Theoretical Archaeology: a Reactionary View
Citation: Ian Hodder (1982) Theoretical Archaeology: a Reactionary View. In Symbolic and Structural Archaeology, edited by I. Hodder, pp. 1-16. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (RSS)
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Summary
Hodder defines functionalism as a method of drawing explanations of socities through analogy with the organic world, focusing on systems, societal equilibrium and adaptation. A similar approach, structuralism, has been criticized for lacking theory, creating a binary between society and the individual, and failing to deal with both static and dynamic systems. Functionalism has roots in the mid-1800s, when Comte's "first law of social statics" proposed relationships of solidarity and interdependence between many aspects of a society.
One of the features of functionalism that can be clearly drawn from biological systems is the idea of societal equilibrium, or homeostasis. This assumes that societies will seek to create an organic equilibrium through its systems. "Pathologies" in the system occur when maladaptive structures are maintained and the equilibrium is upset. However, it is difficult to apply the homeostasis analogy to social systems, because closed systems (such as an organism) can only be affected by external sources. Unlike an organism, societies can drastically alter their form and function over the course of their lifetime. It is also difficult to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive processes, especially because functional value of a system or structure is culturally contextual.
Hodder believes the best course of action in order to utilize a functionalist approach is to determine cross-cultural rules of behavior related to how people utilize material culture. For example, using human activities that are constrained by the universal mechanical constraints of our bodies is a legitimate means of understanding past behavior. Regardless, Hodder cautions that reducing human actions to functional laws can be inadequate, as humans rarely behave in a mechanical, purely functional, manner.
