What is middle range theory in archaeology?
Question:
What is middle range theory in archaeology?
Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of human history particularly its culture. It makes use of artifacts to assess past human behaviors or practices. From these, archaeologists look for a pattern or connection between the artifacts so that they can build a model of what society was like during a certain time in history.
Answer and Explanation: 1
Middle range theory illustrates how objects and artifacts are related to human behavior. It defines a connection between natural processes or several aspects of human activities to archaeological data like artifacts, ecofacts, or old structures. It is especially useful for answering questions like "Why is this tool designed this way?" or "Why did they use this material instead of others?" This theory provides the most plausible answers and explanations for past human behaviors.
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Chapter 8 / Lesson 9What is archaeology? Learn the definition of archaeology, define an archaeologist, how archaeology is part of anthropology, and the focus and range of archaeology.