Lecture 2 - Archeology

3 Areas of Focus in Archeology

Studying…

• Material Culture

• Fauna Remains

• Human Remains (osteological [skeletal] remains)

Material Culture

All the stuff we interact with, use, and throw away

• what archeologists analyze to illustrate a story of the past life

Where archeologists find Material Culture

Literally anywhere in which humans lived or left culture behind on

Brooke Mille

An Artic Archeologist that has a shotgun for Polar Bears

Time Period Archeologists Study

The Human PAST! (Intentionally vague…)

• Prehistoric, classical period, or historic

3 Forms of Material Culture Archeologists try to Recover

1. Artifacts

2. Ecofacts

3. Features

Provenience

The context (time and location) in which an artifact is located

• Emphasized importance!!

Two forms of culture Archeologists (and all anthropology branches) study

• Cultural Variation

• Cultural Change

Artifact

Any object shaped/modified by humans or produced by humans

Lithics

Any rock tool, the most common form of artifact because it preserves very well

• Spearheads!

Ceramics

Hardened clay, mostly as potsherds; the second most common artifact

• Design, colour, and material are all up for analysis!

Ecofacts

Natural objects that are used/affected by humans

Examples of Ecofacts

• Pollen

• Seeds

• Animal Bones

Information from Ecofacts

• Degree of Agriculture

• Degree of Domestication (Artificial Selection)

Feature

Something on a site that is too big to bring back to a lab for analysis → only recorded ON SITE!

Examples of Features

• Hearths, Living Floors, Soil Discoloration, Buildings

Postmolds

A rot left behind from wooden posts rotting over time

• not to be confused with a tree root, which tapers off downward. These are consistently present!

Munsell Soil Colour Chart

A chart of different colours of soil that provide information for comparison with on-site soil

How to Analyze a Burial (an example of a feature)

• Delicately, with brushes

• Document + Map + Photograph + Draw ON SITE!

  • When excavated, the feature is GONE!

1st Step of Archeological Methodology

Locate the Site

• Determining a Geological Location

2nd Step of Archeological Methodology

Survey and Map

• Documentation, with for example theodolites

How to compensate for Archeology’s Destructive Nature

We document everything to make sure we at least have a “copy” before we destroy a site

Why we do not Excavate a Whole Site

We do this to preserve for future archeologists

3rd Step of Archeological Methodology

• Devise a Sampling Plan

• Determine what Unit Samples to Excavate

Four ways to Sample in Archeology

• Noting Surface Artifacts + Mapping Locations (don’t just grab)

• Establishing a Datum Point

• Test Pitting

• Ground Penetrating Radar

Datum Point

Commonly a Stake in the ground

• Point from which everything is measured, like a grid system

• Good for consistency among different archeologists

Test Pitting

The process of Picking particular points to excavate and analyze

Ground Penetrating Radar + Benefit

• Process of Visualizing below the surface

• The least destructive

4th Step of Archeological Methodology

Excavation

• With a grid system and respecting Provenience

• Top-to-bottom, layer by layer!

Stratigraphy

The analysis of Strata, layers of geological/human origin

Two causes of Geological Strata formation

• Deposition

• Erosion

Law of Superimposition + When it Applies

The top layers are youngest, while the lower layers are old

Exceptions to the Law of Superimposition

• Topsoil is “culturally sterile”, no insight b/c of artificial filling (ex: Burials)

• Disturbed (ex: tilled soil, landslides)

When Excavations End

When we hit a Sterile Layer

• A layer with no artifacts or ecofacts

• One chunk is further gone down to ensure nothing is there (that one chunk represents the whole strata)

Problems with Stratigraphy

• Animal Burrowing

• Human Artificial Holes

Also know as Intrusions!! They intrude on the natural strata formed >v<

Brown Paper Bag

The best storage for artifacts to go back to the lab

• custom to label them

Two Processes in the Lab

1. Sorting → making sense of stuff + getting rid of stuff that is not material culture

2. Classifying and Analyzing → ex: lining up stuff and analyzing diversity

Less Fragile Material Preservation

Stones, Iron, Bronze, and Baked Clay are very common in the record because they preserve well

More fragile Material Preservation

Organics decay over time :<

Preservation Bias

Because organic material decays, it is not portrayed as much in the archeological record, even though we know it HAS to exist

3 Types of Extreme Sites

• Hot, dry climates (Egypt, Peru)

• Cold, dry climates (Mt. Everest)

• O2-Free Sites

4 Examples of O2-Free Sites

• Volcanic Eruptions

• Mudslides

• Peat Bogs

• Underwater (Titanic!)

No Oxygen means organic material does not decay as much!