Hace unos días falleció Lewis Roberts Binford. Nacido el 21 de noviembre de 1930, falleció el 11 de abril de 2011 en Norfolk, Virginia, EE. UU. Binford fue uno, de los máximos representantes de la Nueva Arqueología.
Binford empezó a destacar en 1962 como profesor ayudante en el Universidad de Chicago cuando escribió un artículo en American Antiquity proponiendo que los arqueólogos dejaran de poner el énfasis en la clasificación de los objetos y en su lugar estudiaran lo que los objetos revelaban acerca de las culturas prehistóricas. Esta propuesta es lo que se denomina ahora como "Nueva Arqueología", que se desarrolló primeramente en el mundo anglosajón, para, desde allí, expandirse por todo el mundo..
Partidario de las ideas del procesualismo, defendía que el registro arqueológico no puede ser comprendido si no se comprende cómo se formó dicho registro. Binford daba gran importancia a la antropología y la investigación etnológica como medio de comprender el pasado, así como a la arqueología experimental, y a la utilización de una metodología propia de las ciencias naturales en la investigación arqueológica.
Escribió 18 libros y más de 130 artículos y capítulos de libro. Su libro más reciente Constructing Frames of Reference: An Analytical Method for Archaeological Theory Building Using Ethnographic and Environmental Data Sets (California: 2001) es considerado una obra de referencia en el estudio de las poblaciones de cazadores recolectores.
Sus trabajos más relaveantes fueron:
New Perspectives in Archaeology (1968), Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology (1978), Bones, Ancient Men and Modern Myths (1981), In Pursuit of the Past: Decoding the Archaeological Record (1983), Faunal Remains from Klasies River Mouth (1984)
Margarita Díaz-Andrew nos envió la siguiente nota oficial:
Begin forwarded message:
OFFICIAL INFORMATION:
Lewis Roberts Binford, born November 21, 1931 to Joseph Lewis Binford
and Eoline (Roberts) Binford in Norfolk, VA, died on Monday, April 11,
2011 at 6:10pm (officially declared at 6:30pm) in the house he designed
and shared with me in Kirksville, MO. Lew was 79 years old last
November.
Martha Binford, Roz Hunter-Anderson, and I were all present at the time
of his death. He passed very peacefully - breathing which had been
labored much of the day became slow and shallow and then just stopped.
Lew is survived by me & his daughter, Martha Binford (of Belen, NM).
ON A MORE PERSONAL NOTE:
On the day he died, Lew rested comfortably most of the day. He did not
open his eyes, but he was aware of our presence and our conversation and
often squeezed our hands (though very lightly) at appropriate times (he
seldom had a hand that wasn't being held by either me or Martha -
usually one on each side).
Following his wishes, Lew will be cremated at a local funeral home. We
will plan a personal, local commemoration in the near future. Martha and
I are both aware that it would be appropriate to plan (or for us to
collaborate with some of you to plan) a public, academic commemoration
at a later time; we are unable to think that far ahead at present.
I will pass along those plans to this list as they are made.
Thank you for your warm wishes, positive thoughts, and stories. Martha,
Roz, our good friend Diane Johnson, and I spent a few hours last night
drinking tea, eating pineapple, and sharing memories. [Thanks to the
Binford cousins for sharing the story at our reunion 2 yrs ago about Lew
encouraging a younger cousin to tie crab bait to his toe... that one got
us laughing last night - and we needed to laugh.]
I have spent most of the night listening to some of our favorite jazz
(Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn), curled up in Lew's
recliner, alternating between sobs, dozing, and happy memories. One day
soon, I'm sure I'll sleep soundly. At the moment, I'm listening to Ella
& Louis sing "Nearness of You" - which, more than any other song, will
always make me think of Lew.
Sincerely,
Amber
Amber Johnson
19544 Sunset Trl
Kirksville, MO 63501
