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In 1995, Anick Coudart and Laurent Olivier explained the French reception of postmodernism in archaeology based on the idea that scientific practices are determined by national mentalities. This idea, which has been common since the 19th century, has been reinvested in the history and sociology of science over the past decade. Based on this work, this article renews the analysis of “theoretical” developments in archaeology. The national variations in the development of New Archaeology and Post-processual archaeology are explained, not by different mentalities, but by 1) the dynamics between academic generations, 2) disciplinary models of organization, 3) the status granted to science studies within scientific disciplines. The importance of the contributions of scientific studies, which provide the archaeological community with methods and data to analyse the balance of power established in the discipline, is finally defended.