What is Archaeology?

ANT 102: Archaeology: Mysteries and Controversies.

Monday, August 27th

Matt Krebs

Matt Krebs

Matt Krebs

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

(Interdisciplinary)1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINSa. Artifacts

(Interdisciplinary)1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINSa. Artifacts

b. Ecofacts

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINSa. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

The Parthenon, Athens, Greece

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

Can we learn anything about this pot without context?

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

Copan

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

a. Provenience

b. Association

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

a. Provenience

b. Association

c. Matrix

Layers of ash covering house 1 at Ceren

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

a. Provenience

b. Association

c. Matrix

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

a. Provenience

b. Association

c. MatrixA

rchaeolo

gica

l Reco

rd

Archaeological Record: Material remains of the past

1) Artifacts – Human-made, generally portable objects2) Ecofacts – Non-man made items such as plant remains

animal bones, soils, sediments3) Features --Hearth, burial, oven, pit

Archaeological Record also includes the context:

Provenience: Specific horizontal and vertical position of an artifact, ecofact, or feature.

Association: The other artifacts, ecofacts and features that something is found with.

Matrix: The soils and sediments that surround an artifact, ecofact or feature

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

ANT 102: : Mysteries and Controversies.Archaeology

1. HUMANS

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. CONTEXT

a. Artifacts

c. Features

b. Ecofacts

a. Provenience

b. Association

5. INTERPRETATION

c. Matrix

Why did the owners of this potput it in a grave??

Quantifying the number of pollen grains from trees versus grassesin 12000 year old layers of sediment in a gulch in Arizona.

Things that count as archaeology:

EnvironmentalArchaeology

orPaleo-ecology

Things that count as archaeology:

Documenting 1970s graffiti in an apartment in London.

JohnyRotten

SidVicious

Things that count as archaeology:

Documenting 1970s graffiti in an apartment in London.

Historical archaeology

ExperimentalArchaeology

Things that count as archaeology:

Studying microscopic marks that hyenas and other scavengers leave on bones

Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the physical remains of the past and their context.

1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

2. SYSTEMATIC

3. ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL REMAINS

4. IMPORTANT OF CONTEXT

5. INTERPRETATION

(Interdisciplinary)

Ucí-Cansahcab Regional Integration ProjectInvestigating Ancient Maya Regional Integration in Yucatan, Mexico

Causeway appears above the yellow line

2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns? 4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?

How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?1) Who’s in charge? What was the regional capital?

Systematic: explore far in multiple directions to ensure that you find the boundaries Interdisciplinary: using technology and methods from surveying and geography (GPS, GIS)

1) What was the likely political capital?How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?

Uci(at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)

2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?

The building was built between about 250 and 500 AD

The building was built between about 250 and 500 AD

In the core of the sacbe, wefound Middle Preclassic andLate Preclassic ceramics

Sacbe built before theEarly Classic. (pre 250 AD)

Sacbe built during or afterthe Late Preclassic (post 100 BC)

100 BC to 250 AD

CONTEXT (provenience and associaton)

CLOSE ANALYSIS OFREMAINS OF PAST(CERAMICS)

1) What was the likely political capital?How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?

Uci(at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)

2) When was the causeway built?

100 BC (?) to 250 AD(corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)

3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?

Ancient Maya ballgame

Alley of ballcourtSanta Teresa

15Q-d(5)

Ballcourt

Ballcourtshowinglocation ofexcavations

Number of50 x 50cmunits: 94S

yste

matic

Inte

rdiscip

linary:

Use

of so

il chem

istry

Topographic map of ballcourt area,Santa Teresa site

5 cm

In sum, ballcourt was a location both for formalballplaying, but also ceremonial meals.

It was built around 700 BC, after the decline of Uci

1) What was the likely political capital?How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?

Uci(at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)

2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?

100 BC (?) to 250 AD(corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)

3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?

Possibly:--When Uci is flexing its muscles, other sites are on the wane--When Uci declines, smaller sites assert a level of independent political and ritual organization

4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?

One might think that villagers would now get access to the broader tradeconnections and other economic benefits of being part of a large center

Systematic --305 mini-pits --50m3 of excavation (green)

So if they weren’t using many pots, what did they use to store waterand cook and serve food?

Baskets and gourds?

INTERPRETIVE:(which means not fully certain,but there is at least some data

that makes the interpretation plausible)

K1392K625

K1669

K1669

K718

K559

K8277

K8461

K6355

Baskets depicted on PotsBaskets as seen in ancientMaya paintings

Pots as baskets

Pots as gourds

1) What was the likely political capital?How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?

Uci(at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)

2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?

100 BC (?) to 250 AD(corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)

3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?

Possibly:

--Smaller sites assert a level of independent political and ritualorganization in Late Classic, when Uci is in decline.

4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?

Apparently not

--People along the causeway did not get exotic goods

--Kancab seems to diminish soon after the sacbe was built.

--They continued to use cheap perishable tools, such as gourds

So, in this example, we see the key aspects of archaeology at work:

…that are often interdisciplinary,

…to acquire physical remains of the past

…that help us make interpretations

…about past human events.

Using systematic methods…

…and that pay close attention to context,