W. C. McKern and the Midwestern Taxonomic Method

by Lyman, R. Lee; O'Brien, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780817312220
• ISBN10: 0817312226
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-20
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

This book explains the deep influence of biological methods and theories on the practice of Americanist archaeology by exploring W. C. McKern's use of Linnaean taxonomy as the model for development of a pottery classification system. By the early 20th century, North American archaeologists had found evidence of a plethora of prehistoric cultures displaying disparate geographic and chronological distributions. But there were no standards or algorithms for specifying when a culture was distinct or identical to another in a nearby or distant region. Will Carleton McKern of the Milwaukee Public Museum addressed this fundamental problem of cultural classification beginning in 1929. He modeled his solutionknown as the Midwestern Taxonomic Methodon the Linnaean biological taxonomy because he wanted the ability to draw historical and cultural "relationships" among cultures. McKern was assisted during development of the method by Carl E. Guthe, Thorne Deuel, James B. Griffin, and William Ritchie. This book studies the 1930s correspondence between McKern and his contemporaries as they hashed out the method's nuances. It compares the several different versions of the method and examines the Linnaean biological taxonomy as it was understood and used at the time McKern adapted it to archaeological problems. Finally, this volume reveals how and why the method failed to provide the analytical solution envisioned by McKern and his colleagues and how it influenced the later development of Americanist archaeology.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
List of Tables	ix
Preface and Acknowledgments	xi
PART I: W.C. McKern and the Midwestern Taxonomic Method
Introduction	3	(10)
Taxonomic Classification and Biological Taxonomy	13	(38)
Developing the Midwestern Taxonomic Method, 1930--1935	51	(50)
Subsequent Developments, 1935--1940	101	(34)
Applications, Comments, and Later Proposals	135	(44)
The Midwestern Taxonomic Method in Light of Biological Systematics	179	(20)
PART II: Historical Documents
Culture Type Classification for Midwestern North American Archaeology	199	(1)
W. C. McKern
A Suggested Classification of Cultures	200	(4)
Carl E. Guthe
Local Types and the Regional Distribution of Pottery-Bearing Cultures	204	(4)
W. C. McKern
The Problem of Culture Classification	208	(6)
W. C. McKern
Thorne Deuel
Carl E. Guthe
Certain Culture Classification Problems in Middle Western Archaeology	214	(13)
W. C. McKern
Some Assumptions and Implications of the McKern Classification System	227	(6)
Thorne Deuel
Review of Rediscovering Illinois: Archaeological Explorations in and around Fulton County	233	(8)
W. C. McKern
The McKern and Related Systems of Classification	241	(9)
Thorne Deuel
The Midwestern Taxonomic Method as an Aid to Archaeological Culture Study	250	(12)
W. C. McKern
Application of the Midwestern Taxonomic Method	262	(5)
W. C. McKern
Taxonomy and the Direct Historical Approach	267	(5)
W. C. McKern
Regarding Midwestern Archaeological Taxonomy	272	(5)
W. C. McKern
An Inaccurate Description of Midwestern Taxonomy	277	(4)
W. C. McKern
References Cited	281	(18)
Index	299