What is archeology?

Ancient Studies

Real archeologists take notes

Before Indy there was Henry

In the 1870s, German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann dug for Troy. His methods were crude (and sometimes destructive), and his goals were to find treasure (and to find evidence that proved Homer’s stories to be historical).

Heinrich Schliemann: controversial of the 19th century

Where was Troy/Ilios?

Hissarlik

Hissarlik was the location of Troy, famous city of Greek legend, on the northwestern corner of Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The legendary founder of the city was Ilus, the son of Tros, from whom the name Troy was derived. The son and successor of Ilus was Laomedon, who was slain by the hero Hercules, when Hercules captured the city. The Trojan War occurred during the reign of Laomedon's son Priam, which resulted in the capture and destruction of the city.

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/hissarlik.html

The Troy that appears in the Homeric poems was long regarded as a purely legendary city. In 1870 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began excavations but due to lack of permission from the government, was forced to postpone his digging until 1873. That year, he unearthed the actual stone walls and battlements of an ancient city on the mound called Hissarlik, about 4 miles from the plain of the Scamander River, separating it from the Aegean Sea, and equidistant from the Dardanelles.

At least nine levels have been excavated at Troy, dating from around 3000 BC down to c. 500 CE (AD).

“We still cannot prove that the Trojan War took place. However, all circumstantial evidence points to armed conflicts around 1200 B.C. [at the site]” (Latacz).

Troy today

Definition

archeology (also spelled archaeology) noun1 : the scientific study of material remains (as fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities2 : remains of the culture of a people : ANTIQUITIES

  http://www.m-w.com/

Hey, a side road . . .

WORD FUN: Think of other words that end in -logy (the

study of, from Gk logos=speech, word, reason):

To name a few . . .

astrology biology cardiology dermatology ecology genealogy ichthyology meteorology numerology ophthalmology paleontology radiology seismology technology zoology

Now back to archaeology:

Archaeology is the only means available to get at the 99% of the human story that took place before the invention of written documents.

 The goal of archaeology is to interpret the past--in short, to explain change.

--Dr. John Olsen, University of Arizona Anthropology Department http://datamonster.sbs.arizona.edu/IGERT/Olsenintro.doc

Curious minds want to know …

Archaeologists ask questions such as: How old is it? What did they eat? How did they make and use tools? How did they organize their society? Who were they and what were they like?

Or simply, What is it?!?!?

Do you like to date?

Two types of dating: absolute and relative

Absolutely

Absolute dating “provides an absolute or fixed age for an artefact, site, etc.” (Dictionary of Archaeology)

Methods for absolute dating vary: Calendars, Dendrochronology (the dating of tree rings), Radiocarbon dating (for establishing dates within the last 50,000 years), Uranium-series, Potassium-Argon, Thermoluminescence, etc.

You wouldn’t date a relative, would you?!

Relative dating puts “artefacts . . . in order relative to each other” and often involves the study of stratification (layers of remains or material deposits) and typology (for example, grouping similar types of pottery or tools together).

What kinds of things do archeologists dig up?

Bones Homes Cities Temples Trash Pottery Gold!

What techniques do archeologists use?

Digging Brushing Sifting Washing Photographing Documenting

Restoration and recovery are also part of an archaeologist’s job

Howard Carterhttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/carter_howard.htmlhttp://www.osirisweb.com/egypt/carter.html

Arthur Evanshttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/evans_arthur.html

Heinrich Schliemannhttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/schliemann_heinrich.html

Sources

• Dictionary of Archaeology. London: Brockhampton Press, 1997.

• Haag, Michael. The Rough Guide to Tutankhamun. London: Rough

Guide, 2005.

• An Introduction to Archaeology. London: Quantum, 1998.

•http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html

More sources

Amos, H.D. and A.G.P. Lang. These Were The Greeks. Chester Springs, PA: Dufour, 1997. Page 18.

Constable, Nick. The World Atlas of Archeology. NY: The Lyons Press, 2000. Pages 60-61.

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition, Volume 1. Fourth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. Page 69.

Jones, Peter. Classics in Translation. London: Duckworth, 1998. Pages 7-14.

Kennedy, Maev. The History of Archaeology. NY: Barnes & Noble, 2002. Pages 94-97.

Korfmann, Manfred. "Was There a Trojan War?" Archaeology May/June 2004, pp. 36-41.

Latacz, Joachim. “Evidence from Homer.” Archaeology May/June 2004, page 39.