Another goal is culture history, placing the archaeological record within a chronological framework and identifying geographical, environmental, and cultural linkages that help answer the questions of when, where, and who. Culture histories involve the use of chronological (e. g., periods), geographical (e. g., culture areas), and cultural classifications (e. g., phases, components) to organize the archaeological record. It uses geographical distributions to answer questions about migrations of human populations (e. g., earliest peopling of the Americas or the Hawaiian Islands) and the spread of technologies and technological innovations such as bronze metallurgy, irrigation agriculture, and monumental architecture. Using the archaeological record to answer the question of ‘who’ often involves the use of artifact markers associated with the cultural traditions of specific human groups such as the Vikings or the Scythians. Culture histories drove most archaeological research until the second half of the twentieth century, and archaeological research in poorly documented places is typically driven by this goal today. Culture history explains social and cultural change with historically specific internal or external mechanisms. Internal mechanisms include population growth and individual variation in behavior such as innovation, drift, and selection. External mechanisms include environmental change, population movement, and the diffusion of ideas.
World History
