Everyone has a Plan: Reflections on Archaeological Model Building in the Neotropics

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Reflections and Ripples of the Caiman: Papers in the Spirit of Don Lathrap" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The basic features of Donald Lathrap’s vision of pre-Columbian cultural developments in South America remain relevant for contemporary archaeological discourse. Although some of his retrodictive suggestions have not survived subsequent scrutiny, his ideas still resonate, while formerly prevailing models have been largely discarded. With the benefit of hindsight from recent scholarship, it is easy to understand why; however, it is interesting and informative to explore the foundational insights that guided his ideas nearly 70 years ago.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Reflections and Ripples of the Caiman: Papers in the Spirit of Don Lathrap   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50567