A chronological perspective that refers to phenomena as they change over time. Chronology is extremely important in archaeology, as without being able to determine when events occurred, no order or sense can be made of what is discovered and unearthed. For a long period of time, the relationship between archaeology and chronology was a simple one: events and items were simply labeled according to when they occurred and existed. However, the reasons as to why phenomena occurred when they did and why they altered over time became increasingly important. Thus was the reason for the diachronic perspective. This form of chronological study was propelled by Kent Flannery in 1967, when he detailed that the goal of this method is to reconstruct the patterns of change among phenomenons. The diachronic method is indeed a new one, and thus has only really been utilized during the latter half of the present century.
For further information:
Time Scales and Global Stratigraphic
Correlation
Also, Sandra Harley Carey's dissertation, A Diachronic and Synchronic Analysis of the
Relation Between Cause Specific Mortality Patterns and Status Integration, submitted
to the University of Texas at Austin, details how the thoughts and theories about disease
and other causes of death have changed over the years.
Composed by Patrick Findlay, Sara Jones, Sally McIver, Joseph Billeaud, and Ted Weiman.
Last updated 25 February 1997