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METHODS AND ETHICS IN PHYSICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTHROPOLOGY: CHAPTER 3
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: NOT PRESENT
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1.
Know the ethical obligations of anthropologists as stated by the AAA.
2.
Understand the multidisciplinary nature of physical anthropology and archaeology.
3.
Be familiar with the field methods used by archaeologists.
4.
Understand the different kinds of dating used by archaeologists and physical
anthropologists.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Ethics
A. Many physical anthropologists and archaeologists work in foreign countries.
B. Researchers must create and maintain proper relations between themselves and the host
nations, regions, and communities where they work.
C. The AAA Code of Ethics states that anthropologists should recognize their debt to the
people with whom they work and should reciprocate in appropriate ways.
1. Researchers should include host country colleagues in their research planning and
requests for funding.
2. Researchers should establish collaborative relationships with host country institutions
and colleagues before, during, and after their fieldwork.
3. Researchers should include host country colleagues in dissemination of the research
results.
4. Researchers should ensure that something is “given back” to host country colleagues.
II. Methods
A. Multidisciplinary Approaches
1. Physical anthropologist and archaeologists collaborate with scientists from diverse
fields in the study of sites, fossils, and artifacts.
a. Palynology, the study of ancient plants through pollen samples, is used to shed
light on the diet of the people and the site’s environment at the time of occupation.
b. Bioarchaeologists examine human remains to reconstruct physical traits, health,
and diet.
2. Remote sensing plays an important role for locating archaeological features not
visible to the naked eye.
a. In Costa Rica, images from a NASA satellite have been used to locate buried
footpaths that linked a cemetery to a spring and quarries.
b. Dr. Payson Sheets of the University of Colorado in 2002 excavated these footpaths
in 2002.
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B. Primatology is the close study of primates.
1. Primate studies have been conducted in both zoos and natural settings.
2. Like ethnographers, primatologists must establish rapport with the individuals they
are studying.
C. Anthropometry is the measurement of human body parts and dimensions.
1. Anthropometry can be used to evaluate a person’s fitness.
2. Knowledge about how contemporary humans adapt and use energy can be used to
understand human evolution.
D. Bone biology is the study of bone as a biological tissue, including its genetics; cell
structure; growth; development; and decay; and patterns of movement.
1. Paleopathology is the study of disease and injury in skeletons from archaeological
sites.
2. Forensic anthropologists work in a legal context to recover, analyze, and identify
human remains and determining the cause of death.
E. Molecular anthropology uses genetic analysis to assess evolutionary distance among
species, along with dates of the most recent common ancestor.
F. Paleoanthropology is the study of early hominids using fossil remains.
1. Paleoanthropologists work to reconstruct the structure, behavior, and ecology of early
hominids.
2. Working with multidisciplinary teams, paleoanthropologists locate and excavate sites
where hominid fossils are found.
G. Interesting Issues: A Novel Method of Assessing Why People Cooperate
1. Anthropologist James Rilling monitored brain activity in young women playing a
game to study why people cooperate.
2. He found that the choice to cooperate stimulated areas of the brain associated with
pleasure and reward-seeking behavior.
III. Survey and Excavation
A. Systematic survey provides a regional perspective on the archaeological record.
1. Survey collects information on settlement patterns (e.g., the location of cities, towns,
villages, and hamlets) over a large area (e.g., a river valley).
2. Survey is one of the ways in which archaeologists locate sites that might be excavated
in the future.
3. During a survey, the team records the location, the size, and the approximate age of
the site.
4. Settlement patterns are important for making inferences regarding the social
complexity of the prehistoric communities.
a. Groups at lower levels of complexity generally have lower population densities
and people living in small campsites or hamlets with very little variation in
architecture.
b. With greater complexity come higher population densities (more people living in
the same space) and a variety of sites organized along a settlement hierarchy (e.g.,
cities, towns, villages, and hamlets) with increased architectural variation between
sites.
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B. Excavation complements the regional survey data with more fine-grained data collected
at the level of a specific site.
1. The layers or strata that make up a site help archaeologists establish a relative
chronology for the material recovered (e.g., this pot is older than that pot).
a. The principle of superposition states that in an undisturbed sequence of strata, the
oldest is on the bottom and each successive layer above is younger than the one
below.
b. Artifacts from the lower strata are older than artifacts from higher strata, and
artifacts from the same strata are roughly the same age.
2. Nobody digs a site without a clear reason, because there are so many sites and
because excavation is so expensive and labor intensive.
a. Cultural resource management (CRM), or contract archaeology, is concerned with
excavating sites that are threatened by modern development.
b. Most other sites are selected for excavation because they are well suited to address
a series of specific research questions.
3. Before a site is excavated, it is first mapped and surface collected so that the
archaeologist can make an informed decision about where to dig.
a. Using the map, the archaeologist lays an arbitrary grid of one meter squares across
the site.
b. This grid is used to record the location of the surface collection units as well as the
excavation units on the surface of the site.
4. Digging can be done either in arbitrary levels or by following the natural stratigraphy.
a. Using arbitrary levels is quicker, but less refined and important information can be
lost.
b. Following the natural stratigraphy is more labor intensive, but also more precise
way of excavating as each layer (natural or cultural) is peeled off one by one.
5. Archaeologists use a range of techniques to recover materials from the excavation.
a. All of the excavated soil is passed through screen to increase the likelihood that
small and fragmented remains are recovered.
b. Flotation is used to recover carbonized and very small materials like fish bones and
seeds.
IV. Kinds of Archaeology
A. Experimental archaeologists try to replicate ancient techniques and processes under
controlled conditions.
B. Historical archaeologists use written records as guides and supplements in their study of
societies with written histories.
C. Classical archaeologists study the literate civilizations of the eastern region of the
Mediterranean, such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
D. Underwater archaeologists investigate submerged sites.
V. Dating the Past
A. Fundamental Concepts
1. Paleontology is the study of ancient life through the fossil record.
2. Anthropology and paleontology both are interested in establishing a chronology for
primate and human evolution.
3. Taphonomy is the study of the processes that affect the remains of dead animals.
4. Much dating depends upon stratigraphy, which is the study of the sequence of
geographical layers.
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B. Relative Dating
1. Relative dating uses the natural layers or strata to establish a relative chronology –
material from this layer is older than the material from that layer.
2. Association with known fossils is the most common method of fossil dating.
3. Fluorine dating is another relative dating technique and was used to expose the
Piltdown Man hoax.
C. Absolute Dating
1. Whereas relative dating techniques allow you to say only what is older or younger,
absolute dating techniques produce dates in years so differences in age can be
quantified.
2. Radiometric techniques are based on known rates of radioactive decay in elements
found in or around fossils.
3. Examples are 14C and potassium argon (K/A) dating (both of which are radiometric
techniques), thermoluminescence (TL), and electron spin resonance (ESR).
D. Molecular Dating
1. Molecular dating uses genetic materials to create an evolutionary tree and estimates
when each branching event took place.
2. This method is based on the contentious assumption that genetic mutations in humans
are constant.
LECTURE TOPICS
1.
By far the most engaging and effective introduction to research is a presentation of the
anthropologist’s own work, or that of a colleague who is either a physical anthropologist
or archaeologist. Such a presentation will set a mood for the course and keep students
involved long after the immediate occasion for the presentation has passed.
2.
Physical anthropology and archaeology are both inherently multidisciplinary. Discuss
the makeup of an archaeological or physical anthropological project and how specialists
from a wide range of fields will be represented on the research team.
3.
Discuss the political implications of archaeological fieldwork. Examples to use include
Kennewick Man, the temple at Ayodyah in India, and Hitler’s interest in archaeology.
4.
Discuss the different ways in which archaeologists and physical anthropologists date the
past. Be sure to explain the limits of each technique. Also, it is important to stress that
absolute dating is not really “absolute” in that you need a suite of dates that point toward
a range (confidence interval) of time for the material dated.
SUGGESTED FILMS
Archaeology: Developments in Artifact Analysis and Preservation
1993 23 minutes
This film presents methods of excavation, survey, and conservation. The film also explores some
of the new techniques in use in archaeological fieldwork directed at studying tree rings, rocks,
sediment, and vegetable debris. From Films for the Humanities and Sciences.
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Series: Lost Worlds: The Story of Archaeology
6-part series
50 minutes each
This six-part series explores the rise and developments of archaeology. Titles in the series:
Stones and Bones: The Birth of Archaeology; Treasure Seekers: Archaeology Turns from
Passion to Plunder; Digging by the Book: Program Archaeology; Looking for One Beginning:
The Fallacy of Diffusionism; At the Service of the State: Archaeology as Political Tool; The
Future of the Past. From Films for the Humanities and Sciences.
Unearthing Evil: Archaeology in the Cause of Justice
2000 28 minutes
This film present the work of forensic archaeologist Richard Wright, who has excavated
massacre sites in the Ukraine and Bosnia. His excavations have been used to convict the
perpetrators of these crimes. From Films for the Humanities and Sciences.
Apes to Man
1995 53 minutes
This film explores the evolution of primates and hominids, from the appearance of the first apes
to the arrival of the modern human. The film visits key sites in Africa, touching on some of the
key debates in the study of human evolutions. Part of the Series Planet of Life. A Discovery
Channel Production.
Jane Goodall: A Life in the Wild
1990 31 minutes
This film presents the life and work of Dr. Jane Goodall. Through interviews with Dr. Goodall,
we learn why she became a primatologist and how she came upon some of her more important
findings. From Films for the Humanities and Sciences.
The Gene Hunters
1994 52 minutes
This film presents the scientific effort to collect DNA samples from native peoples around the
world. These samples will be used to study questions related to human origins and migration,
native rights, medical ethics, and profit. From Films for the Humanities and Sciences.
USING THE ATLAS
Use the Chapter 3 map, Annual Change of Forest Cover, to discuss the threat
development and deforestation pose to physical anthropology and archaeology. The greatest
threat to primates is habitat loss. Also, cultural patrimony is at risk worldwide due to
development as archaeological sites are destroyed to create more land for housing, large-scale
farms, and factories.
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