Archaeologists are constantly questioning both past circumstances, technologies and capabilities of the past; one of the ways of analyzing and interpreting archaeological data is through the practice of Experimental Archaeology. Experimental Archaeology is a scientific approach to analyzing archaeological data found during excavations. Experimental Archaeologists are grounded in science and work to explain various aspect of the past through physical experimentation being the way of analyzing and interpreting the past. This paper will discuss what Experimental Archaeology is and why it is important to the overall field of archaeology, additionally; it will provide examples of Experimental Archaeology.
Experimental archaeology is based in science, and is driven by scientific discipline and methodology. Instead of focusing on proving or disproving theories its goal is to provide evidence for possible past reconstructions of houses, ways of life, technologies. Experimental archaeology starts with the excavation of an archaeological site and continues onto the interpretation of the archaeological data. The generalized goal of experimental archaeology is to reconstruct past lifestyles and conditions (Reynolds 1994). The experiments that are conducted by Experimental Archaeologists utilize the scientific method, thus if there is an experiment about a particular aspect of the past for example agriculture, the methodology, reasoning and conclusions would make sense to an agricultural scientist. This is what separates Experimental Archaeology from the school of Processualism.
This branch of archaeology was formed as a way to hypothesize different answers to questions that archaeologists formed throughout their excavations, and as a direc...
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Shea, John J. Ahmad, Ghufran Sabri. Reconstructing Late Pleistocene Human Behavior in the Jordan Rift Valley: The Middle Paleolithic Stone Tool Assemblage from Ar. Rasfa. Oxford, Archaeopress (British Archaeological Reports International Series S2042), 2009. Print.
Shea, John J. “Experimental Tests of Middle Paleolithic Spear Points Using a Calibrated Crossbow” Journal of Archaeological Science 28. (2001) : 807-816. Print.
The second question frequently asked regarding Schliemann’s legacy examines his motives and skill as an excavator: was Heinrich Schliemann a good archaeologist? This question has two sides. First, did Schliemann use the best techniques and technology available to him at time of his first excavation? Second, did he have the same values that other archaeologists have?
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These leading anthropologists paved the way for Lewis Binford and his absolutely influential paper titled Archaeology as Anthropology in which Binfo...
While digging in the far reaches of the African outback, now know as the western part of Kenya, archaeologist Bozo excavated a site that revolutionized the thoughts of the scientific world. At this site they found many interesting artifacts and paintings that included proof of an early civilization. At this time scientists are calling this civilization “Pontu” after one of the paintings suggested that a pontoon was used for transportation across Lake Victoria, one of the adjacent lakes.
In order to determine the recovered data correctly, the archaeological context of the cremation remnants should be taken into account. As Cremation is not simply burning a body, there are myriad stages, technologies, and actions involved which can vary between communities and across time (Thompson, 2015, 1).The context can be influenced by several factors that are of influence on the quantity and quality of data that will be found. The type of deposit, taphonomic factors and disturbance can affect the amount of bone that will be recovered. Additionally, the contextual factors can influence the condition of the bones such as bone survival and the level of fragmentation. The degree of fragmentation is be caused by the circumstances inside (e.g. dehydration; McKinley, 2013, 162) and outside (e.g. stages of manipulation, burial microenvironment and excavation procedures; McKinley, 1994b) of the bone (McKinley, 2013,
Evolution can be seen throughout all aspects of life, but for each aspect evolution does not occur in the same process. In his article entitled “Natural Selection, Scale, and Cultural Evolution,” Dunnell emphasizes and explains why evolution has made such a small impact on archaeology. Cultural evolution and biological evolution are not the same. Biological evolution uses theoretical propositions that explain the mechanisms of biological adaptation and evolution. The laws of cultural evolution “are not theoretical propositions but rather empirical generalizations” (Dunnell, 1996: 25). Cultural evolution does not explain the differences among the occurrences cultural phenomena. Dunnell’s main goal is to effectively formulate ways to integrate evolutionary characteristics and anthropological theory (Dunnell, 1996).
W. Raymond Johnson, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, (1996), pp. 65-82, Date viewed 19th may, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3822115.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true
SHA, and other archaeological societies, institutions, scholars and archaeologists find it hard to conduct or even to get involved in such shows that are produced for the entertaining of fans and also for gaining revenue. The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is working on clearing-house project that will help in building public awareness about archaeology and the way it is practiced, therefore the project is seeking input from professionals and the interested public, in order to share and contribute information and
Archaeology is a continuously evolving field where there is a constant stream of new branches and excavation methods. Due to the influx of new technologies and innovations in recent decades, archaeologists have been able to excavate previously inaccessible areas. For example, new diving equipment and tools such as proton magnetometers, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, and miniature submarines have allowed archaeologists to dive into the deep depths of the ocean. As a result, the branch of underwater archaeology was created to search for shipwrecks and other artifacts on the ocean floor. Underwater archaeology’s role has increased in recent years as it allows archaeologists to more accurately interpret the past by supplementing information gained through traditional land excavations.
Using a scanning electron microscope Shipman studied several types of marks left on the fossil remains of prey animals. Two of these marking she determined came from stone tools. These stone tools were used in two different ways leaving two different sets of marks. The first set of marks where located around joints and suggested disarticulation, and the second set removing flesh from bone. She then compared bones from the Olduvai to the Neolithic. Discovering Olduvai hominids did not practiced disarticulation as often as Neolithic hominids. But both Olduvai and Neolith...
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During the Mesolithic period (20,000BC-7, 500BC) and Neolithic (7,500BC-3, 500BC) period illustrations of bows from that time appear on cave walls and rock faces. Several different kinds of bows were drawn, there were many long and short simple segment bows with more of a circular shape, but there were also more complex bow shapes, which suggests that they were composite bows. Composite bows were found in north Eastern Europe and Asia. The composite bow was a result of great need because wood wasn’t available in the regions where it was found. It was mostly used in North America, parts of South America and what is now Russia and ...
Archaeologists are scattered across the gamut. Considering knowledge of human past is valuable to numerous academic disciplines. Varieties of archaeological application include: cultural resource management, heritage conservation, historic preservation,