The status of historical archaeology. Regarding of the styudy of the consumption of french tile in San Juan Bautista, Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

Archaeologists use historical archeology in different ways. Some of the terms used, such as subdiscipline, are defined in a broad and imprecise way. For this reason, the objective of this work is to discuss the concepts of the field of historical archeology, together with a presentation of the method to obtain the necessary data for the explanation of the archaeological record. Focusing mainly upon specimens of french roof tiles obtained from the extensive archaeological investigations were conducted at the ancient settlement of San Juan Bautista, Tabasco, México. Historical information and experimental archeology data are used as analog sources. This study concludes by pointing out the reason for the low density of tiles in the sample given that they were considered objects of high replacement value as they were obtained from international trade networks. In particular, this work develops an alternative perspective to the study of historical archeology, through a method that solves the problems caused by inductivism, such as theoretical reductionism and the creation of tautologies.