Archaeology and Cultural Evolution: From Evidence to Behavior
The Nature and Definition of Archaeology
Core Definition: Archaeology is the definitive study of past human societies through their specialized material remains.
Material Remains: These are the physical traces left behind by inhabitants. They include a vast range of objects such as tools, buildings, food remains, bones, pottery, roads, burials, and rock art.
The Behavioral Transition: A major objective for archaeologists is the conceptual move from physical evidence to human behavior. Interpretations are built by finding objects and identifying patterns in the ground to reconstruct how people lived, how societies evolved, and the reasons for change.
The Modern-to-Ancient Continuum: Anything made by humans can eventually become archaeological evidence. Examples of modern sites that could be studied in the future include a McDonald’s restaurant, a college campus, or a modern residential house if they were abandoned and buried.
Primary Rule: Archaeologists do not rely on myths or guessing; they study physical evidence to understand people through the things they left behind.
Types of Archaeological Evidence
Archaeologists categorize material into four major classifications:
Cultural Items: These are defined as portable artifacts that can be picked up and moved from their original location.
Examples: Cell phones, stone arrow points, pottery shards, stone knives, beads, and tools.
Artifact Definition: An artifact is specifically anything made, modified, or used by humans (e.g., stone tools, pottery, bone/wood/plastic objects, computers, and the device used to watch a lecture).
Features: These are larger artifacts that are non-portable and cannot easily be moved.
Examples: Buildings, fireplaces, hearths, stone walls, house foundations, roads, and irrigation systems.
Ecofacts: These are natural plant or animal remains that provide insight into past human activities and environmental conditions.
Examples: Pollen grains, burned beans, seeds, turkey bones, other animal bones, and shells.
Human Remains: The physical remains of the people themselves, typically found in burial contexts or site deposits.
Examples: Skeletons, individual bones, and teeth.
Defining Archaeological Sites
Spelling Distinction: A "site" is a place of archaeological study, whereas a "sight" is something seen (often tourist-related).
Behavioral Definition: A site is defined as any location where human activity once took place. This includes campsites, cities, Roman agricultural fields, Inca roads, houses, neighborhoods, and college campuses.
Archaeological Definition: A site is a specific cluster of artifacts. Since behavior cannot be seen directly from the past, archaeologists identify clusters of broken pottery, stone tools, or bones to suggest that human activity occurred and that buried features may be present.
The Mammoth Bone Example: A pile of mammoth bones is only considered an archaeological site under the behavioral definition if humans were involved in killing or using the animals. If the animals died naturally, it is not an archaeological site.
Archaeology vs. Pseudoscience and Popular Media
Archaeological Nonsense: The lecture criticizes media narratives that suggest ancient peoples required alien or supernatural assistance for their achievements.
Erich von Dniken’s Chariots of the Gods: Cited as an example of false claims regarding ancient aliens.
2012 Maya Prophecy: It is clarified that while the Maya had an advanced calendar, writing system, and astronomy, they did not predict the end of the world in .
Film vs. Reality: Movies featuring characters like Lara Croft or Indiana Jones depict archaeology as treasure hunting, fighting, and stealing artifacts for museums.
Real Archaeology: Characterized by slow, careful work, meticulous documentation, ethical compliance, and laboring in challenging conditions (dirt, heat, labs, archives) to preserve fragile remains.
Major Milestones in the Human Past
Peopling of the Earth: Humans originated in Africa and populated the globe through adaptation.
Humans reached China and Southeast Asia by approximately years ago.
Humans crossed the sea to reach Australia.
North and South America were the final major landmasses to be populated; migration into Alaska likely occurred earlier than years ago, though the exact timing is debated.
Diverse Environmental Adaptations: Humans successfully adapted to the high-altitude Andes Mountains, tropical jungles, deserts (such as the U.S. Southwest and Egypt), and forests.
The Agricultural Revolution (Domestication): Transitioning from nomadic hunting and gathering to planting crops, harvesting, and raising animals.
This led to permanent houses and villages.
It occurred independently in various regions, including the Near East and the Andes.
The Urban Revolution: The development of first state-level societies characterized by kings, cities, social inequality, writing systems, laws, armies, and large-scale public architecture (pyramids, palaces, temples, irrigation systems).
The Four Basic Goals of Archaeology
Discover Evidence of the Human Past: Accomplished through fieldwork, lab work, and excavation.
Reconstruct Cultural History: Determining who lived where and when.
Reconstruct Past Lives and Societies: Understanding community structures and the "lifestyles of the dead and buried."
Explain Changes in Past Societies: Investigating "why" changes occurred (e.g., why agriculture began, why pyramids were built, or why societies grew more complex).
Cultural Evolution and Societal Types
Definition: The term for major long-term changes in human society over deep time.
Rejection of "Progress": Cultural evolution is not synonymous with progress. The lecture argues that evolution often made life harder via increased labor, loss of personal freedom, decreased health, and higher rates of poverty, crime, and violence.
Types of Societies:
Bands: Usually fewer than people; egalitarian and mobile hunter-gatherers; temporary shelters and shamans (e.g., San, Inuit, Australian Aborigines).
Tribes: Up to a few thousand people; settled farmers or pastoralists; permanent huts, burial mounds, and shrines; led by religious elders (e.g., Pueblos, New Guinea Highlanders).
Chiefdoms: Approximately to people; kinship-based ranking with a hereditary leader; centralized redistribution and craft specialization; large-scale monuments (e.g., Stonehenge, 18th-century Polynesian chiefdoms).
States: Generally people; class-based hierarchy with a king/emperor; centralized bureaucracy, taxes, laws, and professional armies; urban cities with palaces and temples (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Peru, Maya, Rome).
Archaeological Visibility: Larger, more complex societies (States) are easier to see in the archaeological record compared to smaller ones (Bands).
Finding Archaeological Sites: Goals and Methods
Research Goals: Based on scientific questions or testing specific hypotheses (e.g., searching for sites of a specific age to study migration).
Conservation Goals (Contract Archaeology): Identifying and protecting sites threatened by development, such as highways, dams, or housing.
Reconnaissance: The first attempt to identify sites in a region to see if archaeology exists there; described as "hiking for work."
Survey: A formal data-gathering stage using a systematic sampling design to document site locations and characteristics.
Methods of Discovery:
Prior Sources: Historical records, old maps, or explorer journals.
Local People: Engaging locals who know the terrain, caves, and unusual stones.
Construction/Erosion: Natural forces or human building (road cuts, river erosion) can expose buried materials.
Remote Sensing: Using satellite imagery, aerial photography, or ground-penetrating technologies.
Pedestrian Survey: Walking across the landscape in teams to find artifacts on the surface.
Case Study: Somalia Reconnaissance
Context: The Somali government proposed a dam on the Juba River for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The World Bank and USAID supported a study to assess the reservoir zone before flooding.
Geographical Profile: Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa; is mostly arid/desert ( arable land); and relies on camels for transportation.
Field Logistics:
The team covered a zone over six weeks.
Organization: Two teams, each including two archaeologists, Somali assistants, a cook, camel drivers, a military escort, and a government representative.
Transportation: Camels carried equipment as vehicles were useless in the roadless gorge. In one instance, mud reduced travel to only in hours.
Survival: Water from the river was contaminated and required boiling or ceramic filters.
Findings: Prehistoric burials, rock art, and caves containing thousands of stone tools. Local knowledge revealed that some burials were pre-Somali/pre-Islamic, while others were later ancestors marked by stones pointing toward Mecca.
Outcome: The project provided a database of numbered sites, but civil war in prevented the dam's construction.
The Limits of Surface Data and the Necessity of Excavation
Limitations of Surface Data:
Buried remains may not be visible.
Remains may be disturbed by erosion, animals, or plowing.
Surface artifacts are difficult to date accurately as they lack a secure matrix.
Matrix: The surrounding soil or sediment containing archaeological remains.
Goals of Excavation:
Reveal Three-Dimensional (3D) Patterning of artifacts, ecofacts, and features.
Assess Temporal and Functional Significance (when things happened and what activities occurred).
Provenience and Recording
Provenience: The exact location of an object within a site. It is critical because location informs behavioral interpretation (e.g., clusters indicating cooking or butchering areas).
Vertical Provenience: Records depth using measurement ( coordinate) relative to a local datum or sea level.
Principle of Superposition: Lower layers are generally older than upper layers.
Horizontal Provenience: Records location across a surface using and coordinates or a grid system.
Stratigraphic Provenience: Classifying finds based on natural or cultural layers (strata rather than just a number).
Recording Methods:
Bulk Measurement: Low-resolution recording by square or layer/spit (e.g., Square , Layer ).
Point Provenience (Piece Plotting): Direct, high-precision measurement of an individual object's exact , , and coordinates.
Total Station: A modern surveying instrument used to record precise 3D coordinates electronically.
Excavation Techniques and Documentation
Spit Excavation (Arbitrary Level): Digging in set increments (e.g., every or ). Used when layers are hard to see, but risks mixing materials from different natural deposits.
Stratigraphic Excavation (Natural Layer): Following the actual shape and slope of natural or cultural layers. Preserves context better but is more difficult to execute.
Preservation of Data: Archaeologists use artifact bags, lot numbers, and field forms. Once an artifact is removed, its original context is destroyed; careful recording is the only way to preserve scientific value.