Strauss' notion, binary (left/right, night/day, being/nothingness, hot/cold, magic/science). These agreed-upon rules drive the way a group of people pattern their lives. Structuralism is a scientific way to look at people's behavior, and the binary opposite of structuralism is post-structuralism; this is the core struggle in almost all social sciences, even today.
Structuralism is really a very interesting concept, but not easy to put into a handful of words. See John Lye's page "Elements of Structuralism" for a great introduction to the theory. Also, for those interested in the core struggle that developed after structuralism, see the essay by Christopher Tilley, called "meta.archaeology".
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar.
Structuralism is really a very interesting concept, but not easy to put into a handful of words. See John Lye's page "Elements of Structuralism" for a great introduction to the theory. Also, for those interested in the core struggle that developed after structuralism, see the essay by Christopher Tilley, called "meta.archaeology".
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar.
Also Known As: Structuralist movement
