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.
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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?
...ts were labelled with the upper case letters which represented the material types and a numeric letter. The artifacts were placed in different boxes. The artifact analysis was then conducted and the characteristics such as tool type and material type of each artifact were recorded on the artifact catalog forms. The material samples of lithic tools, faunal remains, and ceramics remains were compare with existing artifacts to identify their material type. The Vernier scale was used for the measurements of each lithic tools.
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.
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Examining excavated artifacts can tell researchers a lot about the people who left them behind. The artifacts can hint at characteristics such as how people lived, what time period they were from, what they ate, and how their families were structured. The identification of the three bags of artifacts was completed by utilizing artifacts that helped to infer the time period it was from.
Bridging the gap between past and present and bestowing archaeological record in more coherent, and systematically was provided by Binford in the 1970. He is regarded as the prominent processual archaeologist and envisioned ethnoarchaeology as the rightful methodological heir for elucidating archaeological problems scientifically.
Turfa, Jean Maclntosh. American Journal of Archaeology. N.p.: Archaeological Institute of America, 1977. JSTOR. Web. 30 Nov. 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).
Discussions in the 1970’s and 1980’s within both sides of the debate indicate population change, behavior change and natural processes to be the large determining factors (Attenbrow, 2004). Many archaeologists accepted there was a continuing increase over time in the number of archaeological sites established and used, as well as in the number of artefacts accumulated in individual sites, particularly in the past 5000 years (eg. Johnson 1979:39; Bowdler1981; Morwood 1984:371, 1986, 1987; Ross 1984, 1985:87; Beaton 1985: 16-18; Fletcher-Jones 1985: 282, 286; Lourandos 1985a: 393-411, 1985b: 38; White and Habgood 1985; Hiscock 1986) (Attenbrow, 2004). Population change refers to the changes in number of people or size of the population, behavioural changes referring to changes to activities such as tool manufacturing, subsistence practices as well as the use of space within a site (Attenbrow, 2004). Whilst natural processes include geomorphological and biological process that may have affected the archaeological record (At...
This week in my science class, Reading and Writing Science, we studied Archeology. Archeology is a field that requires the background information of history and the scientific methods of science. This profession, like most others, is very susceptible to the dangerous of human error. Through my own experience in class after viewing seven, foreign pictures, I have learnt that archeology has to do almost entirely with human observations and perspectives. After a body or an artifact is dug up, it is the job of archeologists to figure out as much as they can about the different objects. Because humans are not omnipotent creatures, sometimes they are wrong in their assumptions and conclusions on the history of these artifacts. After revisiting the pictures and being told the story and professional findings of each one, I too found there were errors in my observations; sometimes I omitted some artifacts and made unknown prejudice or cultural assumptions on the deceased individuals, which in turn caused me to interpret the evidence incorrectly.
The Mosfell project has set goals which it would like to accomplish. The main goal of Mosfell is to find the prehistoric and historic artifacts of this region. They are seeking a more in-depth understanding of how this area evolved from its earliest form. The archaeologists involved have very definite goals which are achievable in the long term. The data they have found is presented in a journal type documentation in which they document each individual excavation year. The only details they provide about the excavat...
These leading anthropologists paved the way for Lewis Binford and his absolutely influential paper titled Archaeology as Anthropology in which Binfo...
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
Evidence of organized settlements dating from this period has been found, and artefacts produced are mainly associated with burials. Objects were put into the grave with the body for the use of the spirit in the next life; thus a great quantity of such personal goods as pottery, tools, and weapons has been preserve...