The Structure of Evolutionary Theory The Structure of Evolutionary Theory The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (2002) is Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould's technical book on macroevolution and the historical development of evolutionary theory. The book was twenty years in the making, published just two months before Gould's death. Aimed primarily at professionals, the volume is divided into two parts. The first is a historical study of classical evolutionary thought, drawing extensively upon primary documents; the second is a constructive critique of the modern synthesis, and presents a case for an interpretation of biological evolution based largely on hierarchical selection, and the theory of punctuated equilibrium
Evolutionary archaeology other disciplines, such as anthropology and specifically archaeology. In other words, critics claim that there is no value of this approach and words such as ‘variation’, ‘selection’ and ‘drift’ are merely metaphorical. They state no scientific methods exist that can justify employing the theory of evolution that exists in biology and paleobiology to what is observed in the social world. Another criticism is that human culture is increasingly complex and variable thus it can’t be constrained to the same theoretical notions such evolutionary biology. In addition, critics such as, Bloch 2000; Pinker 1997 blatantly reject any evolutionary analysis of culture.