Download What Is Archaeology?

What Is Archaeology?
Archaeology is the systematic,
scientific recovery and analysis
of artifacts in order to answer
questions about past human
culture and behavior.
What Is Archaeology?
Archaeology is one of
four sub-disciplines of
Anthropology.
Anthropology is the study
of people and their
biology and culture across
space and time.
Anthropology
Subdisciplines:
Archaeology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology
Biological or Physical
Anthropology
Archaeology
Culture
Speech
&
Language
Biology of Humans
Objectives of Archaeology
Reconstruct Past Lifeways
Reconstruct Cultural and Long-Term
Histories
Understand How and Why Cultures and
Societies Change
Archaeology Terms
Systematic: A consistent way of
studying anything.
Science: Hypothesis-driven research.
Recovery/ Analysis: To collect and
study artifacts.
Artifact: Any item resulting from
human activity.
Culture: Any learned behavior that
is shared with others.
Past: Archaeologists study human
cultures that are no longer living
(mostly).
Archaeology Terms
Site = a spatial clustering of material
remains
Context = where material remains are found
and what they are associated with (in situ)
What Do Archaeologists Study?
• artifacts = portable objects
made or altered by humans.
• ecofacts = plant, animal, or
sedimentary remains that
result from human activity.
• features = non-portable
objects made or altered by
humans (e.g., hearths, storage
pits).
Modern Scientific Archaeology
1960’s
DNA
The invention of modern scientific excavation
techniques
Using a multidisciplinary approach to study people.
Increasing impact of science on archaeology
Refinement of archaeological theory.
Processual Archaeology / The New Archaeology
Dendrochronology
Botany
Disciplines that are home to
Archaeologists
Anthropology
Classics
History
Art History
Area Studies (Near Eastern Studies, Asian Studies)
Museology (Museum Studies)
Materials Science and Engineering
Medical Schools
NASA
Archaeology Specialties
Prehistoric Archaeology
Before writing.
Historical Archaeology
Document/writing assisted
Classical Archaeology
Greek and Roman
Biblical Archaeology
Underwater Archaeology
Shipwrecks or anything else
under water.
Industrial Archaeology
Industrial Revolution and other
modern structures
Andeanists, Egyptologists, Mayanists,
Study of specific civilizations or time
periods.
Cultural Resource Management (CRM)
Management and assessment of significant
cultural resources.
Archaeological Excavation
• To recover stratified (in situ)
datable materials to understand
the context(s) of use and
discard
• mapping, screening, specialized
sampling
Laboratory Analyses
Microscopy
Radiocarbon Dating
Dendrochronology
Isotope Analysis
Human Remains
Plant and Animal Remains
Ceramics
Stone Tools (Lithics)
Textiles
Metallurgy
GIS mapping
STRATIGRAPHY

Stratigraphy is the study of strata, or layers.

Specifically, stratigraphy refers to the application of the Law of
Superposition to soil and geological strata containing archaeological
materials in order to determine the relative ages of layers.

In addition, stratigraphy can tell us much about the processes
affecting the deposition of soils, and the condition of sites and
artifacts
Law of Superposition
“layer cake” model
The Layers of Troy
occupational phases:
later atop the earlier
Wheeler-Kenyon
Excavation Method
Section / Balk / Profile
Wall
foundation
Section Drawing
Horizontal excavation:
“synchronic” approach
Vertical excavation:
“diachronic” approach
RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY
Based on:
ARTIFACT STYLES CHANGING
THROUGH TIME
SERIATION

This technique places assemblages of artefacts into relative order. Petrie used
sequence dating to work back from the earliest historical phases of Egypt into
pre-dynastic Neolithic times, using groups of contemporary artefacts deposited
together at a single time in graves.
W.F. Petrie (1853-1942)
Flinders Petrie’s Sequence Dating
ABSOLUTE DATING

A more precise and accurate system is known as absolute dating and can in most
circumstances provide a calendar year to the object. Since 1950 there has been a
transformation in the dating techniques of archaeologists.

Absolute dating is highly dependent on laboratory analysis. There are a number
of techniques that have come to archaeology through the nuclear research
efforts during WW2.
RADIO CARBON DATING



Radiocarbon dating uses the biological
assumption that all living things absorb carbon,
both ordinary carbon, C12, and radioactive
carbon, C14, into their living tissue.
At the moment of death the C14 begins to
decay at a rate that scientists already know
from other experiments. The missing amount
can then determine how long it took to be lost
and therefore date the object to a precise
period.
C14 dating can only be used on organic
matter.
C-14 Calibration
LIMITATIONS OF C14 DATING



First, the size of the archaeological sample is important.
Larger samples are better, because purification and
distillation remove some matter. Although new
techniques for working with very small samples have
been developed, like accelerator dating, these are very
expensive and still somewhat experimental.
Second, great care must be taken in collecting and
packing samples to avoid contamination by more recent
carbon. For each sample, clean trowels should be used,
to avoid cross contamination between samples..
Third, because the decay rate is logarithmic,
radiocarbon dating has significant upper and lower
limits. It is not very accurate for fairly recent deposits
DENDROCHRONOLOGY

Dendrochronology is another traditional technique for establishing the abolute
date of events. This is also called Tree-Ring Dating.

Tree-Ring dating is based on the principle that the growth rings on certain
species of trees reflect variations in seasonal and annual rainfall. Trees from the
same species, growing in the same area or environment will be exposed to the
same conditions, and hence their growth rings will match at the point where
their lifecycles overlap.
Dendrochronology
Weaknesses in Dendrochronolgy

In some areas of the world, particularly in the tropics, the
species available do not have sufficiently distinct seasonal
patterns that they can be used.

Where the right species are available, the wood must be
well enough preserved that the rings are readable. In
addition, there must be at least 30 intact rings on any one
sample.

There also must be an existing master strip for that area
and species. There is an absolute limit on how far back in
the past we can date things with tree rings. Although bristle
cone pine trees can live to 9,000 years, this is a very rare
phenomenon. As we try to push our matching of
archaeological specimens beyond the range for which we
have good control data, our confidence in the derived dates
diminishes