archaeology lecture

Introduction to Excavation

  • Ethical Responsibility in Archaeology

  • Excavation involves destroying the physical form and organization of archaeological sites.

  • It's crucial to ethically record and preserve as much information as possible.

  • The goal of excavation is to obtain data, not artifacts.

Tools Used in Archaeology

  • Simple Tools Required

  • Flat nose shovel

  • Trowel (often sharpened for better use, like in gardening)

  • Brush

  • Dental pick

  • No reliance on advanced technologies like ground-penetrating radar due to limitations in archaeological contexts.

Excavation Technique

  • Hand Excavation

    • Essential to use careful hand methods for documenting and achieving desired results in excavation.

    • Field techniques involve clean, flat walls and floors during excavation to observe changes in soil indicating features.

Field Technique

  • Control and Precision

  • Control refers to how excavation is carefully monitored and recorded.

  • Square pits are dug to maintain control and allow for precision in recording the context of the artifacts.

Excavation Stratigraphy

  • Understanding Soil Layers

    • Undisturbed subsoil indicates the absence of man-made features.

    • Careful excavation reveals changes in soil layers and identifies features (like pits or postholes).

    • Excavation should allow for determining historical sequence and time periods based on observed layers.

Data Recording

  • Mapping and Gridding

  • Use of a grid system over the excavation site to maintain precision and control.

  • Every artifact found is recorded with its northing and easting coordinates, along with material and decoration types.

Vertical Control in Excavation

  • Law of Superposition

  • The principle states that in undisturbed soil, the deposition proceeds from bottom to top.

  • Artifacts and features are understood relative to the layers they are found in, determining their age.

  • Methodologies for Vertical Control

  • Arbitrary levels: digging equal intervals without regard to natural soil layers when they cannot be seen.

  • Stratigraphic excavation: following naturally occurring soil layers for more precise data collection.

Dating Artifacts

  • Understanding Time in Archaeology

  • Evaluation of artifacts helps in understanding their age; e.g., if an item from the 18th century is found alongside one from the 19th, the context reveals important chronological data.

  • TPQ (Terminus Post Quem)

  • Identifies the earliest date a soil layer or feature must have been deposited, based on the youngest artifact within it.

Conclusion

  • Importance of Technique and Data

  • Proper excavation technique is crucial for accurately recording and understanding archaeological sites.

  • Attention must be paid to all artifacts as they tell stories about the past and assist in constructing a timeline of human activity.

Case Study: Huber House Excavation

  • Excavation of the Huber House, built in 1746, revealed over 25,000 artifacts from the era.

  • Artifacts included domestic items and tools related to carpentry and metalworking, suggesting its dual function as a domestic space and workspace.