Provides a treatment of Darwinian evolutionism and its applicability to the investigation of the archaeological record. This work explains the position that this kind of evolutionism holds in science and how it bears on an attempt to explain change over time in the organic world, and demonstrates commonalities between archaeology and paleobiology.

This book is an in-depth treatment of Darwinian evolutionism and its applicability to the investigation of the archaeological record. The authors explain the unique position that this kind of evolutionism holds in science and how it bears on any attempt to explain change over time in the organic world, demonstrate commonalities between archaeology and paleobiology, and explain the principles, methods, and techniques - the systematics - inherent in the approach.

Preface. Acknowledgments. Figures. Tables. 1. Darwinian Theory and Archaeology. 2. Two Kinds of Science: Essentialism and Materialism. 3. The Materialist Paradox in Archaeology. 4. The Place of History in Modern Paleobiology and Archaeology. 5. Archaeological Units and Their Construction. 6. Building and Testing Historical Lineages. 7. Tempo and Mode in Evolution. 8. Explaining Lineage Histories. 9. Evolutionary Archaeology: An Epilogue. References. Glossary. Index.