Abstract
This chapter proposes that behavioral archaeology furnishes conceptual tools useful for science studies because of its emphasis on people–artifact interactions in activities. Among the important behavioral concepts introduced are life history, process, activity, interaction, technical choice, performance, and performance characteristics. Also supplied is a behavioral definition of science. The basic behavioral unit for science studies is the project. It is argued that both science projects and technology projects offer fertile ground for the archaeological science, for every technology project leads to the creation of new science.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This section draws, often verbatim, on Schiffer (2011, 25–28).
- 2.
http://press.web.cern.ch/public/en/LHC/LHC-en.html, accessed 16 November 2011.
- 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider, accessed 16 November 2011.
- 4.
Adapted almost verbatim from Schiffer (2011, 86–88).
References
Barnes, Barry, David Bloor, and John Henry. 1996. Scientific knowledge: A sociological analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Blackwell, Richard J. 1969. Discovery in the physical sciences. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Galison, Peter. 2003. Einstein’s clocks, Poincaré’s maps: Empires of time. New York: W. W. Norton.
Garber, Elizabeth (ed.). 1990. Beyond history of science: Essays in honor of Robert E. Schofield. Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press.
Gooding, David. 1990. Experiment and the making of meaning: Human agency in scientific observation and experiment. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Gruender, C. David. 1971. On distinguishing science and technology. Technology and Culture 12: 456–463.
Hoffmann, Roald. 2011. That’s interesting. American Scientist 99: 374–377.
Kuhn, Thomas. 1970. The structure of scientific revolutions, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Layton, Edwin. 1971. Mirror-image twins: The communities of science and technology in 19th-Âcentury America. Technology and Culture 12: 562–580.
———. 1974. Technology as knowledge. Technology and Culture 15:31–41.
Molella, Arthur P., and Nathan Reingold. 1973. Theorists and ingenious mechanics: Joseph Henry defines science. Science Studies 3: 323–351.
Reid, J. Jefferson, Michael B. Schiffer, and William L. Rathje. 1975. Behavioral archaeology: Four strategies. American Anthropologist 77: 864–869.
Roller, Duane H.D. (ed.). 1971. Perspectives in the history of science and technology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Rothbart, David. 2007. Philosophical instruments: Minds and tools at work. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Schiffer, Michael B. 1975. Behavioral chain analysis: Activities, organization, and the use of space. In chapters in the prehistory of Eastern Arizona, IV. Fieldiana: Anthropology 65: 103–119.
———. 1992. Technological perspectives on behavioral change. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
———. 2003. Properties, performance characteristics and behavioral theory in the study of technology. Archaeometry 45:169–172.
———. 2010. Behavioral archaeology: Principles and practice. London: Equinox.
———. 2011. Studying technological change: A behavioral approach. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Schiffer, Michael B., and Andrea R. Miller. 1999. The material life of human beings: Artifacts, behavior, and communication. London: Routledge.
Schiffer, Michael B., and James M. Skibo. 1987. Theory and experiment in the study of technological change. Current Anthropology 28: 595–622.
———. 1997. The explanation of artifact variability. American Antiquity 62: 27–50.
Shapin, Steven. 1996. The scientific revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Shapin, Steven, and Simon Schaffer. 1985. Leviathan and the air-pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the experimental life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Skibo, James M., and Michael B. Schiffer. 2008. People and things: A behavioral approach to material culture. New York: Springer.
Smith, Cyril S. 1971. Art, science, and technology: Notes on their historical interaction. In Perspectives in the history of science and technology, ed. Duane H.D. Roller, 129–165. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Walker, William H., James M. Skibo, and Axel E. Nielsen. 1995. Introduction: Expanding archaeology. In Expanding archaeology, eds. James M. Skibo, William H. Walker, and Axel E. Nielsen, 1–12. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Watson, James D. 1968. The double helix: A personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. New York: Atheneum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schiffer, M.B. (2013). Science: A Behavioral Perspective. In: The Archaeology of Science. Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique, vol 9. Springer, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00077-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00077-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00076-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00077-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)