Chercheurs

Archeologie / FLANNERY, KENT

kflanner

Position

Professor, Anthropology department, University of Michigan, USA.
Curator for Zooarchaeology at the University of Michigan\'s Museum of Anthropology.

Thèmes de recherche

Dr. Flannery is one of the preeminent archaeologists in the field of Mesoamerican agriculture. He is also known as an Environmental Archaeologist. He is widely known for his Theory of Cultural Stability in Peasant Lifestyles in the Tehuacán Valley in Mexico. He noticed that the peasants of the current time in this area wete still living in the same types of homes and exhibiting the same cultural characteristics as their predecessors of around 500 years. His reasoning was that the inhabitants could change their agriculture and trade practices to suit the environment. For example, if the harvest for the year was bountiful, they would trade goods with neighboring villages. If the next year was dry and unprofitable, they could trade those previous goods for food. This would explain the cultural stability of the area for that class.

Dr. Flannery is probably best known for his research on the origins of agriculture in Mesoamerica. In his own words, \"I have already traveled many thousands of miles on that particular wagon, and I yearn to step down and tackle other problems.\" He made this statement in an article entitled The Origins of Agriculture, published in 1973. He focuses on the Zapotec Culture that flourished in Oaxaca, Mexico. He believes that the agricultural revolution did not happen all at once, but rather was a step by step process which evolved over a period of time. His most recent book, Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Societies Evolved in Mexico\'s Oaxaca Valley, co-authored with Dr. Joyce Marcus, espouses this idea. Flannery and Marcus promote the action theory of agriculture. This theory places the emphasis on the decision making process of the evolution of agriculture instead of the end result.. He is a member of the National Academy of Scientist and the Cambridge Journal Editorial Advisory Board. His sharp wit and outspoken personality make him one of the most interesting contemporary archaeologists to date.

Prix et récompenses

Publications

He is author and editor of numerous works including “The Early Mesoamerican Village” (1976), “The Cloud People : Divergent Evolution of Zapotec and Mixtec Civilisations” (1983), “Gila Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture” (1986), “The Flocks of Wamani : A Study of Llama Herders on the Punas of Ayacucho, Peru” (1989), “Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca” (1994), and “Zapotec Civilisation : How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley” (1997).