Society for American Archaeology

Archaeological Context and Systemic Context

Author(s): Michael B. Schiffer
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr., 1972), pp. 156-165
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT AND SYSTEMIC CONTEXT

MICHAELB. SCHIFFER

ABSTRACT
The cultural aspect of the processes responsible for forming the archaeological record is argued to be an
underdeveloped branch of archaeological theory. A flow model is presented by which to view the "life history"
or processes of systemic conte of any material element. This model accounts for the production of a
substantial portion of the archaeological record. The basic processes of this model are: procurement,
manufacture, use, maintenance, and discard. Refuse labels the state of an element in archaeological context. The
large untapped source of behavioral information. Differential refuse
spatial implications of the model suggest aaly
disposal patterns are examined as they affect artifact location and association. The meaning of element relative
frequencies in refuse is discussed.
Department of Anthropology
University of Arizona
May, 1971

Perhaps the most important assumption made by many archaeologistsis that the spatial
patterningof archaeologicalremainsreflects the spatialpatterningof past activities(Binford 1962,
1964; Brose 1970; Clarke 1968; Hill 1970a, 1970b; Longacre 1970; McPherron1967; Struever
1968; Wilmsen1970; and many others).
The loss, breakage,and abandonmentof implementsand facilities at differentlocations, where groupsof
variablestructureperformeddifferenttasks,leavesa "fossil"recordof the actualoperationof an extinct
society [Binford1964:4251.
This statement suggests that the proveniencesof artifacts in a site correspond to their actual
Clearlythis is not always the case. But to what extent it may be so
locations of use in activitvities.
and under what conditions, would appearto be a problemworthy of some attention. In the most
general terms, what I am asking is, How is the archaeologicalrecord formed by behavior in a
culturalsystem?
I would emphasize that I am not asking the equally general and important question of why
systems. I am quiring first, Why is there an archaeological
there is variability in past culturalin
record? Second, How does a cultural system produce archaeologicalremains?And third, What
kinds of inter-culturaland intra-culturalvariablesdetermine the structure (as distinct from the
form and content) of the archaeologicalrecord?
The branch of archaeologicaltheory which treatsthese and relatedquestionsmay be defined as
the conceptual system that explains how the archaeologicalrecordis formed. As such, it has both
ultural components. The latter areahas receivedmajoremphasisto date; regular
cultural and non-cultural
patterns of post-depositionalchangesin both artifact inventoriesand site morphologieshave been
elucidated (Hole and Heizer 1969). Explanationsof variabilityin this non-culturaldomainusually
incorporatethe laws of other sciences, such as chemistry,physics, and geology.
The cultural aspect of formation process concepts has not been appreciably developed.
Archaeologistsdo in fact employ interpretiveframeworksthat include assumptionsabout these
formation processes. These assumptions are rarely explicit, and therefore do not readily lend
themselves to testing and modification. The small body of explicit concepts deals almost
exclusively with chronologicalrelationships(Dunnell 1970; Rowe 1961, 1962). Whilethe correct
chronologicalplacement of past events is necessaryfor a successfulreconstructionof past cultural
systems, especiallyas they change,it can in no way be consideredsufficient.
What is advocated here, and elsewhere (Binford and Binford 1968:1-3), is a concern with
explaining how the archaeologicalrecord is produced in terms of explicit models, theories, and
laws of how cultural systems operate. This paper will be an attempt to suggest,in the regrettable
absence of such a corpus of rigorouslytested concepts (Fritz and Plog 1970; Aberle 1970), some
ways by which we may begin to think about the questions raised so far. Hypotheses will be
presented, which, if adequately tested, can contribute to the eventual synthesis and
156

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Schiffer] CONTEXT
ARCHAEOLOGICAL 157

systematization of an archaeological theory having both explanatory and predictive utility.

Without this kind of a scrutinizable framework, any use of archaeologicaldata to infer past
activities or organizationis highly suspect (Binford 1968a) and subject to interminabledispute.
Explicit generation and use of formation process concepts, and other branchesof archaeological
theory, will allow genuinelyintersubjectivestatementsto be made about the past.

PRELIMINARYDEFINITIONS

Some preliminaryconsiderationsof a general nature are requiredat the outset. For present
purposes,a culture is viewed as a behavioralsystem of self-regulatingand interrelatedsubsystems
which procuresand processesmatter,energy, and information(Miller1965a, 1965b;Clarke1968).
A self-regulatingor homeostatic system is defined as one in which at least one variable is
maintainedwithin specifiablevalues despite changesin the system's environment(Miller 1965a;
Hagen 1961).
The values of subsystem variablesare maintainedwithin their ranges by the performanceof
activities. An activity is a transformationof energy, minimallyinvolvingan energy source, often
human, actingon one or more proximatematerialelements.An activitymay be viewed simply as a
patterned energy transformation(White 1959), which serves to maintain the values of system
variables. An activity structure is defined as the activities performed and their performance
frequencies,usuallywith referenceto a site, but not of necessity.
I define elements to include foods, fuels, tools, facilities,machines,humanbeings,and all other
materialswhich one might list in a complete inventoryof a culturalsystem. A provisionaldivision
of elements into the categoriesof durablesand consumableswill be made for later use. Durable
elements are tools, machinesand facilities-in short, transformersand preserversof energy(Wagner
1960). Consumablesare foods, fuels, and other similarelementswhose consumptionresultsin the
liberation of energy.Althoughnumerousother dimensionscould be used to delineatecategoriesof
elements, that is the task of an investigatorattemptingto solve more specificproblemsthan those
of concern here. It should be mentioned, however, that elements are often compounded into
larger, more complex elements, and that complex elements may be further compounded into
hierarchiesof element combinations.
In order to continue activity performance, and hence maintain the values of subsystem
variables,it is necessaryto replace elements which become exhausted or otherwiseunserviceable.
The failure of an element to articulate properly with other elements is a significant bit of
informationto the system, which initiates the performanceof other activitiesresultingeventually
in element replacement, or activity structure change. That it also initiates the processes of
discarding the replaced element is a significant bit of information to archaeologists.What it
introduces is the life cycle or history of any element-the stages of its "life" within a cultural
system-and how these relate to the eventual transitionof elements to the archaeologicalrecord.
Systemic context labels the condition of an element which is participatingin a behavioralsystem.
Archaeologicalcontext describesmaterialswhich have passedthrougha culturalsystem, and which
are now the objects of investigationof archaeologists.

THEMODEL

Whileone may readilyvisualizethe flow of pottery, or food, or even projectilepoints, througha

cultural system, it is the case that all elements enter a system, are modified, broken down, or
combined with other elements, used, and eventually discarded.This is so even for those elements,
such as houses, which at certain points in time appearto be permanentfeatures.This observation
can provide the basis for the construction of a simple flow model with which to view the life
history of any element, and account behaviorallyfor the productionof the archaeologicalrecord.I
acknowledgethat the model to be presentedhere, and the behavioralcomplexitiesto which it calls
attention, has been anticipatedby Lewis R. Binford(1968a:21) and K. C. Chang(1967:106-107);
a generaldebt is acknowledgedto WalterTaylor's(1948) seminalwork.

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158 ameRicanantiquity [Vol. 37, No. 2, 1972

For analytical purposes, the activities in which a durable element participates during its life, or
systemic context, may be broadly divided into 5 processes: procurement, manufacture, use,
maintenance, and discard. A process consists of one or more stages, such as the stages of
manufacture of a ceramic vessel. A stage consists of one or more activities, which for some
analyses might be further broken down.
The model for consumable elements is parallel to and adapted from the model for durable
elements. Such an adaptation is necessary to bring the model into congruence with standard
terminology. One would scarcely refer, for example, to the manufactureand use of poached eggs.
The terms for each process of the flow model for consumablesare: procurement,preparation,
consumption, and discard.Because consumptionoccurs but once duringthe systemic context of a
consumable, the maintenance process has been deleted. For the sake of convenience, the
discussions to follow will exclusively use the terminology of the durable element model.
In addition to the 5 basic processes of systemic context, it will be necessary for some problems
to consider storage and transport.Storage and transportare activitieswhich provide,respectively,
a temporal or spatial displacementof an element. Transportand storagemay take place singly or
in combination between any 2 processes, stages, or activities of one stage.
Not all elements follow a unilinear path through a system. Some are rerouted at strategic points
to processes or stages throughwhich they have alreadypassed.Archaeologistsencounteritems of
this sort frequently; this condition is often known as reuse. Two varietiesof reuse,recyclingand
lateral cycling will be defined here.
Recycling labels the routing of an element at the completion of use to the manufacture process
of the same or a different element. In our system, precious metals and gems are recycled. Some
systems recycle potsherds, bifaces, ground stone, and many other elements, most of which are
routed to the manufacturingprocesses of different elements. Sometimes the use modification or
maintenanceactivities of one element can be viewed as the manufacturingactivities of another.
Continuedretouchingof a scraperwill result in an implementunsuitedfor furtheruse. But in this
form, the element may be adapted for reuse in some other activity.

SYSTEMIC I ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXT CONTEXT

I I
I ,-Irecycling ---

toteral
rcycling

---- procurement - *- manufacture - *- use - discard - o- refuse

JI I
,maintenance

I I
LEGEND

- System under analysis

Opportunity for storage

andor trnsport
and/or transport

Fig. 1. A flow model for viewing the life cycle of durable elements.

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Schiffer] ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXT 159

~~~~~~~~~~I SYSTEMIC I ARCHAEOLOGICAL

CONTEXT CONTEXT

I l
recycling . -

| laterol I
V cycling
I ? t
---- consumption - - Irefuse
4-
procurement-* preparation-* "discard-*

I I

LEGEND

- System under analysis

Opportunity for storage

and/or transport

Fig. 2. A flow model for viewing the life cycle of consumable elements.

Lateral cycling describes the termination of an element's use (use-life) in one set of activities
and its resumption in another, often with only maintenance,storage, and transportintervening.
Specifically, referenceis made to the movement of clothing, tools, furniture,and other elements,
which in simple and complex systems circulateamongand between social units, classes,and castes.
Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the completed basic models for durables and consumables, respectively.
I wish to emphasize that these models are only simplifications of a stubbornly complex reality.
They are not likely to fit neatly the sequences of activities in which elements of all cultural
systems participatewithin their systemic contexts. Some regularcases of apparentdivergencefrom
the models can be listed. For example, an element need not pass through all processes. Trade
elements are those which have no manufactureprocess in the recipient system. Some elements
have no manufactureprocess in any system; unmodified stone used in construction, and some
percussionflaking tools are common examples.Some items will be discardedwithout maintenance
ever havingbeen performedon them. Defective items may be discardeddirectly aftermanufacture.
An element havingno use process, such as an unutilizedflake, is designatedas waste;this is not to
imply that such items are devoid of information,only that they are an unused by-productof some
activity.
At the termination of an element's use-life (assuming no reuse), elements will be discarded.
Refuse labels the post-discardcondition of an element-the condition of no longerparticipatingin
a behavioralsystem. The normal flow of elements through the system in the manneroutlined
above accounts for most of the materials that become a part of the archaeological record.
Although most refuse material consists of those elements which have broken down or worn out
during use, whole, apparentlyserviceableitems are frequently encounteredin excavation.These
materialspresent additionalproblemsof explanation.Some may have been accidentallydeposited,
or their presence may reflect change-an element has become obsolete and discarded.In our own
cultural system, undamagedand potentially reusable elements whose recycling costs are higher
than replacemenicosts are discarded."No deposit no return"bottles are a notoriousexample.The
presence of such items in the archaeologicalrecord is still accounted for in terms of the flow
model, but their formal propertiesmust be accounted for in terms of economic principles.These

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160 american antiquity [Vol. 37, No. 2, 1972

variousfactors are important and worthy of further investigation,yet they do not account for a
great deal of the remaining"anomalous"materialfound in archaeologicalcontext.
Elements discardedwith the deceasedafter ceremonialuse providea significantsource of intact
elements in archaeological context, especially among simple systems. The subject of grave
accompanimentsand their relationships to other aspects of the system that discarded them,
especially social organization,will not be discussedhere; although a comprehensivetreatmentis
long overdue.
The principal set of variables responsible for the presence of usable elements in the
archaeological record is obviously that having to do with the abandonment of the site.
Archaeologicalcontext includes all the materials found in a site, whether or not they are in
specializeddiscardlocations and whether or notthey have been deliberatelydiscardedby the past
occupants of a site. It is well known, for example, that elements are found in every stage of
manufactureand use. The way in which a site is abandoned-the variablesoperativeat the time the
occupants leave the site, or die without replacement-has demonstrableeffects on the kinds and
quantities of non-discardedelements found in archaeologicalcontext. Elements which reach
archaeologicalcontext without the performance of discard activities will be termed de facto
refuse.
Robert Ascher'sprovocativeSeri study (1968) suggestsa hypothesis, which, when generalizedis
relevanthere: differentialabandonmentof a site changes the normalratiosof elements in various
processes of their systemic contexts and the normal spatial distributionof elements. Specifically,
reference is being made to activities which result in the removal of raw materials and usable
elements from abandonedareasof the site and their reuse in the still-occupiedportion. At the time
of their abandonment, these elements were still in systemic context. We would expect to find
relativelyfewer elements in pre-discardprocesses of systemic context, that is, less de facto refuse,
in sites which undergo differentialabandonment.On the other hand, sites abandonedrapidlyand
completely as a result of some catastrophe will have relatively greaternumbers of elements in
manufacture,use, and maintenanceprocesses.Pompeii comes to mind as an example of this kind
of abandonment, in which no change occurred in the provenience of elements or their
distributionsamongthe varioussystemicprocesses.
More often, abandonment,even if sudden, involves the removal of some elements and their
transport to another site or sites. The kinds and quantities of elements so removed should be
relatedsystematicallyto other variablesoperativeat the time of abandonment.Among them might
be expected: distance to the next site, season of movement, size of emigratingpopulation,
technological development of both donor and recipient sites, means of availabletransportation,
and other variables.More complex models will have to be devised to account for the effects that
processesof abandonmenthave on the formationof the archaeologicalrecord.

SPATIALIMPLICATIONS

Perhaps the most important aspect of the notion of systemic context is that there is a
specifiablespatiallocation, or locations, for each process throughwhich an element passes.
The term "location" is used here in its broadestpossiblemeaning.A location can be a point on
a site, or it can be a set of points. It can also be an entire site if, duringone process,an element has
the same chance of being found at one place on the site as any other. Such a concept of spatial
location might be better expressed as a set of probabilitiesfor finding an element or class of like
elements at any point on a site surface duringa particularprocessor stage.A site or other unit of
spatial analysisis divided into squaresof equal area and the probabilityvaluesfor each squareare
indicated. The smallerthe squares,the greaterthe potential accuracy(see Cole and King 1968 for
numerousexamples of how one might model distributions).This flexibility in depictinglocations
allows the frame of reference to be shifted conveniently to any variableof interest to suit the
needs of the investigator;the metate of a woman, or the metates of a village. The relationships
between the locations of each process or stage for an element are complex but I predict that
eventuallydeterminaterelationshipsbetween these and behavioralvariableswill be specifiable.

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Schiffer] ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXT 161

The overlappingof these locations for different elements, and the activities into which they
articulate, reflect a behavioralmatrix of bewilderingcomplexity, even for simple systems. While
this complexity presents problems for some uses of archaeologicaldata, it also providesa hitherto
neglectedsource of informationfor generatingand testing behavioralhypotheses.
Archaeologistsare often able to reconstructthe manufacturingactivitiesof elementswhen they
are recoveredin v-ariousstages of manufacture,often in associationwith waste materials.That the
variousstages and processes of an element's systemic context should be reflected spatiallyas well
has been less frequently used as a basis for generatingor testing hypotheses. A projectile point
found in association with an antler flaker and tiny pressureflakes of the same material in a
habitation structureis a different projectile point from one found in a midden, or anotherfound
eroding from the wall of an arroyowith no other associatedculturalmaterial.In the first case, one
would be dealing with the location of some manufacturingactivities, the second a location of
discard activities, while in the third perhapsthe location of use. The culturalinferencespossible
from a projectile point in each process are different, as are the potential hypotheses againstwhich
these morphologicallysimilarelementsmay be broughtto bear as evidence.
In another example of the relationshipbetween systemic context and the spatialdifferentiation
of cultural behavior,one may take the case of the simple subterraneanstoragepit. Because such
pits occupy the same location duringall processes, one is permitted to state with certainty that a
pit was dug, used, and repairedby the inhabitantsof the site at the same proveniencewhere it was
found in archaeologicalcontext. This is hardly a revelation, yet I suggest that such rigorous
justification for a primarybehavioralinferenceis necessaryif we are to succeedin formulatingand
answeringthe kinds of questions which are now being asked about past cultural systems. The
archaeological record will produce sets of information on subjects which we can scarcely
contemplate at the present, when, and as, progress is made in building models to relate the
production of the archaeologicalrecord to cultural behavior in the past-models which include
explicit referenceto the spatialdimensionof culturalbehavior.

REFUSEDISPOSALPATTERNS

If this model of culturalelement flow and its spatial aspect are to be of value in enablingus to
gain knowledge of the past, they must illuminate some of the questions posed earlier. These
questions and others will be examined and rephrasedin termsmore amenableto treatmentby the
concepts sketched out here. Additionalhypotheses will be introducedas the need for them arises;
they are intended, as are all hypotheses, to be suggestiveand not definitive.
We shall now return to the question raised originallyin the quotation from Binford;that is, to
what extent can remainsat a site be expected to occur at their use locations as opposed to any
other, when found in archaeologicalcontext? We aim to know what some of the determinantsof
variability in patterns of refuse transport and disposal are. I shall distinguishbetween primary
refuse and secondary refuse. Both refer to elements which have been discarded(compare to de
facto refuse) but, in the case of secondaryrefuse, the location of final discardis not the same as
the location of use. Primaryrefuseis materialdiscardedat its location of use (Fig. 3).
I believe that the generalproblemof refuse disposalmay be seen as the balancingof 2 majorsets
of variables.The particularsolutions arrivedat by site occupants for handlingthe by-productsof
activity performancewill take into considerationthe ease of movingthe activity or activitiesversus
the ease of movingthe refuse.
Let us assume that there is a site at which only one activity is being conducted by a single
person duringbrief periods of the year. In this case one might expect few pressuresto favor the
development of a separate location for the final discard of elements replaced during activity
performance.One would obtain a general correspondencebetween the location of use and the
location of final discardfor elementsused in that activity. Let us, then, increasethe populationof
the site to a small village, and increase the intensity of occupation to year-round.In this instance,
one would expect such factors as the necessity for unrestrictedaccess between principalactivity
areas,sanitation, and competition for scarce activity space to place a premiumupon the transport
of at least some of the materialsand their discardat another location. Moderncities providethe

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162 ameRitcan antiquity [Vol. 37, No. 2, 1972

I SYSTEMIC I ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXT CONTEXT

I I
I discord Il primary refuse
-- procurement - *-manufacture -e *e- use
|J I\ \. \ tronsport - discard-- secondary refuse

t defacto refuse

I I
LEGEND

-- System under analysis

Opportunity for storage

and/or transport

Fig. 3. Simplified flow model for explicating the differences between primary, secondary, and de facto refuse.

extreme example, as we know it today, where almost no elements are discardedat their places of
use within the site; consequently, almost all archaeological context material is secondary refuse.
The general principle which these hypothetical cases illustrate is that with increasing site
population (or perhaps site size) and increasing intensity of occupation, there will be a decreasing
correspondence between the use and discard locations for all elements used in activities and
discarded at a site. In addition, there will be an increasing development of specialized discard areas,
occupations, and transportnetworks.From this principle,admittedlyunpolishedand untested, we
can predict that limited activity locations (Wilmsen1970) such as kill and butcheringsites, quarry
sites, and many seasonally occupied sites, will consist largely of primary refuse. A major
characteristicof these sites will be the repeatedclusteringsof elementsin discreteand overlapping
locations.
Let it be given that many sites of many systems had at least moderately developed refuse
transportand disposal activities and, as a result, elements used in many activities were removed
from their locations of use. The question that would appearto be before someone interested in
inferringthe past activity structureof such a site is, To what extent areelements associatedin use
also associated as secondary refuse? No definitive answers are presently at hand, though one
hypothesis may account for some element associationsin secondaryrefuse.
If storage intervenesbetween the terminationof an element'suse-life and its final discard,there
is a likelihood that one or more other elements of the same activity would have been replacedand
stored along with the first element awaitingfinal discard.Therefore,as there is a decreasein the
ratio of final discardfrequency to replacementfrequency of one or more elementsof an activity,
there is an increasing probability that several elements, especially those with short use-life
expectancies, will be discardedat the same time and in the same place within secondaryrefuse
areas. The optimum conditions for element association as secondary refuse occur in modern
industrialsocieties wheremany storageand transportsteps intervenebetween element replacement
and final discard. Most other activities in most other cultural systems will result in secondary
refuse which lies somewhere along this continuum of activity-basedelement association.Future

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Schiffer] ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXT 163

research in both extant and extinct cultural systems must be undertaken to provide more
knowledgeon the regularitiesof dumpingbehavior.
The relative frequencies of elements, or element fragments,found as primary or secondary
refuse, are raw data for many statementsmade about the past. I think it is fair to question any use
of this informationuntil we know the ways in which refuseelement frequenciesreflect the system
of which they were once a part. A generalsolution to this problembased on previoushypotheses,
which will admit of many sourcesof exceptions, can now be presented.
Assumingthat there is no change in the activity structureduringthe occupation of a site, and
that there is only one refuse area, which may be the entire site, the ratiosof elements in that area
will correspond to their relative replacementfrequencies.For example, although only 1 mano is
used with 1 metate at any given time, the ratio of discardedmanos to discardedmetates (assuming
no recycling)will correspondto how often one is worn out and replacedwith respectto the other,
which may be 6 or 8 manosper metate. This model is complicatedby elementswhich have several
discard locations, one or more of which are not known or accessible to the investigator.
Particularlyacute is the problem posed by projectile point disposal patterns. Any statement,
whether for chronologicalcontrol, culturalaffiliation,activity reconstruction,or the measurement
of a past systemic variable,requiresstrict considerationof the multiple discardareasfor this kind
of an element. A potentially fruitful topic for investigation is the conditions under which
projectile points, or any similarelement, will be discardedat a habitationsite. It may turn out that
such points are a perfectly representativesampleof all points in use; yet at the moment, we really
do not know one way or the other.
In offering inferences about past activity structure, reports have sometimes been made that
ritual activities were infrequentor absent.A differentinterpretationis possible. I hypothesize that
durable elements used largely in ritual activities will have on the average a longer use-life
expectance than non-ritualdurableelements of the same system. If this is the case, then even if
ritual activities were present and frequent, non-ritualelementswould be expected to predominate
disproportionately as refuse, simply as a result of differential replacement frequencies. Any
statement asserting the absence or infrequent performance of any activity should be treated
skepticallyuntil the biasesintroducedby differentialreplacementfrequenciesand multiple discard
locations have been taken into account.

CONCLUSION

Archaeologistshave gone from the one extreme of viewing a site as spatially and behaviorally
undifferentiated rubbish to the other extreme of viewing remains as mostly reflecting their
locations of use in past activities. At this point, it appearsthat neitherextreme is often the actual
case. Clearly, though all remainsin a site are refuse when uncoveredin archaeologicalcontext,
when viewed by the model and hypotheses presented here (and used implicitly by many
investigators)they are potentially much more. In order to realize this potential, we will have to
link archaeologicalcontext materialto behavioraland organizationalhypotheses about elementsin
systemic context.
I submit that this linkingprocessis the centralproblemof archaeologicalinference(see Binford
1968b for similar statements). Once high probability statements about activity structuresare
possessed, hypotheses regardingthe composition of task groups, their means of recruitment,and
how they are structured within the total system organization, and especially how these
organizationschange, will be capable of precise formulationand archaeologicaltest. Whetherone
begins at the level of archaeologicalcontext material,or with models of system organizationand
change, the form of the final inference or tested model will be similar: statements about past
organizationor other systemic properties are linked by argumentsof relevance(Binford 1968b;
Fritz 1968; Schiffer 1970) to the activity structure.The activity structure,in turn, is linked to the
archaeologicalcontext data by formationprocessconcepts.
The construction and use of formationprocessconcepts along the lines sketched out abovewill
allow the rigorous justification of our inferences. Without a base of explicit, logically related
credible laws about the formation processes of the archaeologicalrecord, debates about the

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164 ameillcan antiquity [Vol. 37, No. 2, 1972

validity of an inference, or any use of the data from the record,can only focus on epiphenomena
or ad hominem arguments(Binford 1968a). I would hope that the crude first approximationsto
explicit formation process concepts presented here will stimulate a round of vigorous criticism
aimed at improving the conceptual tools with which we manipulatethe remainsof past cultural
systems. As more sophisticated and comprehensivemodels are developed, confidence will be
gained in the uses to which we put the data of the archaeological record.

Acknowledgments. I am indebted to the following individuals for their patient and instructive criticisms of
various versions of this paper: Daniel C. Bowman, David A. Gregory, John A. Hanson, William A. Longacre,
Henri A. Luebbermann, Paul S. Martin, David R. Wilcox, and the Editor. I am solely responsible for the
misconceptions which persist. In the context of solving a different problem, Michael B. Collins (1971) has
independently developed a lithic-specific flow model similar to the general model presented here; I have profited
from discussions with him. Sharon Urban kindly prepared the figures. I gratefully acknowledge the support of
the Field Museum of Natural History and the National Science Foundation (Grant GY-7225). I am especially
indebted to the director of the Field Museum Southwest Expedition, Paul S. Martin, for his constant
encouragement and for providing an unmatched climate of intellectual freedom.

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