Abstract
In archaeology objectivity is both possible and necessary. Objectivity primarily means that we at least try to find the truth about what happened in prehistory. A minor fact is worth more than a great fiction. Archaeological actualism has three main variants: ethnoarchaeology, archaeological experiments, and our own personal, subjective impressions of the archaeological material compared with basic physical phenomena in the world around us. Personal actualistic explanations are acceptable and useful if they concern general human conditions.
Highlights
In archaeology objectivity is both possible and necessary
The quotation applies very well to archaeology, since it is unique among the humanities in that we have to give prehistoric times a language before a discourse is possible
Thukydides writes : "But as to the facts of the occurences of the war, I have thought it my duty to give them, not as ascertained from any chance informant nor as seemed to me probable, but only after investigating with the greatest possible accuracy each detail, in the case both of the events in which I myself participated and of those regarding which I got my information from others
Summary
In archaeology objectivity is both possible and necessary. Objectivity primarily means that we at least try to find the truth about what happened in prehistory. Obviously we need a theory to help us find those elements in the artefact material which will give the best possible knowledge. The material of prehistoric archaeology i» different from that of all these disciplines in that it is both mute and human (Malmer 1984:266, 1993:146).
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