Anthropology Commons^™

The Role Of Adaptation In Archaeological Explanation, Michael J. O'Brien, T. D. Holland

History Faculty Publications

Adaptation, a venerable icon in archaeology, often is afforded the vacuous role of being an ex-post-facto argument used to »explain» the appearance and persistence of traits among prehistoric groups- A position that has seriously impeded development of a selectionist perspective in archaeology. Biological and philosophical definitions of adaptation- A nd by extension, definitions of adaptedness-vary considerably, but all are far removed from those usually employed in archaeology. The prevailing view in biology is that adaptations are features that were shaped by natural selection and that increase the adaptedness of an organism. Thus adaptations are separated from other features that may …