THE PROBLEM OF TRADITION IN ARCHEOLOGY – ETHNIC, REGIONAL, MIGRATION, AND CONVERGING REASONS

Abstract

The article analyzes the concept of “tradition” and “innovation” in archaeological theory. The definitions given to these terms in Soviet, classical and modern Western theoretical archeology are considered, attention is paid to the "archeology of traditions" of American anthropologists and archaeologists. According to the theorists of "archeology of traditions" tradition is part of the dynamic and contingent “cultural construction” process, a fluid “reactualization” of the past. Daily practice is a factor in the transformation of tradition. It is not possible to give a definite and comprehensive wording to the concept of “tradition”. The interpretation of the concept of “innovation” is equally problematic. “Innovations” can appear as a result of chance or in a long-term disguise as “tradition”. The routinization of “innovation” can play both a positive and a negative role. The article also indicates that the use of ethnographic data to interpret the traditions of archaeological cultures of the preliterate era is the most controversial in the methodology of the theorists of “archeology of traditions”. Another problem is the use of similar models for interpreting the traditions of archaeological cultures of different regions. In our opinion, the processes in preliterate archaeological cultures can be explained by a situational approach, taking into account the specificity of the ecology, landscape, social processes unknown to us, and other factors.