According to The Society for American Archaeology, the definition of Archaeology is, “to obtain a chronology of the past, a sequence of events and dates that, in a sense, is a backward extension of history.” The study of ancient civilizations and archaeology is rather ambiguous due to the primitive nature of the time period. With little imagery and even less textual evidence, professionals in the field must work diligently when studying their subjects. Naturally, archaeologists cannot see or communicate with those whom they are studying, so they must be extraordinarily meticulous when analyzing past cultures. This relates to all aspects of the ancient world including; foods, raw materials, artifacts, agriculture, art work and pottery. All of these elements can collectively provide new and innovative information to curious archaeologists who may wish to gain a better understanding of those who came before us. This information is equally beneficial for both historians and archaeologists who plan to compare the histories of societies from all around the world. In the world of archaeology, archaeologists strive to better explain human behavior by analyzing our past. Therefore, the study of archaeology is a key element in understanding a time before our own.
One of the most key examples of understanding human culture through archaeology is the topic of climate and the environment. As seen through history, there is an intricate relationship between the environment and life on earth. Through extensive research, archaeologists have the ability to take note of minor cultural changes that can be attributed to the environment during a particular time period. These changes include, shifts in methods of food collection, changes in the artwor...
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...anges which occurred over a period of time and why these changes occurred but who was responsible for them. Archaeological findings are essential especially when there is a lack of written primary sources. The most common findings in this field include; cave art, pottery, and weaponry used for both hunting and fighting. In later cases of archaeological excavations written evidence was well provided and artifacts recovered at the site were used as an aid in studying a particular culture. Moreover, it is quite obvious that all of the following elements pertaining to archaeology have positively contributed to our further understanding of human culture in previous centuries. Discoveries by archeologists not only give us significant insight into our past but they also give us essential information necessary for a comprehensive understanding of our present and our future.
...ncyclopedia of Archaeology, Ed. Deborah M. Pearsall. Vol. 3. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2008. p1896-1905. New Britain: Elsevier, Inc.
Archaeology and the Trojan War “. he [Heinrich Schliemann] found layers of ruins. and two bore unmistakable signs of violent destruction. One of these layers, the seventh according to more recent excavators, was no doubt the city of Priam and Hector. The historicity of the Homeric tale has been demonstrated archaeologically.”
Processual Archaeology, was a movement in the archaeological field that began in the 1960‘s and changed the course of archaeology forever. Anthropologists such as Julian Steward were absolutely influential on many archaeologists and anthropologists during the early 1960s with his theories of cultural ecology which established a scientific way of understanding cultures as human adaption to the surrounding environment (Steward, 1955: 36-38). It was approaches such as Stewards that led eventually led to a rejection of culture-historical approaches to the archaeological record and propelled the ideas of cultural evolution and its reaction with the environment. This approach to cultural systems was essentially a rejection of the culture-historical approach of determinism by suggesting that the environment influences culture but is not a deterministic feature and that both culture and the environment were two separate systems that are dependent on each other for change (Steward, 1955: 36).
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.
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).
All in all, I now understand the 9 ways contemporary archaeology methods now differ from the way things use to be. These 9 methods were used by some of the 5 arcaheologists presented: less intrusive, controlled excavation, artifacts not acquired for profit, detailed notes and documentation, better cataloguing methods, focusing on site interpretation not data recovery, use of strata for excavation, education and ethical
Through out human history, we look back to the peaks of our civilization, and learn and adapt from it to build our future, and the two greatest civilizations in our human history; which were the Greeks and the Romans civilizations, that brought upon the worlds greatest minds and iconic figures who impacted our history till this day. Different eras bringing us different things but all similar to their main sequence of their civilizations. As Archeologist look back to study those times, they look at the different things these civilizations held such as the arts and how art historians have used it to understand the history and values of these cultures that produced it, and how these two Great Civilizations were so similar but so different at
The archaeology of Africa must be the most important part of learning the history of Africa. If archaeologist were to track the activity of Pre-Africans,
Processual archaeology attempts to treat archaeology as a science, we know this because the scientific method is used to make objective inferences about archaeological data. These "Processualists" believed that it was indeed possible to break past the limits of archaeological record, and actu...
With archaeology’s development, the different new branches and sub disciplines with specific focus emerged. In the last decades we can whiteness the formation of military and war thematic related archaeologies like battlefield archaeology, conflict archaeology, airfield archaeology, forensic archaeology, great war archaeology and many others archaeologies that are dealing with a recent and violent history.
Processual archaeology developed from the corrections of New Archaeology. The incorporation of new technologies and the scientific method is a major aspect of New Archaeology. Adjustments made by Binford would develop New Archaeology into processual archaeology. Advances of processual archaeology are made by Binford’s students, notably Renfrew. He would revise processual archaeology and convert it into cognitive-processual archaeology.
Hodder has endeavoured to explore the effects of non-positivistic methods in archaeology, which includes providing each excavator with the opportunity to record his or her own individual interpretation of the site. This seems to create a highly subjective reflection of the archaeological record, however, it may provide particular insight in that each contributor has total control over the specific area of work from which comes their contribution to the overall project (Fagan 1996, 385). Hodder approaches human society through its production, consumption, and social structures in his book ‘Theories and Practice in Archaeology.’ This approach seeks to dig into the compartmentalization to which theory has been bound and provide a broad set of
After archaeologists research an area and believe that they found a site that shows potential, the first step is to start to excavate in order to reach the objects or remains that the earth might contain. Excavation explores what lies under the surface and archaeologists usually divide their sites in gridded tranches. The objective is to make sure that everything they dig can be recorded, sampled, and further analyzed. This process is very tedious and lengthy. It involves digging down a centimeter at a time through sometimes difficult toil or for longer periods through meters of densely packed soil. The point of excavating is to look into time from a backward perspective and to examine a site at various time periods. Deeper an archaeologist will go, more periods he might discover. A few centimeters may uncover recent events, whereas a meter or several can go back centuries or even
Archaeologists study old historic sites and objects to learn more about the past. Some may specialize in a specific subject such as dinosaurs or pottery. They record, analyze, and interpret archaeological remains. Archaeologists do different things; it depends on what they specialize in. Some may clean and preserve finds while others may teach in an educational environment. The dictionary definition of an archaeologist is a specialist in archaeology, the scientific study of prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, etc.
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,