Functional Assessment in Archaeological Research

Abstract

A holistic framework to characterize the functions of archaeological sites involves the concurrent operation of multiple functional dimensions such as technology, economy, social organization, politics, ideology, aesthetics, and communication that occur in any cultural group and time period. The multi-dimensional perspective enables numerous potential anthropological research questions that would otherwise be overlooked. This approach eliminates the crippling problems of economic primacy and mono-functionalism, and it permits comparability of results. This approach also proposes that chronological change arises from the variable ways to fulfill a function in the context ofthe actual demands on that function. An examplefrom Hawai'i Island illustrates the utility ofthe proposed paradigmatic approach to functional assessment.