Shading the Past: Models in Archeology

Archeologists create and interpret the past. Attempts to arrive at the “best explanation” of that past are misguided, ignoring the differing perspectives of those who are looking backward, as well as the imperfections in our cognitive abilities. The latter is the focus of this article: How do we best relate our models, as metaphors, to a presumed real past world? Archeological thought is argued to be embedded in traditional Western dichotomies by which we view the world in general. Different models are not necessarily in competition; rather, they provide different modes of understanding. Several models for the “origin” of agriculture are examined in this light and are then applied to the prehistory of the American Midwest.