Principles_of_Archaeology.docx

3/28/2012 Development of Culture Renaissance Antiquarianism- collected artifacts as art; didn?t look any further Cultural/Social Evolution- people start talking about global history and how they had changed; Lewis Henry Morgan had a uni-linear model for cultural evolution Historical Particularism- rejected the uni-linear idea of cultural evolution; each culture is separate and changes independently Cultural History-very descriptive explanation of each culture, views them as separate Processual- Lewis Benford worked to establish archaeology as a science; defines laws of human behavior through the study of archaeology; still used and debated with post-processual Post-processual- all societies are unique, to understand them, you have to experience them directly; interested in why people from different backgrounds experience the same thing differently Archaeological Skills Theoretical Technical Social Methodological Writing Scientific Method- Archaeology uses 2 types of reasoning Inductive- specific observations lead to general conclusions Deductive- specific implications from a generalized hypothesis What are archaeologists interested in? Aspects of society and behavior in the past Technology Ideology( religion, cosmology) Economy Culture Social organization(family, gender roles, social classes) Methodology Site- a place where human activity took place Feature- immovable object of structure in a site (ex. hearths, roasting pots, wall, ditches, pits, post holes, burials, etc.) Primary refuse- thing left right where it was used Secondary refuse- thing is moved away from where it has purpose Material found on site- human remains, artifacts, features, structures, environment/ ecofacts How are sites preserves? Naturally (avalanches, volcanic ash, etc.) Site discovery Survey- pedestrian survey, aerial photograph, shovel testing Remote sensing- ground penetrating radar, magnetometry Also by accident, chemical tests, historical records Excavation Before digging- map surfaces, lay out grid Excavation units are done in horizontal levels Put dirt through a screen Record large artifacts Also take bulk samples back to lab for analysis Stratigraphy The study of layering (geological or archaeological) Lower layers are older than higher ones Law of superposition Analysis Record type of artifact, material, shape, size, decoration, presumes function Draw and/ or photograph and store properly Classification- pottery/tools/jewelry/form/technology/style Trace element analysis- stone, pottery, clay; used to study parent material Ecofact analysis- used to reconstruct environmental situations and changes Faunal analysis- which were eaten, how were they hunted or butchered Botanical analysis- seeds, nuts, wood, pollen; which were used as food, clothing, tools, etc. Burial analysis- determine health and disease, mortality rates, social status, diet, cultural demographics; some ethical problems surrounding burial analysis Isotopes Carbon- plants in diet (useful up to 40kya) Nitrogen- diet Oxygen- climate changes Strontium- population movement