La révolution cognitive et l'archéologie

Jean-Claude Gardin

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1221-1230

Abstract

Two components of the cognitive revolution are here considered in relation to archaeology: first, reflexivity, or in French "la pensée réfléchie", interested in exploration of its own process; second, computer science, which provides a useful framework for the analysis and simulation of reasoning process in a cognitive perspective. The "logicist" approach of archaeological constructs developed in France and Switzerland over the past decade follows those two axes. The present paper exposes some of the lessons gained from that research programme. One of them bears on the contribution of formal methods (logicism included) to the process of archaeological knowledge. This progress cannot be denied, despite contrary views expressed by the more radical relativists; but it seems to depend more on the empirical value of historical constructs than on their formal concerns. Another observation relates to the diversity of consequents derived from the same premises in archaeological argument, clearly brought out by logicist schematizations. Interesting questions are raised on that basis, regarding the sources and consequences of the phenomenon: (a) practical questions, such as probable changes in the functions and forms of archaeological publications; (b) theoretical issues, related to the current debate on the position of the humanities "between" Science, Literature and Common sense.

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