The comparative method in archaeology and the study of Spanish and Portuguese South American material culture

Abstract

The use of the comparative method in archaeology is still in its infancy in Latin America. This chapter explores differences in settlement patterns between the Hispanic and Portuguese worlds and tries to show how a comparative approach enables a better understanding of two contrasting ways of ordering the material world (Nassaney, 1998; Orser 1997). Furthermore, comparison, as a strategy in contextual archaeology, contributes to recognizing archaeological inquiry within its own historical and social context (Shanks, 1994: 32; Zarankin, 2000). Long ago archaeology was recognized as much more than ancillary to history (cf. Childe, 1956, first sentence of the book; contra Meneses, 1965: 22). To a global audience, it is probably amazing to discover that there are meaningful differences between Hispanic and Portuguese America from which a comparative archaeology can gain a lot. © 2005 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.