Kelahiran arkeologi Indonesia di ilmu sosial dan perkembangannya ke ilmu alam

Abstract

The increasing complexity of archaeological investigations is contemporary with the development of different theories and methods in various fields of research. The close relationship with anthropology means archaeology has historically absorbed many theories from the social sciences, usually of the more qualitative nature. As the field has development however, new techniques in archaeological research have been discovered which see archaeologists more frequently working with quantitative data. In effect, these practices see social science theories applied less and less in current archaeological publications. Today archaeology, is a multidisciplinary research field incorporating a highly varied spectrum of researchers and sub-disciplines. Here, we discuss the shift of this archaeological paradigm, with a focus on Indonesia, through literature review and descriptive qualitative analysis. The culture-historical approach applied in the early days of archaeological research, are seen as shifting into nature-historical approaches that emphasize objectivity of research and empirical data. The shift is also correlated with the type of archaeological research demanded by the global academic society.