The epistemological nature of archaeological units

Abstract

Understanding the epistemological nature of archaeological units, or types, is critical to archaeological research. Two aspects of units underpin the issue. First, ideational units must not be conflated with empirical units. Ideational units are units of measurement; empirical units are the things being measured. Ideational units can be either theoretical or descriptional. Theoretical units, as their name implies, are derived from a theoretical basis, and their utility for a specific analytical purpose must be tested. Descriptional units are not derived from theory and are not attached to an analytical purpose, although they may serve the purpose of communication. Second, theoretical units must be defined intensionally, through explicit listing of their diagnostic attributes. Most extant archaeological units have been extensionally derived from the specimens included in a unit, and often comprise descriptive as well as definitive attributes, without distinction between the two. The conflation of theoretical and empirical units remains a serious problem in archaeology.