American archaeologist and academic (died 2011)

Lewis Binford

Lewis Roberts Binford was an American archaeologist known for his influential work in archaeological theory, ethnoarchaeology and the Paleolithic period. He is widely considered among the most influential archaeologists of the later 20th century, and is credited with fundamentally changing the field with the introduction of processual archaeology in the 1960s. Binford's influence was controversial, however, and most theoretical work in archaeology in the late 1980s and 1990s was explicitly construed as either a reaction to or in support of the processual paradigm. Recent appraisals have judged that his approach owed more to prior work in the 1940s and 50s than suggested by Binford's strong criticism of his predecessors.

Born

1931

November 21

Died

Living

Era

1930s

Country

About

Lewis, in brief

Lewis Roberts Binford was an American archaeologist known for his influential work in archaeological theory, ethnoarchaeology and the Paleolithic period. He is widely considered among the most influential archaeologists of the later 20th century, and is credited with fundamentally changing the field with the introduction of processual archaeology in the 1960s. Binford's influence was controversial, however, and most theoretical work in archaeology in the late 1980s and 1990s was explicitly construed as either a reaction to or in support of the processual paradigm. Recent appraisals have judged that his approach owed more to prior work in the 1940s and 50s than suggested by Binford's strong criticism of his predecessors.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

  1. 1931 Born

Also on November 21

What else happened on this day, through history

See all of November 21 →

The world in 1931

When Lewis arrived

Read the year 1931 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on November 21

See everything on November 21 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1931

Read about the year 1931 →

Keep going

More to explore