Should Archaeology Rethink Its Reliance on the Concept of “Culture”?

Should Archaeology Rethink Its Reliance on the Concept of “Culture”?

The concept of “culture” is the foundation upon which modern archaeology was built, yet it carries a deeply uncomfortable historical burden. A thought-provoking interdisciplinary study by archaeologist Johanna Brinkmann and philosopher Vesa Arponen at Kiel University’s ROOTS Cluster of Excellence explores a striking paradox: despite its problematic past, the term “culture” remains utterly indispensable to studying the human story.

Published in the journal Germania, their research unpacks why archaeology cannot simply discard the concept, how it survived the 20th century, and why modern breakthroughs like ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis mean we must tread more carefully than ever.

Should Archaeology Rethink Its Reliance on the Concept of “Culture”

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The Dark History of Archaeological “Culture”

To understand why the term “culture” makes modern researchers uneasy, one must look back to the early 20th century. Scholars like Gustaf Kossinna popularized the “culture-historical” approach, which directly tied specific styles of pottery, tools, and weapons to distinct, ethnically defined groups of people.

Regrettably, these academic ideas were weaponized. Nazi ideologues seized upon Kossinna’s theories, using prehistoric material remains as nationalist propaganda to justify territorial expansion and racial supremacy.

Following World War II, the discipline faced a massive ethical reckoning. The idea that a specific shaped axe equaled a specific genetic race was rightly exposed as scientifically untenable. Yet, decades later, archaeologists still routinely use terms like the “Funnel Beaker Culture” or the “Lengyel Culture” to categorize ancient societies.

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The Three Pillars Keeping “Culture” Alive

Why has the concept survived? Brinkmann and Arponen argue that archaeological “culture” does not rely on a single theoretical definition. Instead, it is held up by three distinct pillars, two of which remain vital today:

By separating these frameworks, the researchers show that while the nationalist pillar collapsed, the evolutionary and culturalist pillars provided the intellectual support necessary for the concept to endure.

The Five Intuitions of the Archaeological Mind

The study identifies five core intuitions that instinctively guide how archaeologists recognize and categorize a “culture”:

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• Location: Anchoring human activity to a specific geographic landscape.

• Group: The natural assumption that ancient people lived in cohesive social structures.

• Transfer: The passing down of traditions, knowledge, and behaviors through time.

• Material Culture: The physical objects—pottery, tools, architecture—left behind.

• Belief and Meaning: The shared symbolic world and values of a community.

While these five elements originally fed into early, flawed nationalistic models, they have evolved. Today, they function as flexible tools within modern evolutionary and culturalist frameworks, explaining why archaeologists instinctively fall back on cultural classifications when analyzing the past.

The Practical Challenge of Big Data and the Warning of aDNA

Beyond philosophy, archaeology has a massive practical hurdle: the sheer volume of physical artifacts. Sorting millions of broken pottery shards requires a classification system. Alternative models exist—such as polythetic classification, which groups artifacts based on a shifting web of shared traits rather than strict checklists—but they are notoriously complex and cumbersome to apply in daily fieldwork. “Culture” remains the most efficient shorthand shorthand available.

However, the authors issue a critical warning for the 21st century. The explosive rise of archaeogenetics and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis allows scientists to trace ancient migrations with unprecedented genetic accuracy.

The danger is that without rigorous self-reflection, uncritical use of the word “culture” combined with genetic mapping risks reviving the ghost of Gustaf Kossinna. It is easy to slip back into the trap of equating a biological DNA profile directly with a specific pottery style or linguistic group.

Conclusion: A Call for Reflected Use

Ultimately, the study concludes that archaeology cannot, and perhaps should not, entirely banish the concept of “culture.” It is too deeply embedded in how we organize material data and interpret human behavior.

Instead, the path forward requires a hyper-aware, reflective approach. Archaeologists must continuously question which pillar of culture they are invoking, ensuring that as we use cutting-edge science to map the movements of ancient peoples, we do not accidentally rebuild the flawed, dangerous assumptions of the past.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the concept of “culture” controversial in archaeology?

The concept became deeply controversial in the early 20th century when nationalist archaeologists used material artifacts to define rigid racial and ethnic groups. These ideas were later co-opted by Nazi propaganda to claim territorial rights, creating a lasting ethical wariness around the term after World War II.

What is the “Funnel Beaker Culture”?

The Funnel Beaker Culture is a major prehistoric European archaeological culture dating to the Neolithic period (roughly 4300–2800 BCE). It is named after its characteristic pottery—vessels with funnel-shaped necks—and serves as a prime example of how archaeologists use material styles to categorize ancient time periods and regions.

What are the three pillars of archaeological culture identified in the study?

The three pillars are: the ethnocentric/nationalist pillar (largely rejected today), the cultural-evolutionary pillar (focusing on how technology and skills are passed down), and the culturalist pillar (emphasizing the unique ideas and symbolic meanings within specific communities).

What is polythetic classification in archaeology?

Polythetic classification is an alternative method of grouping artifacts. Instead of requiring an object to have every single characteristic to belong to a certain group, a polythetic approach groups items that share a large number of traits, acknowledging that human creations are varied and rarely fit into rigid boxes.

How does ancient DNA (aDNA) impact the debate over archaeological culture?

Ancient DNA allows scientists to map genetic ancestry and migrations with incredible precision. However, researchers warn that if we aren’t careful, we might accidentally fall back into old, disproven habits—mistaking a shared genetic profile for a shared “cultural” identity, when in reality, genes and material traditions do not always align.