Robert Dunnell

This article is about the American archaeologist. For Sir Robert Francis Dunnell, the British lawyer, railway executive and civil servant, see Francis Dunnell.

Robert C. Dunnell (d. December 13, 2010) was a theoretical archaeologist. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1967. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington.

Among Dunnell's research was the role biological evolutionary theory can be used as a model for theories of cultural evolution. Dunnell felt the biological model was often incorrectly applied, he advocated the use of a Darwinian model. Dunnell's approach advocates the evolutionary model to explain (cultural) variation, while exposing the pitfalls of using analogy to explain historical events.

Dunnell's geographical interests included the U.S. Midwest.

Selected bibliography

• Dunnell, Robert C., 1978. Style and Function: A Fundamental Dichotomy. American Antiquity, 43(2), pp.192–202.
• Dunnell, Robert C., 1980. Evolutionary Theory and Archaeology. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, 3, pp.35–99.
• Dunnell, Robert C., 1982. The Harvey Lecture Series. Science, Social Science, and Common Sense: The Agonizing Dilemma of Modern Archaeology. Journal of Anthropological Research, 38(1), pp.1–25.
• Dunnell, Robert C., 1986. Five Decades of American Archaeology. In D. Meltzer et al., eds. American Archaeology Past and Future. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp.23–52.
• Dunnell, Robert C., 2002. Systematics in Prehistory. Caldwell, NJ: Blackburn Press. ISBN 1930665288.

External links

• Selective bibliography of Dunnell's theoretical publications