* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download suggested films
Ethnography wikipedia , lookup
American anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Discovery of human antiquity wikipedia , lookup
Industrial archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Forensic anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Cambrian Archaeological Association wikipedia , lookup
History of anthropometry wikipedia , lookup
Bioarchaeology wikipedia , lookup
Social anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Cultural anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Indigenous archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Excavation (archaeology) wikipedia , lookup
Evolutionary archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Underwater archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Community archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Culture-historical archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Survey (archaeology) wikipedia , lookup
Archaeology wikipedia , lookup
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. IM-15 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. IM-16 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. IM-17 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. IM-18 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. IM-19 IM-20